Graduate & Faculty Ministry at Indiana University

This Week In GFM: January 23-29

2012-01-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today:
New! GFM Blog Series:

This spring semester, our blog will feature a short, open-topic reflection each Monday, written by graduate students & faculty members. This week's blog post comes from Henry Gabriel, Grants Analyst in the Office of Research Administration. Thanks, Henry! We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

This week:

Manuscript Study. You know how this works: You come; we study the Bible; there's coffee & cookies. This Wednesday, 7-9pm, Ballantine 004.

Weekly Prayer will meet on Thursday from 9-10 in the Charter Room.

Looking ahead:
Men's Group Meeting/Series:

From Henry Gabriel: During the weekend retreat in November on "Flourishing within the Academy", the men split off for a bit and one of the questions raised was "What men's events or groups do we have?". Well, none. Until now.
On Thursday, February 2nd, we're meeting at Josh & Kerilyn's house to begin discussing the book "What Makes Life Worth Living" by W. Phillip Keller. It is short but thought-provoking and should provide a launching point for great conversation and fellowship. For the first meeting, we'll send out a PDF of the first three chapters; we'll also have a few copies of the book to give out at the first meeting.
After that, we'll meet every other Thursday (except Spring Break) and rotate locations. Also, this particular series is limited to this book; at the end of the semester we'll decide what, if anything, to do next. Please contact Henry Gabriel (higabriel@gmail.com) if you have any questions or are interested in hosting.

Superbowl party!

Our most hotly-anticipated GFM event is coming up on Sunday, February 5. Here's the rundown: We’ll start at 5pm at Dr. Amrita Myers' house and end, well, whenever the game is done. Like last year, we'll have sandwiches from Jimmy John’s, so please bring $3 apiece to pitch in. Amrita and Kerilyn will cover drinks. Those with last names beginning with A-M, please bring a side dish, and N-Z, please bring a dessert. Then we will all eat chips and watch commercials like the rest of America. Wait. Football. I mean football.

Any time you want:

GFM Facebook group! You can connect with other GFM folks on Facebook! Click here to go to our group page.

Finally, thanks to all who attended the "Seeking the Peace & Prosperity of IU" meeting.

GFM Blog Series, Week 3: Henry Gabriel!

2012-01-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

GFM Blog Series: This spring semester we’re going to introduce what we hope will become a new GFM tradition—our blog is going to feature a short, open-topic reflection each Monday, written by graduate students & faculty members. This week, we are pleased to have Henry Gabriel, Grants’ Analyst in the Office of Research Administration, share his "Classic Top 10 of Things I Know, Today" (love it). Thanks, Henry!

We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

_________

For this post it was tough to pick a topic, any topic, partly because a lot has been happening in my life the past few months--events that I’m still digesting and will take some time before I think I’ll be able to write about what any of it has meant, or what God has taught me through it. Instead, I’ll go with a classic Top 10 of things I know, today, some of which God may upend tomorrow. :)

Since graduating in 2004, life for me has been an adventure with some breaks for rest along the way. I’ve worked in four organizations and four industries--clothing, janitorial services, cereal/cookies, and sponsored research. The first three jobs, in internal auditing, I traveled an average of half of the time both domestically and internationally. As an internal auditor, I was able to work with people in those locations and gain a depth of understanding about many things. With that and life experience, in general, here is a Top 10 of my early mid-life lessons:

Christ was right--mercy is more important than sacrifice, and love trumps all.
God is constantly with us, from the mountain top all the way to the deepest valley and even when He seems absent.
Keep following God, even when you feel forsaken--it always leads somewhere good.
Family and friends are always more important than profession and career. I’ve made them a priority and “sacrificed” for them many times, and it has saved my life.
Dig deeper and question assumptions and first impressions.
When it comes time, cry it out. Then go forward.
Diet, exercise, and sleep matter greatly in managing stress and improving quality of life.
God’s creation--all people spanning all cultures, nations, languages, and religions, and all landscapes, climates, plants, and animals--is filled with majesty and as God gives you chances to explore it, seize them and enjoy each moment to the fullest.
Most cultural barriers and mistakes can be overcome by making an effort/trying, respecting others, and interacting with humility.
Organizations of all kinds conduct most important business out of the purview of the media, especially the negative parts; consequently, the news of the day is filled with stories written by under- and misinformed people grasping in the dark and speculating about the truth.

The Week in GFM: January 16-22, 2012

2012-01-17T03:45:00.000-08:00

Good morning, GFM! Apologies for the technical difficulties that delayed this email.* This week, don't miss Laura Freeze's excellent blog post, a new men's group, and the first day of Thinking about Faith!

Today:

New! GFM Blog Series:

This spring semester, our blog will feature a short, open-topic reflection each Monday (or, ahem, Tuesday, if the Internet is being uncooperative), written by graduate students & faculty members.
This week, Laura Freeze, Masters of Public Affairs '12, shares her mission & reflections on connecting with international students at IU. Read it here!

We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

Thinking about Faith returns on Tuesday, January 17th at 7:30 pm at Dr. Tim O'Connor's home (3119 S Forrester Street). See last week's post for more details.

This week:

“Seeking the peace and prosperity of IU” meeting: Wednesday, January 18, 7-9pm, location TBA (somewhere on campus).

1. What does it mean for you to seek the peace and prosperity of Indiana Universityand Bloomington?
2. Do you believe that God plans to give you a hope and a future?

Part of Intervarsity’s national Graduate and Faculty Ministry commitment is “to be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas, and structures of the university and professions.” So what might God’s plans for GFM’s hope and future look like? That's what we'll discuss on Wednesday.

This semester, Weekly Prayer will meet on Thursdays from 9-10 in the Charter Room.

Looking ahead:

New! Men's Group Meeting/Series:

From Henry Gabriel: During the weekend retreat in November on "Flourishing within the Academy", the men split off for a bit and one of the questions raised was "What men's events or groups do we have?". Well, none. Until now.

On Thursday, February 2nd, we're meeting at Josh & Kerilyn's house from 7-9 p.m. to begin discussing the book "What Makes Life Worth Living" by W. Phillip Keller. It is short but thought-provoking and should provide a launching point for great conversation and fellowship. For the first meeting, we'll send out a PDF of the first three chapters; we'll also have a few copies of the book to give out at the first meeting.

After that, we'll meet every other Thursday (except Spring Break) and rotate locations. Also, this particular series is limited to this book; at the end of the semester we'll decide what, if anything, to do next. Please contact Henry Gabriel (higabriel@gmail.com) if you have any questions or are interested in hosting.

Superbowl party! Our most hotly-anticipated GFM event is coming up on Sunday, February 5. Details forthcoming!

Any time you want:

GFM Facebook group! You can connect with other GFM folks on Facebook! Click here to go to our group page.

*Those of you who have been to my house and seen the box fan/rubber band/twist-tie contraption keeping my modem alive are probably unsurprised.

GFM Blog Series, Week 2: Laura Freeze!

2012-01-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

GFM Blog Series: This spring semester we’re going to introduce what we hope will become a new GFM tradition—our blog is going to feature a short, open-topic reflection each Monday, written by graduate students & faculty members. This week, we are so pleased to have Laura Freeze, Masters of Public Affairs '12, shares her mission & reflections on connecting with international students at IU. Thank you so much, Laura!

We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

_________

Seemingly a lifetime ago, I applied to grad school at IU. The unique part was that I applied while half a world away in the middle of remote central China. For two years I had been teaching English and serving with a Christian organization in a part of the world where millions of people have never even heard the name of Jesus. The need was and is still so great. However, I decided to jump at the opportunity to pursue my master’s degree in America, and packed my bags to return to a place and culture that had become rather foreign to me.

Upon returning to the U.S. and moving to a random part of the Midwest—Indiana—I seemed to have started at ground level again. I felt like an outsider leading a purposeless life. It was almost required to become consumed with self to do well in classes and survive grad school, or so I thought. After spinning my wheels a bit, I was reminded: “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to the things going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective.” (Colossians 3:1-2, The Message).

Although I left Asia behind and grieved for that loss, once I looked up and became alert to the things going on around Christ, I soon realized that Asia had arrived at my doorstep. There are countless opportunities to love those who are different, lost, or marginalized right on the campus of Indiana University. God has truly brought the nations to us! I can’t get on the city bus without hearing people speak Chinese, sit in a class without noticing a fellow student who is Chinese, run into a neighbor who isn’t Chinese, or go grocery shopping without bumping into a Chinese person buying onions or eggplant.

I recently read, “Jesus has commanded each of us to make disciples, and this is the means by which we will impact the world.” (Radical, by David Platt). As Christians we impact the world through one relationship at a time. I can have fulfilling friendships here in America, too, especially with those students from China and other “closed” countries. These international students on the bus, in class, in our apartment complexes, and at the grocery store are the future leaders of their countries. Most of them long for meaning and relationship, and we have the amazing opportunity to share life with them. In my situation, I’ve been able to help international students with their English through a church ministry, host a Bible study at my apartment with Chinese grad students, and simply love my international friends.

Now I’ve nearly completed my journey here at IU and the inevitable question is, “what’s next?” I really don’t seem to have any idea. You may be faced with the same question, with a million different roads stretched out before you. However, no matter where we may be, no matter what the circumstances, no matter who God puts in our path, we should remember to look up and be alert! We can have an eternal perspective of God’s Kingdom and Christ’s love for all people that transcends every national border and culture. Most likely we’re only in grad school once (I hope!) with some of the top students from around the globe, so we should certainly make the most of it.

