Here are words offered by Jessie Light at the 824 breakfast at the beginning of April.
Saying I would be a different person if not for PSF is not only true, it's an understatement. As a senior with less than a month left at Vanderbilt, my life would look a whole lot different without this ministry. To begin with, without PSF, I wouldn't even be here. I wouldn't be at Vanderbilt. When I met Jennifer Fouse for the first time at Montreat Youth Conference as a rising Sophomore in high school, it was the first time I'd ever heard of Vanderbilt, but I was SOLD on coming here. Besides my major and the location of the school, PSF is the reason that I came to Vanderbilt. Knowing that there would be a strong and welcoming Christian community waiting for my arrival was all I really wanted. Without PSF, I wouldn't be heading in the direction I am because I wouldn't have received as many empowering leadership opportunities and moment of affirmation, and I wouldn't have had so many incredible experiences in which I have discerned that sometime in the near future, seminary is where I want to be. Without PSF, I would be lacking in a home away from home, in a support system that I cherish and rely upon, and in so many priceless and life-changing relationships.
When I think about who I was four years ago and who I am now, I can't help but identify PSF as the source of so much of the positive growth I have undergone. Two mission trips to Guatemala pushed me way outside of my comfort zone, exposed me to a world beyond my own, and made me passionate about traveling and experiential learning. Multiple leadership positions have given me the chance to practice and develop both task-oriented and interpersonal skills. Most of all, I have had this place and this community as a refuge and a safe place to process everything that has happened during this crazy and wonderful time in my life.
This ministry is invaluable. Though we balance budgets and manage spreadsheets and host fundraisers, no dollar amount can be put on the impact that PSF has on people's lives.
Looking forward, despite the fact that I won't be involved in the day-to-day life of PSF, I see so many opportunities for this ministry to grow. A new official partnership with Belmont (which has been in the works for a very long time) doubles the pool of potential students to reach out to- students who would add (and are already adding) new color and energy to this community. I can't help but be excited about the many students younger than me who are filled with just as much passion as I am about this ministry, and who will do incredible things in leading this group into new realms.
I look to each of you today with gratitude. Because of you, and people like you, who have given so willingly and freely of your time, energy, and resources, I've been shaped and molded, supported and loved, by an irreplaceable community. This place exemplifies an open table. So many have come hungry or lost, many more have come confident and faithful. The time we have spent together and will continue to spend together, sharing bread and cup, has filled and will continue to fill us up and change us for good.
A season of transitions
A season of transitions is upon us.
God's beautiful creation is transitioning from the cool days of winter to the warm days of spring. In the past few days, we have seen hot, sunny, almost summer-like days, and as I type this, rain is steadily falling, as is the temperature outside.
Students at all levels of education are marking the transition from one year of schooling to the next by taking exams, writing papers, and making sure they're registered for next year.
Students and families are transitioning from the rigorous schedule of the academic year to the somewhat more laid back schedule of "summer." Instead of rising early each and every day, people may sleep later and enjoy leisure time. Or, as my mother used to say on our last day of school, "Well, I guess my vacation is over."
For many young adults across the world, this is a time of major transition as they prepare to graduate from high school or college or graduate school. They are stepping out of comfort zones and known routines to face new realities and maybe even uncertain futures. These transitions can be the most frightening and the most exhilarating.
Last night at PSF we celebrated another year of shared community. A big thanks goes out to Decker Chaney for hosting us in her home and for putting together a wonderful slideshow of pictures featuring our graduating seniors. Last night was a beautiful night, and I will testify to the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. The energy in Decker's home was palpable as students, staff, board members, and friends of PSF all gathered to share table fellowship and honor our graduating seniors. Letters from parents were read. We laid our hands on the seniors. Prayers were spoken. Photos were taken. And, when all the official festivities were over, we all stood in the front yard and basked in the glow of Christ's presence among us. I witnessed meaningful embraces between friends, deep joy-filled laughter, somewhat sorrowful "see you soon"s, and a reluctance by anyone to be the first to leave. Without having to name it aloud, I think everyone there knew we were experiencing a mountaintop moment, right there on Decker's front lawn.
A season of transitions is upon us. PSF will soon become UKIRK. Rooted will give way to Engage. Seniors will set out to make a difference in the world. New leaders will rise as a result of encouragement and guidance from those seniors who are moving on. Summer jobs and internships will begin. Other summer opportunities will blossom. And, before we know it, we will be gathered together again as a community called forth by Christ to worship and share table fellowship.
Two passages from Isaiah seem to capture this season of transition quite well:
Isaiah 43:19-21
19 Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.
20 The beasts of the field, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me, because I have put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness to give water to my people, my chosen ones,21 this people whom I formed for myself, who will recount my praise.
