Upcoming Events -- Oct. 29, 2007 Edition

Jesus talks about establishing a firm foundation (Matthew 7). He says, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his home upon the rock." He goes on to say that the foolish build their home upon the sand, where storm and rain wash the foundation away.

We sometimes think of college as a time inbetween, or a time to "live it up" before we go out into the real world where we have to work everyday. To imagine that the years we spend in college are somehow not part of the rest of our lives isn't really accurate. These are the years when we wrestle with big questions (such as "what am I going to do with my life?") and we discover things about ourselves that we didn't know before (like how many hours we can stay awake before we just have to crash).

These are not just transitional years between living with our parents and following some career path. These are foundational years in which we form friendships and patterns of living that will continue with us long past college.

This isn't a guilt trip to get involved. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life. I'm just pointing out what may or may not be obvoius to you already. I certainly don't think I have all the answers anyway. If you want to get together to struggle through the questions, let me know. Life is the journey.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the blessing that is college -- that we have the priviledge to explore who we are and what we want our lives to be about. Help us to remember that each and every day that we live is part of the whole that is our life. In Jesus name, Amen.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

747 TUESDAYS: Every Tuesday, we're meeting at the Crosspoint Ministry House at 7:47pm for FREE home-cooked food, table fellowship, and a devotion/discussion. Come & bring your friends! Directions:

· Walk through Presidents Park and back behind Jackson Hall.

· Follow the gravel road to Roberts Rd.

· Cross the street and the white house there to your right is the one.

· Enter side door near the parking lot. (It's about a 5 minute walk from SUB II.)

Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter: This new family shelter run by Shelter House, Inc. ( http://www.shelterhouse.org )provides temporary housing and supportive services to homeless families in order to enable them to transition to permanent housing and a stable family life. On Friday, November 2^nd , we'll help serve food to the families and do whatever else they need help with. We'll leave campus from the Crosspoint Ministry House at 4:30pm, returning around 8pm.

Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services, Inc. (FACETS) --- http://www.facetscares.org/). We're going to help a local church transport and watch homeless kids (& their parents), so it would be great if each car we take has an empty backseat for the transportation part. We'll depart from the Crosspoint Ministry House at 9:30am. After picking up the kids/families, we'll head to Cox farms ( http://www.coxfarms.com) for Pumpkin Madness (including pumpkin destruction and more!) Let me know if you are interested and/or have questions!

Homelessness and Hunger Action Week: November 11-17. Let me know if you want to help the Campus Ministry Association staff the event headquarters during the week, collecting canned food, passing out educational materials, and asking fellow students to pledge to take action on the issue of hunger or homelessness. We're helping organize an on-campus sleep-out on Wednesday, November 14^th -- starting at 7pm with a powerful presentation by the National Coalition for the Homeless (http://www.nationalhomeless.org/). I hope many of you come listen to the stories, and maybe even spend the night sleeping on the North Plaza with me!

Program Support: We want students involved as we plan our programs & events. Let me know if you want to set up a service opportunity, fellowship event, etc. …or if you have ideas, but want someone else to set it up. Maybe you want to have a bonfire...or volunteer for Habitat for Humanity...etc. Just let me know!

Feel free to share this information with your friends. Also, join the "GMU Lutherans" Facebook group to stay up to date on what is going on! Use the "discussion board" or "wall" on the Facebook group to find a ride -- carpool to worship at a local congregation.

Shalom,
Ben
Director of Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University
ben [at] novalcm.org