Looking for some practical steps in interacting with your international friends or classmates?

-Show that you care

-Have them over to your apartment for a meal

-Discuss your faith and ask them about theirs

-Ask about their family

-Pray for them and pray with them

-When in doubt, just smile

-Listen to their stories

-If you have the privilege to share about Jesus, be bold and gentle at the same time

-They’re watching what you do—you can display Christ’s love in how you interact with people and react to problems or stressful situations

-Above all, build a friendship and trust with them

-Remember that God is always planting seeds and working behind the scenes

-Learn from them

-Prepare to be amazed and blessed!

Laura Freeze

Master’s of Public Affairs ‘12

School of Public and Environmental Affairs

GFM Blog Series: Week 1, January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, GFM! This spring semester we’re going to introduce what we hope will become a new GFM tradition—our blog is going to feature a short reflection each week, written by various graduate students and faculty members who are involved in our fellowship. The topic of these reflections will be quite open; posts might include someone’s thoughts on the integration of their faith and their discipline, or responses on a particular intellectual or academic problem that relates to Christianity, or even a review of a book or film. Bloggers might share something more personal—reflections on their own faith, or interesting and compelling experiences or encounters. As long as a topic is, in some way, related to the faith, we welcome it on our blog! We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact me (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

To kick off our weekly blogging, I thought I would share a few of my own reflections about God’s goodness, reflections that have (gasp!) actually come to me while in graduate school. Graduate study can sometimes feel like one long slog through fairly barren land of writing, reading, and praying that there’s a job at the end of the tunnel. Graduate school is stressful, full of all kinds of pressures that take their toll on one’s self esteem and overall wellbeing. For me, the stress of school often manifests itself most immediately in my gut. When I get anxious, I can feel my stomach twisting around inside of me, and I get this intense compulsion to start listing out everything I need to do today, tomorrow, this week, or this semester (the level of anxiety determines the scope of the list). And when I get stressed about school, I quite easily find myself getting stressed about everything else—my house that isn’t clean and needs minor repairs, the dog who needs to be walked, the GFM email that needs sending, the friends who I should check in on, the papers that need grading, and the lecture I should attend…. And it’s not like academic stress is easily reducible to one or two tasks—finish reading that book and write this (forum post, seminar paper, dissertation chapter…you pick). One or two tasks would be doable, but academic work is not only never, really done, and seems to always be able to loom insurmountably large in front of you. Additionally, academia seems to breed initiatives, institutes, and committees, lectures series, professional organizations, and reading groups at an unbelievable rate. All of which will eventually claim some of the academic’s time, and add to her to do list.

So this might seem like an odd way to being a reflection on God’s goodness. But here’s what I’ve learned to remember about my stress: all of the things in which I’m involved, all the things that lay claim to my time, they are all good things. I’m sure you can think of some tasks on your to do list that don’t seem all that good, but I’ll bet that if you trace them back, you’ll see that they are. Cleaning the bathroom doesn’t seem good (especially if you haven’t done it for a while), but pretty much anyone reading this blog will live in the West, and will be cleaning a bathroom that comes equipped with indoor plumbing and hot water, and that bathroom will be sheltered in a building that is well heated in the winter. In my and my husband’s case, we have the great blessing of owning a home, so even the repairs and renovations that worry me (when will we have the time? the money?) stem from the fact that we own a house. In the case of my graduate school anxieties, I try to remember how desperately I wanted to come to graduate school in the first place, how worried I was that I wouldn’t get in, and how it is a luxury to be able to choose to do the work that I love. As for all the “extras”—the committees, the lectures, the professional obligations—they are opportunities, many of them afforded by being at a large research institution, and they may very well not be available to me in the future. The coffee dates, the dog, the emails, the reading groups: all of it stems from some good thing, and so the tension in my life is almost always the tension of the good pulling on the good. I’ll try to remember this ever more frequently in 2012, and say a prayer of thanksgiving while I enter each item in my to-do list.

“Sometimes, when we’re paying attention, even the tension on our time can be precious, a sign that there is much, much blessing in the mess of our kitchen counters and lives. A sign that sometimes God fills our cup up with the blessings of family and work, both of which matter to God, and the cup runneth over and spilleth out onto the floor.” Joy Jordan-Lake, Working Families

“I am still confident of this: I will see your goodness in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger

PhD Candidate

Departments of English and Religious Studies

The Week in GFM: January 9-15, 2012

2012-01-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2012, GFM! Here's hoping your holidays were a time of rejuvenation. We know you've got a lot planned for the Spring term-- and so do we! Below is a list of what's coming down the pipe. Be aware that we've also got a public calendar on our blog. You can even download it and add it to your own digital calendar! Or just print it and stick it to the fridge. See, we make it so easy.

This week:

New today! GFM Blog Series: This spring semester we’re going to introduce what we hope will become a new GFM tradition—our blog (oh, right-- you're reading it now) is going to feature a short reflection each Monday, written by various graduate students and faculty members who are involved in our fellowship. The topic of these reflections will be quite open; posts might include someone’s thoughts on the integration of their faith and their discipline, or responses on a particular intellectual or academic problem that relates to Christianity, or even a review of a book or film. Bloggers might share something more personal—reflections on their own faith, or interesting and compelling experiences or encounters. As long as a topic is, in some way, related to the faith, we welcome it on our blog! We’re on the lookout for people willing to post, so if you’re interested, contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kharkawa@indiana.edu). To kick off our weekly blogging, Kerilyn shares a few of her own reflections about God’s goodness, reflections that have (gasp!) actually come to her while in graduate school. If you're reading this post, you've probably already scrolled right past it. Next week, look for a reflection from Laura Freeze!

Manuscript Study. You know how this works: You come; we study the Bible; there's coffee & cookies. This Wednesday, 7-9pm, Ballantine 004.

This semester, Weekly Prayer will meet on Thursdays from 9-10. Room location for this week is still TBA! We'll let you know when the Student Union lets us know.

Next week:

Thinking about Faith returns on Tuesday, January 17th at 7:30 pm at Dr. Tim O'Connor's home (3119 S Forrester Street). It is a great time for newcomers, so if you have been standing at the edge of the pool, now's the time to take the plunge. In the new term, our main reading will be N.T. Wright's book, Surprised by Hope. We will intersperse occasional sessions devoted to one-off discussions of some Christian poetry. See the calendar for a complete list of meeting dates (things change a little at the end of February & around Spring Break).

“Seeking the peace and prosperity of IU” meeting: Wednesday, January 18, 7-9pm, location TBA (somewhere on campus).

In early November, we had a weekend retreat on the theme of “Flourishing within the Academy.” We spent some time thinking about Jeremiah 29:4-14, which is addressed to the Israelites while they are in exile—in their minds, they are categorically unable to flourish, because they are supposed to be in the holy land, not in Babylon. This passage pushed the Israelites to re-define their understanding of the purpose of their exile and the definition of prosperity. After looking at the passage, Craig Gartland posed the following two questions to the group:

1. What does it mean for you to seek the peace and prosperity of Indiana University and Bloomington?

2. Do you believe that God plans to give you a hope and a future?

Part of Intervarsity’s national Graduate and Faculty Ministry commitment is “to be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas, and structures of the university and professions.” So what might God’s plans for GFM’s hope and future look like? I’m not sure! But I do believe that if we seek to discern together where God might be leading us, that He will be faithful in revealing where we should go.

To that end, we are meeting to try, through prayer and conversation, to find out how we might seek the peace and prosperity of IU and Bloomington. This meeting will be open to anyone who’s interested in pursuing the two questions above, whether or not they’ve been a regular GFM attender. I hope to see many of you there! Please contact Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger if you have any questions (kharkawa@indiana.edu).

Looking ahead:

Superbowl party! Our most hotly-anticipated GFM event is coming up on Sunday, February 5. Details forthcoming!

Any time you want:

New! GFM Facebook group! You can connect with other GFM folks on Facebook! Click here to go to our group page.

This Week In GFM: November 1-6

2011-10-30T17:59:00.001-07:00

Monday: Weekly Prayer. 9:00 a.m. in the Charter Room of the Memorial Union. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “Practice makes perfect! I hear GFM has committed to meeting together in prayer at 9:00 a.m. every Monday. You should check it out!"

Tuesday: Thinking about Faith Resumes! 7:30 p.m. at Tim O'Connor's home, 3119 S. Forrester.

Wednesday: Manuscript Bible Study, 7-9 p.m., Ballantine Hall 004.We'll continue our study of Acts. This study has no homework-- drop-ins are always welcome!

GFM "Retreat" This Weekend! On, November 4 & 5, we are excited to have Craig and Sharon Gartland in Bloomington to lead us in an all-GFM, come-as-you-can "retreat." Craig is the Midwest regional director for InterVarsity Graduate & Faculty Ministries (yep... that's us!), and Sharon is the national director of "The Well," GFM's publication for women in the academy. Our theme is “Flourishing in the University.”

The Schedule:

Friday night, we'll meet from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Tim and Gail O’Connor’s house. (3119 S Forrester St. Bloomington, IN 47401). Dinner will be provided. Contact Kerilyn if you need a ride, or can give someone else a ride.