Isaiah 55:8-12
8 My plans aren’t your plans, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD .9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my plans than your plans. 10 Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and don’t return there without watering the earth, making it conceive and yield plants and providing seed to the sower and food to the eater, 11 so is my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty.Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.
12 Yes, you will go out with celebration, and you will be brought back in peace. Even the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you; all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
God's beautiful creation is transitioning from the cool days of winter to the warm days of spring. In the past few days, we have seen hot, sunny, almost summer-like days, and as I type this, rain is steadily falling, as is the temperature outside.
Students at all levels of education are marking the transition from one year of schooling to the next by taking exams, writing papers, and making sure they're registered for next year.
Students and families are transitioning from the rigorous schedule of the academic year to the somewhat more laid back schedule of "summer." Instead of rising early each and every day, people may sleep later and enjoy leisure time. Or, as my mother used to say on our last day of school, "Well, I guess my vacation is over."
For many young adults across the world, this is a time of major transition as they prepare to graduate from high school or college or graduate school. They are stepping out of comfort zones and known routines to face new realities and maybe even uncertain futures. These transitions can be the most frightening and the most exhilarating.
Last night at PSF we celebrated another year of shared community. A big thanks goes out to Decker Chaney for hosting us in her home and for putting together a wonderful slideshow of pictures featuring our graduating seniors. Last night was a beautiful night, and I will testify to the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. The energy in Decker's home was palpable as students, staff, board members, and friends of PSF all gathered to share table fellowship and honor our graduating seniors. Letters from parents were read. We laid our hands on the seniors. Prayers were spoken. Photos were taken. And, when all the official festivities were over, we all stood in the front yard and basked in the glow of Christ's presence among us. I witnessed meaningful embraces between friends, deep joy-filled laughter, somewhat sorrowful "see you soon"s, and a reluctance by anyone to be the first to leave. Without having to name it aloud, I think everyone there knew we were experiencing a mountaintop moment, right there on Decker's front lawn.
A season of transitions is upon us. PSF will soon become UKIRK. Rooted will give way to Engage. Seniors will set out to make a difference in the world. New leaders will rise as a result of encouragement and guidance from those seniors who are moving on. Summer jobs and internships will begin. Other summer opportunities will blossom. And, before we know it, we will be gathered together again as a community called forth by Christ to worship and share table fellowship.
Two passages from Isaiah seem to capture this season of transition quite well:
Isaiah 43:19-21
19 Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.
20 The beasts of the field, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me, because I have put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness to give water to my people, my chosen ones,21 this people whom I formed for myself, who will recount my praise.
Isaiah 55:8-12
8 My plans aren’t your plans, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD .9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my plans than your plans. 10 Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and don’t return there without watering the earth, making it conceive and yield plants and providing seed to the sower and food to the eater, 11 so is my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty.Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.
12 Yes, you will go out with celebration, and you will be brought back in peace. Even the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you; all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
They Just Know
It’s hard to believe that another school year is almost over. As cherry blossoms burst forth in all their glory, and tulips blanket the landscape, I can’t help but think that this year’s theme of Rooted has come full circle. Throughout the dreary, rainy, cold winter months, we sometimes forget about the beautiful colors and warm days of spring, and yet throughout that time, seeds were in the ground, taking root so that lovely spring time flowers might blossom. During those dark days, trees of various shapes and sizes relied on their roots to hold them steady and to give them the nutrients that need for dazzling displays of color come April. I remember asking my Dad once how the trees know how to blossom all at the same time. “They just know,” he said. How zen of Michael Bancroft. In light of our theme, I’d like to offer up that “they just know” because they are deeply rooted and that some level, their rootedness in the earth connects them in a way that is deeper than any of our human understanding. To borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis, the trees are rooted in a “magic deeper than time.”
This entire year we have been rooting ourselves in the gospel of Matthew and all it has to tell us about God’s special revelation to us in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This week in worship we will hear Jesus’ challenge to “go therefore, and make disciples” and we will also explore Ephesians 3:14-21 in which we are challenged to root and ground ourselves in love. Just as ancient trees survive and thrive and offer a pageantry of colors for the enjoyment of all creation, so we are called to root deeply in God’s abiding love so that we might survive, thrive, and offer a vision of God’s beautiful love to the world.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
This entire year we have been rooting ourselves in the gospel of Matthew and all it has to tell us about God’s special revelation to us in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This week in worship we will hear Jesus’ challenge to “go therefore, and make disciples” and we will also explore Ephesians 3:14-21 in which we are challenged to root and ground ourselves in love. Just as ancient trees survive and thrive and offer a pageantry of colors for the enjoyment of all creation, so we are called to root deeply in God’s abiding love so that we might survive, thrive, and offer a vision of God’s beautiful love to the world.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
UKIRK Video
Check out this great PSF/UKIRK Video.