Saturday, 9:00-11:30 a.m., we'll meet in the Bryan Room in the IMU, which is at the top of the Student Activities Tower. Take the elevator on the West side of the building all the way to the top floor, then take the stairs up one more flight, and then you’ll get to the Bryan Room.

Saturday, from 11:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., we’ll be in the State Room West (also in the IMU). Lunch is not included, so bring a brown bag or a few bucks to grab something in the IMU.

You are invited to come and go as needed- there's no obligation to attend every session. We'll spend some time thinking about personal flourishing—how to remain close to God and at peace in the midst of academia—but we’ll also spend some time discussing what it might mean to reach out to others in the university.

October 3-9, 2011!

2011-10-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday night, GFMers! Hope your weekend was as much fun as ours was, although unless your grandma also turned 90, or you also took a bunch of teenagers through a haunted corn maze, it probably wasn't. Sorry, chums, some of us are just born lucky. Here's what's on the docket for this week:

TOMORROW MORNING (Monday): Wake up and pray with us! We'll meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Charter Room at the Memorial Union. If you've never been, you're missing out, as we have some champion intercessors among us! Don't start your week without balm for your soul if you don't have to.

Tuesday: Thinking about Faith, 7:30 p.m. at at Tim O'Connor's home, 3119 S. Forrester. We will discuss Ch.3 of Mark Noll's new book, *Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind.* The 22-page chapter is entitled, Jesus Christ: Guidance for Serious Learning." Noll writes: "In this chapter the focus is on four general expectations that might inform intellectual life if the grand [Christological] laims of John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1 are taken seriously, and if the formulations in the major creeds could functionas guides to understanding the world. The four concern duality or doubleness, contingency, particularity, and self-denial." He suggests that each of these themes are prominent in the Christian revelation and that it will be natural for the Christian scholar to expect to see these features in the area of her study or, in the last case, to see its importance to serious scholarship (and the great difficulty of consistently practicing it).

If you haven't gotten the book yet, join us anyways, you'll be able to follow the thread of discussion. Hope to see you all there this week!
Wednesday: Manuscript Bible Study, 7-9 p.m., Ballantine Hall 004
We'll take some time to read this week's passage (no homework!) from the book of Acts, pray, and discuss. Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger and Dr. Tarez Graban lead. Manuscript Study aims to take in the Biblical text in context, including discussion of its literary style, audience, history, and other cool stuff like that. Come and join us!
Sunday: GFM Fall Women's Event: Sunday, October 9th from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Kerilyn's house, 3442 N. Stoneycrest Road. In the tradition of early American Methodism, the GFM Women will be celebrating a "Love Feast" or Agape Meal. A Love Feast is a Christian fellowship meal that is meant to remind us of the meals Jesus shared with his disciples and expresses the bonds of love enjoyed by the family of Christ. We will pray, read scripture, sing hymns, and share about what God is doing in our lives.

Our Love Feast will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share. If your last name is A-M, please bring a dessert. If N-Z, please bring a side dish. Main dishes and drinks will be provided. As always, if it comes down to the wire and you absolutely can't bring something, please come and be welcome at our table!

As part of our Love Feast, we will be praising God by giving back through donations to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Please bring one (or more) non-perishable food item(s). The Hoosier Hills Food Bank works with local agencies to distribute donated food to food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and low-income daycare centers.
And finally: Did you know you can also follow us on our blog? If you're reading this, probably so! We post the weekly email, and you can also view (or download!) our Google Calendar. Or, if you're feeling less productive, leave snarky remarks in the comments. It's a world of possibilities!

This Week in GFM: Praying! Hiking! Marshmallows!

2011-09-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you're sitting at home this Sunday evening, frantically doing all the studying/prepping you didn't get done earlier in the weekend, and wondering what's going on this week with the Grad & Faculty Ministry. Well, read on, friends, and wonder no more!

Tomorrow:
Weekly Prayer-- meeting this week in the Distinguished Alumni Room (a few doors down from the Charter Room) at 9:00 a.m. on Monday.

Saturday:
Is it here already? This Saturday, the 17th, join us for a hike at the beautiful McCormick’s Creek State Park, just 7 miles west of Bloomington. We'll start hiking at 4 and finish up grilling burgers & hot dogs (and treats!) at the Maple Grove shelter.

Directions: From Bloomington, take State Route 46 West through Ellettsville, about 7 miles to the park entrance on the right. There's a large sign.
Ride Sharing: Entrance to the park costs $5 per car for Indiana plates and $7 for out-of-state plates, so please email Laura Freeze <lfreeze@imail.iu.edu> to find a ride! Note to the strong-legged and sneaky: pedestrians & bikes pay $2 per person, as do the passengers of buses or vans. If you'd like to be smuggled in in a large picnic basket, or disguised as a shrubbery, please be advised that ours are all spoken for and you will need to provide your own.
Food sharing: If your last name begins with A-M, please bring a side dish to share. N-Z, please bring a dessert OR something to drink. But please, please, if it comes down to either coming empty handed or not coming at all, for heaven's sake, come! Come! We know how it is.

This week in GFM!

2011-09-04T18:03:00.001-07:00

A hearty welcome to all as we fall into routine this week!

This Week:
Monday is Labor Day, so weekly prayer will not meet. We'll resume September 12th at 9:00 in the Memorial Union, Charter Room.

Tuesday, September 7:
Thinking about Faith meets at 7:30 at Dr. Tim O'Connor's house. We'll be talking about chapter 1 of Mark Noll's new book, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind. The 22-page chapter is called "A Place to Stand...From Which to See." This chapter is attached to this email for those who haven't received the book yet. We meet at Tim's home, 3119 S. Forrester, at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, September 8:
Our first GFM Manuscript Study of the year will meet on Wednesday. We're studying the book of Acts. We meet in Ballantine Hall 004. Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger and Dr. Tarez Graban lead. Manuscript Study aims to take in the Biblical text in context, including discussion of its literary style, audience, history, and other cool stuff like that.

Looking ahead:
On Saturday, September 17, we're taking some time to enjoy God's good world by getting together for an early-fall hike at the beautiful McCormick’s Creek State Park, just 7 miles west of Bloomington. We'll start hiking at 4 and finish up grilling burgers & hot dogs (and treats!) at the Maple Grove shelter.

Directions: From Bloomington, take State Route 46 West through Ellettsville, about 7 miles to the park entrance.
Ride Sharing: Entrance to the park costs $5 per car for Indiana plates and $7 for out-of-state plates, so please email Laura Freeze <lfreeze@imail.iu.edu> to find a ride! Note to the strong-legged and sneaky: pedestrians & bikes pay $2 per person, as do the passengers of buses or vans.
Food sharing: If your last name begins with A-M, please bring a side dish to share. N-Z, please bring a dessert OR something to drink. But please, please, if it comes down to either coming empty handed or not coming at all, for heaven's sake, come! Come! We know how it is.

Coming up in IU-GFM: The Fall Semester!

2011-08-25T06:28:00.001-07:00

Hey, GFMers! It all begins this week as students stream in for the fall semester! We're getting it started this week, so jump in and join us!

This Thursday, August 25th, 2-4 p.m.,

To introduce ourselves to the student body at large, we have a booth at the Grad Student Information Fair in the Herman B. Wells Library main lobby. Stop by and say hello, and hey, bring a friend you think might like some support and encouragement in their studies at IU! We'll be letting people know about our activities and signing interested parties up for our mailing list!

This Sunday, August 28th, 7-9 p.m.

Come get reacquainted at our back-to-school welcome event! We'll meet in the Memorial Union Maple Room, drink some coffee, eat some cookies, and have some time to meet & greet/catch up/talk about our fall activities! Families are welcome!

This Monday, August 29th, 9-10 a.m.

Our weekly time of prayer has found its new home! Monday mornings from 9-10 am in the IU Memorial Union. We'll usually be meeting in the Charter Room, with one or two exceptions. We'll keep you notified in the weekly emails and on the blog calendar (see above).

Next Tuesday, September 6, 7:30 p.m.:

After a long late summer hiatus, Thinking About Faith will start up again on Tuesday, September 6, at 7:30 pm. This is a great chance for newcomers to join in. As always, feel free to invite someone whom you think might be interested. This study is led by Tim O'Connor at his home at 3119 S. Forrester 47401. Tim proposes that we kick things off by discussing Mark Noll's new book, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, available on Amazon for $16.50.

Next Wednesday, September 7, 7:00 p.m.

Manuscript Bible Study begins next week! Led by Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger and Dr. Tarez Graban, this bi-weekly Bible Study will begin by studying the book of Acts. We meet in Ballantine Hall 004. Dates for the fall semester are 9/7, 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, 11/16, 11/30 (all Wednesdays).

Mailing List:

Did you know you can invite someone to join our Google Group? Forward this link to them, and they can click "apply for membership."

This Week in IUGFM: July 11-17

2011-07-13T12:19:00.001-07:00

Our Habitat Build on Saturday was a great success! Many thanks to all who participated. Except from me. Because you all left and didn't tell Matt & I that we were free to leave the crawlspace. And when we got out, everyone was gone, and I had one of those "Did I travel in time?" moments. Next time, leave no man behind!

Thinking about Faith:Thinking about Faith will resume meeting today, Tuesday, July 12. The topic will be "Heaven and Hell," and we're reading portions of Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins. Here's Pastor Bell talking about the resurrection in a video that has shades of the psychedelic 60s:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjXYlwvS5LY&feature=related. Readings are attached to this email.