Many thanks to Jessie Light who produced the video, and all the students who were willing to sit down and tell us what PSF/UKIRK means to them. Check back over the next week or so to read testimonials offered by our students at our 824 Breakfast.
Many thanks to Jessie Light who produced the video, and all the students who were willing to sit down and tell us what PSF/UKIRK means to them. Check back over the next week or so to read testimonials offered by our students at our 824 Breakfast.
Service Opportunities
Last night at PSF, everyone was encouraged to think about "What'll be your space jam?" based on the pep talk we received from Kid President (Kid President Video). We also heard from a number of folks offering service opportunities. Interestingly enough, we didn't exactly plan for all of that to coincide, but apparently God had other plans. I thought it would be helpful to remind us of those opportunities:
Breakfast at Campus for Human Development/Room In The Inn: e-mail David Seachrist at d.seachrist@comcast.net to get involved.
Barefoot Republic Camps: be in touch with Candace about working there, volunteering there, or otherwise getting involved. Her e-mail address is: candace@barefootrepublic.org
Red Hands: Trace your hand on red construction paper and send it in to the folks mentioned on the website.
In the coming weeks, look for more information about serving with a new street outreach ministry initiative from PSF/UKIRK.
Breakfast at Campus for Human Development/Room In The Inn: e-mail David Seachrist at d.seachrist@comcast.net to get involved.
Barefoot Republic Camps: be in touch with Candace about working there, volunteering there, or otherwise getting involved. Her e-mail address is: candace@barefootrepublic.org
Red Hands: Trace your hand on red construction paper and send it in to the folks mentioned on the website.
In the coming weeks, look for more information about serving with a new street outreach ministry initiative from PSF/UKIRK.
New eyes and ears
What a joy it was to accompany nine PSF students to Washington, DC for this year’s spring break mission trip. After two days of travel, including a night and morning of worship at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, we arrived at the Trinity Lutheran Church Hostel that would be our home for the week in downtown DC. Throughout the week we served at a variety of non-profits, including Parks & People, Sasha Bruce Youthworks, Capitol Hill Group Ministry, Capital Area Food Bank, and Children of Mine Youth Center. Each site provided it’s own challenges as well as rewards. At the beginning and end of our trip, we spent time with Leslie Woods in the PCUSA Office of Public Witness, where we considered how we might be agents of change at various levels of need. Due to a psych-out snow storm (reminiscent of the way Nashville shuts down for rain on a cold day), we also had a day to explore museums and let some of the work we had already done sink in.
Interestingly enough, the scripture passage for worship this week is one in which Jesus lifts up those who feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned. While we didn’t do all of that, I do think we encountered some of the “least of these” Jesus describes in Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus’ words echoed through my mind as we landscaped and/or painted, sorted food for the hungry, and handed out coffee, hot chocolate, snacks, and socks to people experiencing homelessness. All of us acknowledged that we began to see with different eyes and listen with different ears the more we served and were called to notice people who are often invisible to us. I think we all returned hoping to be more intentional about how we encounter our fellow human beings.
In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for a new ministry initiative coming out of PSF/UKIRK Nashville. The plans aren’t fully formed, but the 11 of us who trekked to DC and back are excited. I am outing us here on this e-mail and on the Rooted blog so you will ask us about it and so we will follow through on promises made while on our journey.
Matthew 25:31-46
Interestingly enough, the scripture passage for worship this week is one in which Jesus lifts up those who feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned. While we didn’t do all of that, I do think we encountered some of the “least of these” Jesus describes in Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus’ words echoed through my mind as we landscaped and/or painted, sorted food for the hungry, and handed out coffee, hot chocolate, snacks, and socks to people experiencing homelessness. All of us acknowledged that we began to see with different eyes and listen with different ears the more we served and were called to notice people who are often invisible to us. I think we all returned hoping to be more intentional about how we encounter our fellow human beings.
In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for a new ministry initiative coming out of PSF/UKIRK Nashville. The plans aren’t fully formed, but the 11 of us who trekked to DC and back are excited. I am outing us here on this e-mail and on the Rooted blog so you will ask us about it and so we will follow through on promises made while on our journey.
Matthew 25:31-46
31
“Now when the Human One
f
comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne.
32
All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them
from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33
He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.
34
“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will
receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was
prepared for you before the world began.
35
I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
36
I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’
37
“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?
38
When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear?
39
When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40
“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done
it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have
done it for me.’
41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will
receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire that has been
prepared for the devil and his angels.
42
I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink.
43
I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t
give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit
me.’