Weekly Prayer:
Wednesday, we meet in the Charter Room at the Memorial Union at 8:00 AM to pray for each other.

Fun Times!
This Thursday, we meet again at 7 p.m. at Trevor & Vanessa Babcock's to play some Wii and walk to the Chocolate Moose for ice cream! Trevor & Vanessa's apartment is at 444 E 3rd St, Apt 106 (47401), Burnham Rentals, on the SW corner of 3rd & Dunn. Street parking is available on Grant & on 2nd; email Sadie if you'd like to carpool. Bringing snacks is not required, only encouraged and met by all with extreme gratitude.

Housing Opportunity for Fall:
Female history professor seeks female graduate student to share quiet, 5-bedroom home in Sycamore Knolls. Located 1.5 blocks from Childs Elementary School, the house is a 7-minute drive, 10-minute bike ride, or 20-minute walk to campus. It is also steps from a campus bus stop on High Street. Tenant would have 2 bedrooms and a private bathroom, covered off-street parking, and full laundry facilities in addition to sharing all public areas of the 2200-sq foot house: living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, den, basement, fenced yard, and large deck. Note: tenant must love dogs as homeowner has an affectionate, 2.5-year old Lab. Asking $600 plus one-half of all utilities. Home has wireless broadband and U-Verse TV. Available for 1-year lease as of August 01. Interested parties should email Sadie for contact info.

This week in IUGFM: July 4-9

2011-07-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

We're back! We hope you all enjoyed Independence Day weekend as much as we did! Now, on to this week's events in IUGFM:

Weekly Prayer:
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
And you'll miss our weekly time of prayer entirely.
Proverbs 6:9-11, GFM Revised Standard Version
This week, we're back in the Charter Room at the Memorial Union, 8:00 AM sharp!

Discussion Group:
Our topical Bible study with rotating leadership will meet again on Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m. We'll meet at Trevor & Vanessa Babcock's apartment at 444 E 3rd St, Apt 106 (47401), Burnham Rentals, on the SW corner of 3rd & Dunn. Street parking is available on Grant & on 2nd; email Sadie if you'd like to carpool. Bringing snacks is not required, only encouraged and met by all with extreme gratitude.

Trevor will lead discussion of "Learning in War-Time," a 1939 sermon given by C.S. Lewis. Read it here.

Want to take a turn leading or hosting? Pick a reading and email Sadie if you'd like to step up.

THIS WEEKEND!!!! Habitat for Humanity Build!!!!
It's here! This Saturday, July 9th, we're serving alongside Habitat for Humanity. We need volunteers to work as well as people to bring food for lunch. Chad Burrus (chad.burrus@gmail.com) has gallantly volunteered to coordinate volunteers and food, so please contact him if you plan to attend/bring food. Habitat has difficulty finding enough volunteers in the summer months, when the weather is ripe for building, so if you can pitch in, now is the time!

Next week:
Thinking about Faith will resume meeting on Tuesday, July 12. The topic will be "Heaven and Hell."

Housing Opportunity for Fall:
Female history professor seeks female graduate student to share quiet, 5-bedroom home in Sycamore Knolls. Located 1.5 blocks from Childs Elementary School, the house is a 7-minute drive, 10-minute bike ride, or 20-minute walk to campus. It is also steps from a campus bus stop on High Street. Tenant would have 2 bedrooms and a private bathroom, covered off-street parking, and full laundry facilities in addition to sharing all public areas of the 2200-sq foot house: living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, den, basement, fenced yard, and large deck. Note: tenant must love dogs as homeowner has an affectionate, 2.5-year old Lab. Asking $650 plus one-half of all utilities. Home has wireless broadband and U-Verse TV. Available for 1-year lease as of August 01. Interested parties should email Sadie for contact info.

This Week in IUGFM: June 19-25

2011-06-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

What's going on this week?

Weekly Prayer:

We meet again to pray for each other this Wednesdays at 8:00 a.m. in the Poplar Room at the Memorial Union. Jacob wrestled with the Lord's angel to receive a blessing; we will do our best to bless you for wrestling with sleep so you can wake up in time for prayer.

Bi-weekly discussion group:
On Thursday, June 23, we meet at Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger's house for Bible Study. Bring a snack to share! Kerilyn will lead discussion. We’ll read this piece, by Nicholas Wolterstorff, former professor of philosophy at Calvin College and Yale University. The piece is entitled “Advice to Those Who Would Be Christian Scholars.” Wolterstorff is offering something of challenge to all of us who engage the world and our work in it thoughtfully and reflectively, so it should be engaging to those who are not training to be scholars as well.

We're still looking for leaders & hosts for July 7 & 21. Please email Sadie if you are interested.

Book Club meets this week on Wednesday! We'll get together from 7-9 pm at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse on east 3rd Street (near College Mall), to discuss Gilead.

Habitat for Humanity Build:
We plan to do a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday, July 9th. Details will follow!

Coming up in IUGFM: The Week of June 13-18

2011-06-13T18:45:00.001-07:00

What's going on this week? We're kicking it like the first-century Greek Christians-- debating the nature of atonement, meeting in the wee hours for intercessory prayer, great theater, and to top it all off, gyros!

Thinking about Faith meets tomorrow, Tuesday (June 14) at 7:30 pm.From Tim O'Connor:

We spent two sessions talking about the penal substitution and satisfaction accounts of the atonement. This Tuesday, I want us to think about the Eastern Orthodox understanding of the atonement.

This week's reading comes from the Orthodox Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, who is the foremost expositor of Orthodoxy to Western Christians:http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/history_timothy_ware_2.htm. Please look at the section of this excerpt that is entitled: ‘Partakers of the Divine Nature.’ You can also watch a video lecture by Ware at Phil's alma mater, Seattle Pacific U, entitled "Salvation in Christ—The Orthodox Approach": http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1088949815257678826# from 23:45 to 1:09, a forty-five minute discussion of different themes concerning the atonement. Or read a summary of a lecture by Ware that appears to have covered the same ground, though in a different order. It is here:http://avowofconversation.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/salvation-in-christ/#more-2220

Weekly Prayer:
We lie down and sleep; We wake again, because the LORD sustains us. Then we meet to pray for each other. At least, on Wednesdays we do, at 8:00 a.m. in the Poplar Room at the Memorial Union.

Fellowship:
On Thursday, June 16, we are going to see the Cardinal Stage production of My Fair Lady at 7:00 p.m. There MAY be tickets at the door, and everyone is welcome to purchase their own tickets, either at the Sunrise Box Office on Kirkwood, or from Cardinal’s website (cardinalstage.org). But! Kerilyn is going to purchase a block of tickets so that we can all sit together. So! Email Kerilyn (kharkawa@indiana.edu) by Tuesday evening (TOMORROW, June 15th) if you will attend, and pay her back on Thursday. Student tickets are $14; adult tickets are $21.50.

Book Club will meet from 7-9 pm at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse on east 3rd Street (near College Mall), on Wednesday, June 22, to discuss Gilead. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, we have a few extra copies floating around.

Habitat for Humanity Build (and date change):
We plan to do a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday, July 9th (a week earlier than we originally planned). Details will follow!

Coming up in IUGFM: Week of June 6-12

2011-06-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

This week's events in IUGFM:

Thinking about Faith will not meet this week, but will resume on June 14th.

Weekly Prayer:

This Wednesday, June 8, we meet in the Poplar Room (please note the change!) at the Memorial Union at 8:00 a.m. Christ arose on the 3rd day at dawn; you can sleep more than a full hour after sunrise and still make it to prayer on time!

Discussion Group:

Our topical Bible study with rotating leadership will meet again on Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m. We'll meet at Vanessa B's house at 444 E 3rd St, Apt 106 (47401), Burnham Rentals, on the SW corner of 3rd & Dunn. Vanessa says, "Parking is the tricky part... Street parking is the only option on a Thursday. There's usually space on Grant & possibly on 2nd." Bring your favorite snack to share!

Heidi Torres will lead discussion from Bernard of Clairvaux. Kerilyn will do an introduction on him and his work, then we will discuss the reading. You will want to not only read his writings, but the attending Bible selection, questions, exercises and reflection, as they will provide a framework for our discussion. Read it here!

Want to take a turn leading or hosting? Pick a reading and Email Sadie if you'd like to step up. June 23rd is still open!

Looking ahead:

Book Club will meet from 7-9 pm at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse on east 3rd Street (near College Mall), on Wednesday, June 22, to discuss the marvelous Gilead. Please note the change in location!

Service Opportunity: We plan to do a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday, July ~~16th~~ 9th. Mark your calendars and dig out some work gloves! Details will follow.

Coming up in IUGFM: The Week of May 30- June 4

2011-05-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

This week's events in IUGFM:

Weekly Prayer:

We meet for a time of prayer in the Charter Room at the Memorial Union this Wednesday, June 1, at 8:00 AM.

Fellowship:

This Thursday, we meet at Putter’s Park (4747 West State Road 46) for some miniature golf at 7 pm. Then we’ll head over to the Jiffy Treet (right next door) for ice cream. Putters Park and Jiffy Treet are on State Road 46, about a mile west of 37. Click here for directions!

Next Week:

Thinking about Faith meets on June 7.
Discussion Group meets on June 9 at Vanessa & Trevor Babcock's house (directions forthcoming). Heidi Torres will lead disussion.

Coming up: Book Club Meets!

This summer, Cindy Geiger and Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger are leading a book club, and we're reading Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson. Our first meeting has been set! We will meet from 7-9 pm in the Pour House Café (we’re reserving a room downstairs), on Wednesday June 22. About Gilead:

Gilead received much critical acclaim a few years ago when it came out, and here’s the briefest overview of the book’s premise: “The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.”

Housing Opportunity for Fall:
Female history professor seeks female graduate student to share quiet, 5-bedroom home in Sycamore Knolls. Located 1.5 blocks from Childs Elementary School, the house is a 7-minute drive, 10-minute bike ride, or 20-minute walk to campus. It is also steps from a campus bus stop on High Street. Tenant would have 2 bedrooms and a private bathroom, covered off-street parking, and full laundry facilities in addition to sharing all public areas of the 2200-sq foot house: living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, den, basement, fenced yard, and large deck. Note: tenant must love dogs as homeowner has an affectionate, 2.5-year old Lab. Asking $650 plus one-half of all utilities. Home has wireless broadband and U-Verse TV. Available for 1-year lease as of August 01. Interested parties should email Sadie for contact info.

Summer Events Overview

2011-05-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Blogger seems to have eaten last week's post, so in case you didn't see the email, here are the results of our summer planning meeting!

On Monday, May 9, we had an astonishing turnout & lots of great ideas for our GFM summer planning meeting! It turns out there was a lot of appetite for fellowship over the summer months, and we've got some great events coming down the pipeline, so stay tuned!

First, we decided to continue meeting for prayer over the summer. The plan is to meet at 8 a.m. (gulp!) each Wednesday in the Memorial Union (room to be announced).

Manuscript study will take a break for the summer. In its place, we will have a topical study with rotating leadership every other Thursday. Email Sadie if you want to stake your claim to teach or host, especially if you want Thursday, ~~May 26th~~, ~~June 9th~~, or June 23rd. Update: ~~Vanessa B. will host on the 26th, and~~ ~~Heidi Torres will host on the 9th. Directions forthcoming!~~ That was exactly backwards. We'll meet at Heidi's on the 26th, and Vanessa's on the 9th. Am I fired now?

On the "off" Thursdays, we'll meet for fellowship & good times, whether it's for a walk in the park, a potluck meal, or just hitting up the Chocolate Moose! We will kick off on Thursday, May 19th, at 7:00 p.m. at Josh Krieger & Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger's house (3442 N. Stoneycrest Road) for a game night. Bring your snack of choice and get your game on, and call Kerilyn (734/276-8000) or Sadie (812/272-5615) if you get lost!

We're also looking into ways to continue to serve our community over the summer. GFM peeps are investigating opportunities to assist Habitat for Humanity & the Shalom Center, among others. We will keep you posted!

Because we'll be coming up with social events/study topics/service opportunities on the fly, we ask that you email Sadie if you're going to be in town for the summer and want to know what's happening, as it's happening! Otherwise, we'll just continue sending you the weekly happenings and posting them to the blog.

This Week: May 16-21

2011-05-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Weekly Prayer kicks off this week on Wednesday, May 18th, at 8:00 AM (Lord, in your mercy) in the Charter Room at the Memorial Union.

Game Night:

This Thursday, May 19th, at 7:00 p.m., come to Josh Krieger & Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger's house (3442 N. Stoneycrest Road) for a game night. Bring your snack of choice, and maybe your favorite game, too! Call Kerilyn (734/276-8000) if you get lost!

Book Club:

Cindy Geiger and Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger are starting a book club! All GFM-ers who are around for the summer are invited to join us in reading Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson, together. Gilead received much critical acclaim a few years ago when it came out, and here’s the briefest overview of the book’s premise: “The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.” Cindy has one extra copy of the book, and both the Monroe County Public Library and the library at ECC have copies. Here’s a link to the book on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-Marilynne-Robinson/dp/B004MKLRVK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305312771&sr=1-1. We’ll meet some time mid-June to discuss; time and place TBA.

Next week:

Bible Study:

Our topical Bible study with rotating leadership will begin on Thursday, May 26th, at 7 p.m. Want to lead it? Email Sadie, preferably before next Monday, so we can tell people where they're going and who they're going to be learning from. If you'd like to wait a few weeks, June 9th & June 23rd are also wide-open. Don't want to lead it? How about hosting? Nothing like having a group of grad students & faculty descend on your house with snacks and Bibles! Don't want to lead or host? We don't blame you. Hey, it's summer. Kick back, relax, and just show up where we tell you to next Thursday. :)

Thinking about Faith

From Tim O'Connor: It is striking that the atonement -- Christ's life, death, and resurrection effected "for us men and our salvation" -- may be the central doctrine of Christianity, yet no particular 'theory' or detailed account of exactly what the atonement is or consisted in, what problem it is a solution to, and how it is manifested in the life of an individual has ever been given detailed creedal formulation embraced by all orthodox Christians. Compare this to the way the doctrines of Trinity and Incarnation were -- at times fiercely -- debated and ultimately pronounced upon at church councils in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Tentative schedule:

May 24: 'Penal Substitution' Theory(classic Reformed view). Readings here and here.

June 7: Thomas Aquinas's Satisfaction & Meriting Grace Theory (Catholic view). Two readings: This one and this one.

June 14: Interchange (Mystical Union) Theory (In the neighborhood of an important element of Eastern Orthodoxy). Read this and this.

July 5: Beauty Revisited: Beauty and Worship/Liturgy (readings to follow)

July 12: Atonement Revisited: How Wide is the Application of God's Mercy? (readings to follow)

Coming up in IU GFM: Week of May 9-14

2011-05-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 9: Summer Planning Meeting
Come meet up at the Pour House on Kirkwood at 7:30 p.m. to share your ideas for GFM over the next four months! Anyone who will be in Bloomington for the summer is welcome to join the discussion. Bloomington can be a little lonely in the summer, but also a lot of fun, so let's make time for fellowship!

Tuesday, May 10: Thinking about Faith Study

From Tim O'Connor: Thinking About Faith will not meet this week so that we can all focus on finals. Instead, we will have a meeting next Tuesday, May 10, for those interested in meeting over the summer, probably a bit more sporadically. Having finished A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism by Greg Ganssle, we will start fresh on a new topic, so it is a good time to jump (back) in if you haven't had the time during the regular term.

Within a day or so, Tim will send around an article-sized piece to read (he promises no more philosophy!). If there is something that you think would be good to kick things off, let him know. Otherwise, Tim will come up with something. Thinking about Faith is held at Tim's home, 3119 S Forrester Street.

April 10-17: Little 500

2011-04-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

The week of the Little 500 is upon us, among other deadlines and details! Here are a couple of upcoming events:

Weekly Prayer: Monday afternoon (2:30-3:30 pm) and Thursday morning (9-10 am) in the Charter Room in the IMU.

The IU GFM End-of-the-year celebration is quickly approaching! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 23rd from 5-7 pm at Eric and Helen Rasmusen’s home, 2810 Dale Court, Bloomington, Indiana. This will be a potluck with meat and table settings provided! If your last name begins with letters A-G, please bring a dessert to share, H-P a side dish, and Q-Z some kind of drink. Feel free to invite your friends n' family and RSVP to jessfox@indiana.edu.

Finally, Paula Puckett, our dear previous GFM staff member, and her family will be in Bloomington Easter weekend! If you would like to catch them during this visit, they will be attending the Thursday night Manuscript study on the 21st, morning prayer on the 22nd (Paula only) and the End-of-the-year BBQ on the 23rd (Blake and Paula). If you have not met her yet, be sure to do so!

2011-04-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

We have another full week of activities to consider joining!

Weekly Prayer: Monday afternoon (2:30-3:30 pm) and Thursday morning (9-10 am) in the Charter Room in the IMU.

Manuscript Bible Study: this Thursday evening (7-9 pm) in BH 004.

This weekend:

1. Habitat for Humanity: We have a great opportunity to stretch beyond comfort this month by serving our community with Habitat for Humanity this Saturday, April 9th, from 8 am-4 pm. We still need a few more folks so we can bring at least 15 folks to the build site. If you interested in serving and learning a bit about construction or know someone that might be, please get in touch with Malsi (mjzambrano87@gmail.com) as soon as possible!

2. The annual Homeward Bound 5K Walk for homelessness will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10th. You can join the IU GFM team by going to http://homewardboundindiana.org/bloomington and clicking on "register to walk." Then click "join an existing team." Although donations are not required to walk, you can still direct other people to your page to donate. Plus, if you donate $20, you will receive a spectacular t-shirt! This will be a wonderful opportunity to serve the community together and get some exercise! Please contact Laura at lfreeze@indiana.edu if you any questions.

April Events

2011-03-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Spring greetings! Another week--and month--is upon us! Please see below for opportunities to join us:

Weekly Prayer: Monday afternoon (2:30-3:30 pm) and Thursday morning (9-10 am) in the Charter Room in the IMU.

March 28-April 1: IU InterVarsity Undergrad Jesus and the End of...

Do you ever wonder if Jesus had anything to say about the important social issues of our day? The week of March 28th - April 1 the IU community is invited to explore what a book written over 2,000 years ago has to say about some of the most pressing issues of our time.