44
“
Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help
you?’
45
Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’
46
And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life.
”
The Connectional Church
Over the past month or two, I’ve had a number of experiences that have renewed my hope in and thankfulness for the “connectional church.” The first came when I was able, for the first time in seven years, to attend Christmas Eve services at the two congregations in which I grew up. Reconnecting with people who were my Sunday school teachers, and seeing young adults who were once “youth” when I served as an advisor, was wonderful. I remember getting ready for bed that night and thinking, “Where else do I feel so connected to the flow of generations?”
My second experience of hope and thankfulness came at the Montreat College Conference at the beginning of this month. What a joy to see over a thousand college students gathered during the final days of Christmas break to worship, hear calls to lives of discipleship, and enjoy fellowship. While I enjoyed watching students from all over connect, my moments of hope came as I joined other clergy and church workers/volunteers for meaningful conversation about ministry, our lives, the world, and just where we saw God’s kingdom breaking forth. I realized that I’ve known some of those people since I was 15 or 16 years old. Again, where else but within the connectional church do I have relationships that span a lifetime?
The final experience I will share with you is the weekend I just had. On Saturday morning, our local TOT group helped guests shop for food and clothes at The Little Pantry That Could. Stacy and her committed band of helpers are practicing the gospel of abundance and hospitality in radical ways. Then, just last night and this morning, PSF hosted Room In The Inn at St. Augustine’s Chapel. Last night I watched college students lovingly prepare mattresses for our overnight guests, serve a meal and eat with new friends, clean up after the meal, and get things ready for this morning. Ah, this morning. It began at 4:15 with students and friends rolling in to make breakfast, keep the coffee going, drive guests back to the RITI mothership, and clean up St. A’s so nobody would know we were here. As I sit here waiting for the laundry to finish, I’m mindful of all the other congregations throughout our fair city and, indeed, throughout the nation who shared this experience on nights past, this very same night, and will do so in the future.
In this week’s scripture passage, Jesus tells Peter that he will be responsible for calling people out into a new form of community. For all we may want to say or not say about “the church” there is still beauty in the connectional nature of our community of faith. I pray that you will find reasons to hope in what God is still doing through disciples in this day and age.
Matthew 16:13-28
My second experience of hope and thankfulness came at the Montreat College Conference at the beginning of this month. What a joy to see over a thousand college students gathered during the final days of Christmas break to worship, hear calls to lives of discipleship, and enjoy fellowship. While I enjoyed watching students from all over connect, my moments of hope came as I joined other clergy and church workers/volunteers for meaningful conversation about ministry, our lives, the world, and just where we saw God’s kingdom breaking forth. I realized that I’ve known some of those people since I was 15 or 16 years old. Again, where else but within the connectional church do I have relationships that span a lifetime?
The final experience I will share with you is the weekend I just had. On Saturday morning, our local TOT group helped guests shop for food and clothes at The Little Pantry That Could. Stacy and her committed band of helpers are practicing the gospel of abundance and hospitality in radical ways. Then, just last night and this morning, PSF hosted Room In The Inn at St. Augustine’s Chapel. Last night I watched college students lovingly prepare mattresses for our overnight guests, serve a meal and eat with new friends, clean up after the meal, and get things ready for this morning. Ah, this morning. It began at 4:15 with students and friends rolling in to make breakfast, keep the coffee going, drive guests back to the RITI mothership, and clean up St. A’s so nobody would know we were here. As I sit here waiting for the laundry to finish, I’m mindful of all the other congregations throughout our fair city and, indeed, throughout the nation who shared this experience on nights past, this very same night, and will do so in the future.
In this week’s scripture passage, Jesus tells Peter that he will be responsible for calling people out into a new form of community. For all we may want to say or not say about “the church” there is still beauty in the connectional nature of our community of faith. I pray that you will find reasons to hope in what God is still doing through disciples in this day and age.
Matthew 16:13-28
Peter’s declaration about Jesus
13
Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“
Who do people say the Human One
o
is?
”
14
They replied,
“
Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
”
15
He said,
“
And what about you? Who do you say that I am?
”
16
Simon Peter said,
“
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
”
17
Then Jesus replied,
“
Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you.
18
I tell you that you are Peter.
p
And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it.
19
I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on
earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be
loosened in heaven.
”
20
Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.
First prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection
21
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and
legal experts, and that he had to be killed and raised on the third day.
22
Then Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him:
“
God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you.
”
23
But he turned to Peter and said,
“
Get behind me, Satan. You are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.
”
Saving and losing life
24
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“
All who want to come after me must say
no
to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
25
All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them.
26
Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives?
27
For the Human One
q
is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done.
28
I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One
r
coming in his kingdom.
”
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