3/28: Jesus and the End of Homophobia (William Campbell)

3/29: Jesus and the End of the Immigration War (Pastor Paco Amador)

3/30: Jesus and the End of Religion (Rhona Jennings)

3/31: Jesus and the End of Environmental Degradation (Charles Robinson)

4/1: Jesus and the End of Racism (Soong Chan Rah)

Come join to learn what Jesus really thought about these crucial issues, from some of the greatest speakers in their fields! Here are the schedule of talks / call out that is on facebook with locations etc that GFM can attend and invite friends to. The speakers are highly esteemed. IV is still looking for any graduate/faculty who may be interested in helping to lead a gig in partnership with an undergraduate (all the scripture would be provided) the commitment if four weeks.

TIME:

8:00 P.M.- 9:30 P.M.

LOCATIONS:

Monday: Homophobia- Jordan Hall 124

Tuesday: Immigration Wars - Morrison Hall 007

Wednesday: Religion- Jordan Hall 124

Thursday: Environmental Degradation- Jordan Hall 124

Friday: Racism- Jordan Hall 124

*NOTICE THE LOCATION DIFFERENCE ON TUESDAY!*

Service weekend, April 9-10:
1. Habitat for Humanity: We have a great opportunity to stretch beyond comfort this month by serving our community with Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, April 9th, from 8 am-4 pm. We still need a few more folks so we can bring at least 15 folks to the build site. If you are interested in serving and learning a bit about construction or know someone that might be, please get in touch with Malsi (mjzambrano87@gmail.com) as soon as possible!

2. The annual Homeward Bound 5K Walk for homelessness will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10th. You can join the best team by going to http://homewardboundindiana.org/bloomington and clicking on "register to walk." Then click "join an existing team." Although donations are not required to walk, you can still direct other people to your page to donate. Plus, if you donate $20, you will receive a spectacular t-shirt! This will be a wonderful opportunity to serve the community together and get some exercise! Please contact Laura at lfreeze@indiana.edu if you any questions.

March 20-27

2011-03-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome back from Spring Break! Now begins the six-week race to the finish line!

Consider joining us for the following:

Weekly Prayer: Monday afternoon (2:30-3:30 pm) and Thursday morning (9-10 am) in the Charter Room in the IMU.

Manuscript Bible Study: this Thursday evening (7-9 pm) in BH 004.

Women in the Academy Heart to Heart gathering: Andrea will speak on what God has placed on her heart and what He’s been teaching her these past few years while she’s been in grad school about Sabbath, rest, work, friends, balance, etc. There will be time for those who are there to share what they are experiencing, and for us to pray together.

When: Sunday, March 27 from 6-8 pm

Place: TBA. If anyone wishes to volunteer their home, that’d be great!

Note: If roughly 4-6 folks could volunteer to bring light refreshments, that would be awesome.

March 28-April 1: IU InterVarsity Undergrad Jesus and the End of...see link for great lectures and follow-up leadership opportunities.

A look ahead: Service weekend, April 9-10:

1. Habitat for Humanity: We will be serving with Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, April 9th, from 8 am-4 pm. We need at least 15 folks signed up for this date, so if you interested in serving and learning a bit about construction, please mark your calendars and let Malsi (mjzambrano87@gmail.com) know as soon as possible!

2. In the past, people in GFM have been a part of the annual Homeward Bound 5K Walk for homelessness in Bloomington. The walk benefits 11 local agencies which promote awareness and provide services for homelessness issues in our community. Last year 800 walkers raised $55,000 for this awesome cause. This year it will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10th. It's pretty fun and low-key, plus there will be food! Hopefully we can round up a GFM team again for this year! You can join the best team by going to http://homewardboundindiana.org/bloomington and clicking on "register to walk." Then click "join an existing team." The team name is creatively called "IU GFM." Although donations are not required to walk, you can still direct other people to your page to donate. Plus, if you donate $20, you will receive a spectacular t-shirt! This will be a wonderful opportunity to serve the community together and get some exercise! Please contact me at lfreeze@indiana.edu if you any questions.

This week in IU GFM: March 6-13

2011-03-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Weekly Prayer: Monday afternoon (2:30-3:30 pm) and Thursday morning (9-10 am) in the Charter Room in the IMU.

Manuscript Bible Study: this Thursday evening (7-9 pm) in BH 002.

When: Sunday, March 27 from 6-8 pm
Place: TBA. If anyone wishes to volunteer their home, that’d be great!
Note: If roughly 4-6 folks could volunteer to bring light refreshments, that would be awesome.

March 28-April 1: IU InterVarsity Undergrad Jesus and the End of...see link for great lectures and follow-up leadership opportunities.

Some resources for the Season of Lent:

A poem: Catch your breath: Catch Me in My Scurrying
A devotional guide for Lent, offered by the InterVaristy publication The Well
Attend a local Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday service...and let me know the details!

March Events

2011-02-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

Prayer: Mondays from 2:30-3:30 pm and Thursdays from 9-10 am in the following rooms at the IMU:

Week of February 27: Charter Room
Week of March 6: Charter Room
Week of March 20: Hoosier Room
Week of March 27: Charter Room

Manuscript Bible study: Join us in finishing the gospel of John on Thursdays, March 10th and 24th, from 7-9 pm in Ballantine Hall 002.

Women in the Academy:

1. March 5, this Saturday: Tea and Encouragement...see link!

2. Heart to Heart gathering

When: Sunday, March 27 from 6-8 pm
Place: TBD
Note: If roughly 4-6 folks could volunteer to bring light refreshments, that would be awesome.

Andrea will speak on what God has placed on her heart and what He’s been teaching her these past few years while she’s been in grad school about Sabbath, rest, work, friends, balance, etc. There will be time for those who are there to share what they are experiencing, and for us to pray together.

March 28-April 1: IU InterVarsity Undergrad Jesus and the End of...see link for great lectures and follow-up leadership opportunities.

A look ahead:

Service weekend:

Hopefully we can round up a GFM team again for this year! You can join the best team by going to http://homewardboundindiana.org/bloomington and clicking on "register to walk." Then click "join an existing team." The team name is creatively called "IU GFM." Although donations are not required to walk, you can still direct other people to your page to donate. Plus, if you donate $20, you will receive a spectacular t-shirt!

This will be a wonderful opportunity to serve the community together and get some exercise! Please contact me at lfreeze@indiana.edu if you any questions.

This week in IU GFM: February 6-13

2011-02-06T11:11:00.001-08:00

Weekly prayer: Join us in the IMU Charter Room on Mondays from 2:30-3:30 pm or Thursdays from 9-10 am.
Manuscript Bible study: Come this Thursday in Ballantine Hall 002 from 7-9 pm for a continuation of John's gospel.

Net-working: We are all called to be fishers of men, right? In order to meet and encourage other like-hearted individuals at IU, we will be meeting up with the Christian Legal Society, the MBA Christian Fellowship, and the Lux et Veritas Society. This will be on Saturday, February 26 from 7-9 pm at Professor Tim O’Connor’s home (3119 S. Forrester Street, Bloomington, IN 47401). More details to follow.

Click here to learn more about partnering with the IU undergrad InterVarsity chapter in March.

A note of thanks from Nana:

I am writing to GFM through you, to express my profound gratitude for the wonderful love offering I received from the group to help me prepare for the birth of my baby boy.

It was a timely answer to prayer and I kept smiling the whole day!

I can only pray that as God remembered Cornelius's acts of as a sweet-smelling fragrance, and sent help his way, may he do the same and more for you in your time of need.

Thank you so much.

May God Bless you all!

Nana Aba Bentil-Mawusi

GFM partners with the IU undergraduate InterVarsity chapter!

2011-02-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

The undergrad InterVarsity group on campus is hosting a outreach event the week of March 28-April 1 called "Jesus and the end of..." They are bringing in 5 speakers on the following topics:

Mon: Jesus and the End of Homophobia: William Campbell

Tues: Jesus and the End of the Immigration War: Paco Amador

Wed: Jesus and the End of Religion: ?????

Thurs: Jesus and the End of Environmental Degradation: Charles Robinson

Fri: Jesus and the End of Racism: Dr. Soong Chan Rah

While they are still working out the details of this event, there are several ways for GFM to get involved:

1) GIGs: After these evening discussions there will be response cards. One of the options will be to get into "God Investigative Group" which will be a 4 week bible study on one of these topics. Mark Abdon, the undergrad IV Staff leader, is looking for people interested in leading such groups. If you might be interested, please email him atabdon.mark@gmail.com.

2) Prayer for this event to be covered by the Holy Spirit. They are still looking for a speaker on the Religion topic. More prayer specific requests to come.

3) Ideas for partnerships with local organizations. IV is looking to partner with local christian and secular organizations that might also be interested in these topics.

4) Help with advertisement.

If you'd like to get involved or have questions, please contact Kerilyn (kharkawa@indiana.edu) or Alessandra (aksimmon@indiana.edu).

Join GFM in February!

2011-02-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Due to popular demand, we will have TWO opportunities for weekly prayer: Mondays from 2:30-3:30 pm in the Charter Room of the IMU and Thursdays from 9-10 am in the Charter Room.

Manuscript Bible Study will continue on Thursdays, February the 10th and 24th, in Ballantine Hall 002 from 7-9 pm. Consider joining us for your first time in the new year!

THIS SUNDAY is the Superbowl party, beginning around 5:30 pm, at Professor Amrita and Spencer Myers' home: 2125 E. Meadowbluff Court, Bloomington, IN 47401. Her phone number is 812-331-0559. Sub sandwiches will be ordered, so please bring a side dish if your last name begins with letters A-M and desserts with last names from N-Z. Friends and family are welcome! Please RSVP to Amrita: apmyers@indiana.edu.

Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities to join forces with other Christian graduate/professional groups at IU, to walk in solidarity with those experiencing homelessness, to collaborate with the IU undergraduate InterVarsity chapter, to experience a more contemplative Lenten season and to come alongside those building a habitat for humanity. There is much in store! Please know that your questions and comments are always welcome!

January 2011 Events

2011-01-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Our prayer mornings have moved to a different day this semester. Prayer will be every WEDNESDAY from 9-10 am in the Indiana Memorial Union. Here are the rooms for the month of January: January 13-Hoosier Room, January 20-Charter Room, January 27-Charter Room.

Manuscript Bible Study starts up again this week Thursday, January 13th, and again on the 27th, in Ballantine Hall 004 from 7-9 pm. Consider joining us for your first time in the new year!

The first all-chapter social event will be a Superbowl party on Sunday, February 6th, at Professor Amrita and Spencer Myers' home. Details to come!

Women in the Academy January Event: a Main dish recipe exchange & potluck is Sunday evening, January 23, beginning at 6 pm. Click here for more information!

Thinking about Faith update.

Thinking About Faith 2011 Update

2011-01-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Thinking About Faith will start up a week from Tuesday (on Jan.11) at 7:30 pm at my home -- 3119 S Forrester St. In the poll I took for a book to read together, the most popular choice was:

Greg Ganssle, A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism

http://www.amazon.com/Reasonable-God-Engaging-Face-Atheism/dp/1602582416/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291555852&sr=1-1

So let's start with that. It's currently $16.47 on Amazon, with free shipping on orders over $25. For our first meeting, we can read the short intro and Ch.1, "Science, Religion, and the Claim That God Exists." I'll send around a pdf of that chapter within a couple days, since you might not be able to get hold of it before our meeting.

We can follow our reading of Ganssle with one of the next two most popular choices (unordered):

James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World

and

N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

Schedule:

Jan.11 Ch.1

Jan.25 Ch.2

Feb. 8 Ch.3

Feb.22 Ch.4

Mar. 8 Ch.5

Mar.22 Ch.6

Apr. 5 Ch.7

Warm Food for Cold Weather: January 2011 Event for Women in the Academy

2010-12-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

See this link for the first 2011 Women in the Academy event!

Mark your 2011 Calendars!

2010-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Weekly morning prayer will continue from the 9-10am hour in the IMU. Please email Scott (slamanna@indiana.edu) if you would prefer a day(s) of the week over another.

Manuscript Bible Study will start up the FIRST week we return, Thursday, January 13th, and will continue on a bimonthly schedule throughout the semester: 1/27, 2/10, 2/24, 3/10, 3/24, 4/7, 4/21. We will meet in Ballantine 002 from 7-9 pm. Please consider joining us for the first, or fourteenth, time!

The first all-chapter social event will be a Superbowl party on Sunday, February 6th, at Professor Amrita and Spencer Myers' home. Details to come!

Christmas Party Album!

2010-12-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

A merry time was had by all at the 2010 Christmas party hosted by the Meyers'! Check out the fun that was had here!

Cookie Exhange Recipes

2010-12-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

Click here for inspiring baking recipes from the Women in the Academy's cookie exchange! Plus, if you would like to share, just email me the recipe (jessfox@indiana.edu)!

December 5-12

2010-12-07T16:25:00.001-08:00

Monday morning prayer this week:

9-10 am Charter Room
2-3 pm Poplar Room

December Women in the Academy Event

Anyone ready for some Christmas cookies?

Come to a cookie exchange!

When: Friday, December 10th from 7:00-9:30pm

Where: Jill Lyles' house

2419 Cedarwood Drive, Bloomington 47401
(Call Jill if you need directions or get lost: 812-330-9119)

Please bring two dozen cookies and the recipe to share; perhaps a cookie that is traditional in your family at Christmas. We will exchange cookies and recipes; once everyone has RSVP'd, we will let you know how many copies of the recipe to bring. There will be time for sharing why the cookie is special or meaningful to you, or if you don't have a special family cookie, plan to share your favorite Christmas family tradition. (NOTE: If you are swamped and don't have time to make cookies, please come anyway, and if you RSVP you'll still get copies of the recipes!)

RSVP to Andrea by Wednesday evening, December 8th(aboudra@indiana.edu)

IU GFM Leadership Gathering: Next Monday evening, some folks are gathering to pray and plan toward the spring semester. In addition to seeking the Lord's direction for the IU GFM group, we would like to hear from you! If you have any comments, suggestions, needs or ideas to offer, please email either Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (kerilyn.harkaway@gmail.com) or me (jessfox@indiana.edu) by next Sunday, December 12th. We appreciate any and all feedback!

Thinking About Faith 2011: discussion group details. Click here!
IUGFM Christmas party highlights: The most desired white elephant gifts included the following: a tin of LIndt chocolates, a lunchbox filled with goods (such as a holiday music cd, two classic tomes, a candy cane and two Clif bars), Bath and Body Works shimmer body lotion and creamy bath wash and a beautiful candle with a stand. Some of the less-desirable gifts included Texan ice pops, a frisbee coupled with 2001 world almanac (a gift from 2009 GFM Christmas gathering!) and the "Triple Dog Dare" It's a Wonderful LifeChristmas figurine. Thanks for joining us folks! Photos from this evening will be on the blog soon enough.

Thinking about Faith: 2011 thoughts

2010-12-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Tim O'Conner is a professor of Philosophy at Indiana University and heads up this discussion group that some of you may find interesting! His email address is: toconnor@indiana.edu.

Folks,

Thinking About Faith will start up again on January 11 or 12. As a reminder to those who haven't attended: it is a bi-weekly reading and discussion group open to any and all. While in practice it has been populated by (mostly evangelical) Christians, people outside the Christian faith who enjoy discussion on these topics are welcome to join us. We started meeting in January 2010. I've listed at the very bottom of this message what we've read to date. Among attendees have been IU students (undergrad and grad) and faculty along with assorted others. We're casual and no respecter of 'rank'. (In other words, those of us over 35 refuse to be treated as second-class citizens by you young will-o-the-wisps around whom everything revolves in advertising and the media!) Please feel free to drop in or out as your schedule and interest in topics indicate. And, yes, you are certainly invited to bring a friend, including the occasional out-of-town visitor.

We will continue to meet every other TUESDAY at 7:30 pm -- unless I hear from several interested parties that Wednesdays would work better next term, in which case I'll poll everybody to see if that would work best overall.

This fall we looked at the writing of Flannery O'Connor. It's time to shift gears. I went a little crazy and have listed below 13 possible books to read, all by Christian scholars in diverse fields, grouped into 3 broad categories. It would take too much time for me to add comments under each, but suffice it to say that all the books interest me. I've read some of them, and I am familiar with and respect all the authors except Davison, whom I haven't read at all. (His recent book below has created a bit of buzz.) Some books are lighter reads than others. Bauckham's is the heaviest and most scholarly. (He's a great NT scholar, and his book is worth reading if you're up for it, even if we don't read it together.)

So it mostly comes down to what topic grabs us the most. Click the amazon links for brief descriptions and customer feedback.

Then please take the time to do the following:

Rank order your interest in the three categories and then the books themselves.

Finally, indicate your likelihood to join us, at least some of the time, if we meet on Tuesdays or (separately) on Wednesdays. Use a scale of 0 (no way, no how) to 5 (I'll be there unless I am hit by a truck or raptured).

An overall 'ballot', then, might look like this:

CATEGORY RANK: II, I, III

BOOK RANK: A, C, E, G, I, K, M, B, D, F, H, J, L,

TUES ATTENDANCE: 4

WED ATTENDANCE: 0

Thanks!

Tim O'Connor

I. THE CHURCH AND THEOLOGY: PAST AND PRESENT

A. Mark Knoll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

http://www.amazon.com/Scandal-Evangelical-Mind-Mark-Noll/dp/0802841805

B. Mark Knoll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys (A History of Evangelicalism)

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Evangelicalism-Edwards-Whitefield-Wesleys/dp/0830838910/ref=pd_sim_b_1

C. Mark Knoll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity

http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Points-Decisive-Moments-Christianity/dp/080106211X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291555514&sr=1-3

D. James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World

http://www.amazon.com/Change-World-Tragedy-Possibility-Christianity/dp/0199730806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291554345&sr=1-1

(Hunter is a sociologist)

E. N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Hope-Rethinking-Resurrection-Mission/dp/0061551821/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

II. FAITH, REASON, HISTORY, AND/OR SCIENCE

F. Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/1594483493/ref=pd_sim_b_2

G. William Hasker, The Triumph of God Over Evil

http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-God-over-Evil-Initiatives/dp/0830828044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291557689&sr=1-1

H. Greg Ganssle, A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism

http://www.amazon.com/Reasonable-God-Engaging-Face-Atheism/dp/1602582416/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291555852&sr=1-1

I. Francis Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416542744/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

(also deals with the third topic below.)

J. Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Eyewitnesses-Gospels-Eyewitness-Testimony/dp/0802863906/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Note: 538 pages

III. GENESIS AND EVOLUTION

K. Denis Alexander, Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose?

http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Evolution-Do-Have-Choose/dp/0825462924/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291556469&sr=1-1-fkmr2

L. Denis Lamoureux, I Love Jesus and I Accept Evolution

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Jesus-Accept-Evolution/dp/1556358865/ref=pd_cp_b_1

M. Darrel Falk, Coming to Peace with Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology

http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Peace-Science-Bridging-Between/dp/0830827420/ref=pd_sim_b_4

PAST READINGS:

Daniel Taylor, The Myth of Certainty

short articles by me on Augustine on faith and reason and on religious pluralism

Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet

William Webb, Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals

Adam, Fowl, Vanhoozer, & Watson, Reading Scripture with the Church

D.H. Williams, Evangelicals and Tradition

Flannery O'Connor, Spiritual Writings (+ some short stories)

December Events

2010-11-28T21:04:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to Bloomington if you were away for the Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless of where you were, I hope you are returning to the academy with just a little more energy, sleep and turkey! The December sprint to the finish line is upon us. Be sure to check out these events and consider joining us.

Monday morning prayer this week:

9-10 am Charter Room
2-3 pm Poplar Room

Last Manuscript Study of 2010: this Thursday, December 2, from 7-9 pm in Ballantine 002.

IUGFM Christmas party: this Sunday, December 05, from 6-9 pm at Professor Amrita Myers' home:

2125 E. Meadowbluff Court, Bloomington, IN 47401

This event will be a POTLUCK! Faculty and post-docs, please bring a main dish item plus a beverage. Graduate students, please bring desserts or sides (meaning salads/veggies of some kind). Paper products/utensils will be arranged.
The annual WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE will also take place! If you would like to participate, please bring 1 wrapped, new (or unused) gender-neutral gift, of no more than $10 in value. Humorous gifts always a plus!
Please RSVP to Amrita via email: apmyers@indiana.edu. Phone #: 812-331-0559

The Women in the Academy December gathering will be a Christmas Cookie Exchange on Friday, December 10, from 7-9 pm. More details to follow!

Thanksgiving Week

2010-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Monday Prayer is from 9-10 am in the Charter Room at the IMU and 2-3 pm in the Poplar Room at the IMU.
The IU GFM Christmas Party will take place on Sunday, December 5th, from 6-9 pm. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

November 14-21 Events

2010-11-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

Prayer this Monday: 9-10 am in the Chater Room in the IMU and 2-3 pm in the Poplar Room in the IMU.

Manuscript Bible study this Thursday from 7-9 pm in Ballantine Hall 004.

Check out blog for special posting and resources on sustainability themester events of last week.

Thinking About Faith is a group hosted by philosophy professor Tim O'Conner. They will meet this Tuesday evening, 7:30-9:00 p.m. This week, they will read Ch.5 ( "Province of Joy") from the volume of excerpts from Flannery O'Connor. (See attachment). The readings are largely independent of each other, so feel free to pop in even if you haven't been in a while. Please contact Tim for more information: toconnor@indiana.edu.

Sustainability. Sugar. Service.

2010-11-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

The IU GFM group engaged with Indiana University's Themester on Sustainability this week with two great events. Thursday night, a few GFM folks put their baking skills to the test at the Shalom Community Center. In under two hours, we baked pumpkin bars, peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and chocolate chip cookies for those whom the Shalom Community Center serves. Great tasty fun!

On Friday, we attended a lecture through Indiana University's Sustainability Themester program titled "Unveiling Inequality: A World-Historical Perspective" by Timothy Moran. Following the lecture, we held a brown bag discussion to discuss the relationship between Christ-driven sustainability and service.

Below is a list of local agencies in need of volunteers in the Bloomington area. This is a great opportunity to sustain ourselves as well as our community.

The Shalom Community Center

www.shalomcommunitycenter.org

Shalom is dedicated to “reliving the plight of those experiencing homelessness and poverty in South Central Indiana” by providing meals (lunch and dinner), laundry and shower facilities, a mailing address and short term storage, as well as legal and aid and support for social services by way of their social workers. They are also facilitating a holiday gift program, where an organization or individual is matched with a family in need to buy holiday gifts. Volunteers are needed to work in the kitchen and man the hospitality desk.

Volunteer Coordinator: Pam Kinnamen, pam@shalomcommunitycenter.org

Kitchen assistants, hospitality desk workers needed.

Bloomington Interfaith Winter Shelter

http://interfaithwintershelter.org/

“The mission of the Interfaith Winter Shelter (IWS) is to provide a winter shelter for homeless individuals in Monroe County from November through March, from 9 pm to 7 am seven days a week. Our purpose is to offer a warm and safe place to sleep to homeless men and women who are in danger of freezing during the coldest months of the year.” The shelter is housed in four local churches, although many more congregations support the shelter with donations and volunteers. Volunteers are needed to set up, clean up, and staff the shelter each night.

interfaithwintershelter@gmail.com

Community Kitchen of Monroe County

http://www.monroecommunitykitchen.com/

“At Community Kitchen our mission is to work, alone and in collaboration with others, to eliminate hunger in Monroe County and surrounding areas through direct service, education and advocacy.” The Kitchen provides dinner from two locations Monday-Saturday, sack lunches and weekend provisions to at-risk children, and a summer-only breakfast program for children. Volunteers are needed for kitchen prep and meal service.

Email, info@monroecommunitykitchen.com, or call 812. 332-0999.

Middle Way House

http://www.middlewayhouse.org/

Middle Way House’s mission is “to end violence, both structural and interpersonal, in the lives of women and children.” They offer crisis intervention for cases of rape and domestic violence and provide housing, legal/social services, and childcare for women and children. The Middle Way House also runs two for-profit businesses, Food Works (catering) and Confidential Document Destruction, as a means to providing job training and employment for women. They also are accepting holiday gift donations for children and moms and are providing a family sponsorship program.

To volunteer, call Debra at 812. 337.4510.

Backstreet Missions, Inc.

http://www.backstreet.org/index.htm

Backstreet Missions is “dedicated to serving the homeless and those with spiritual and physical needs, reaching out to people where they are, extending Christ’s love in practical ways.” Backstreet runs a men’s and women’s shelter, provides meals and select financial assistance, runs a thrift store and food pantry, and helps with job training and employment location. Volunteers are currently needed in the soup kitchen. Donations to the thrift store and food pantry are also always appreciated.

To volunteer, call Linda Kelley at 812.333.6360 or email linda@backstreet.org.

Habitat for Humanity

http://www.monroecountyhabitat.org/

“Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County promotes home ownership by building houses in partnership with families in need of adequate housing. Our mission is to build simple, decent homes for people in need, using the economics of Jesus: no interest, no profit.” Like all Habitat chapters, large groups of volunteers are welcome, but they also have individual volunteer opportunities. The Monroe County chapter also runs ReStore, which collects building materials, furniture, appliances, and other home improvement items and sells them to the public at deeply discounted prices. To see volunteer opportunities or to volunteer, click on the “Get Involved” tab on their website.

Family Game Night Memories

2010-11-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

On the evening of October 23, 2010 GFMers gathered for friendly fellowship, competition, and... partying!

(click on the image to enlarge)

November 7-13

2010-11-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

Monday Prayer: come and advocate for IU and Bloomington communities. One group meets from 9-10 am in the Charter Room of the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU), and another group meets from 2-3 pm in the Poplar Room of the IMU.
This week GFM focuses upon topics within the Sustainability Themester:
On Thursday, November 11, from 6-8 pm, join us at the Shalom Center's (620 S. Walnut, Bloomington, IN, 47402) Bake Night as we serve the homeless in the Bloomington community by baking treats for them. No baking proficiency needed.
On Friday, November 12, we will attend Dr. Timothy Moran's (sociology, SUNY-Stony Brook) lecture entitled "Unveiling Inequality" from 9:30-10:45 am in the Student Building room 150. Shortly after the lecture, we will hold a brown bag discussion in the basement of The Pourhouse (314 E Kirkwood Ave) to discuss the relationship between Christ-driven sustainability and service.

New version of The Well online for Women in the Academy.

November Events!

2010-11-01T21:07:00.001-07:00

Monday Prayer is a weekly opportunity to gather together in the heart of Indiana University's campus. Anyone is welcome to join us in prayer! From now until the end of the semester, the 9-10 am group will meet in the Charter Room of the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU) and the 2-3 pm group in the Poplar Room of the IMU.
Manuscript Bible Study will be held on November 4 and 18 from 7-9 pm in Ballentine Hall 004. Each study stands alone, so new folks are always welcome.
Men's (video) game night is next Saturday, November 6th at 6pm at Jason Tiearney's home. Please bring extra Wii controllers since Jason only has two. Any Wii games, board games and snacks are welcome!

714 Sherwood Hills Dr.,
Bloomington, IN 47401,

Ph. # 217-871-2909

Extra Directions: Our place is in a condo complex at the top of the hill on Henderson south of Winslow. If you're coming from the North turn in at the first entrance on the left after the PakMail building and our condo is in the third parking lot to the right. Contact Jason Tiearney with additional questions (jmtiearney@gmail.com).
Sustainability Themester events: "Is My Life Sustainable?"
As a part of IU's Themester on Sustainability, GFM is hosting a related service event and brown bag discussion.

o On Thursday, November 11, from 6-8 pm, join us at the Shalom Center's (219 E 4th Street) Bake Night as we serve the homeless in the Bloomington community by baking treats for them.

o On Friday, November 12, we will attend Dr. Timothy Moran's (sociology, SUNY-Stony Brook) lecture entitled "Unveiling Inequality" from 9:30-10:45 am in the Student Building room 150. Shortly after the lecture, we will hold a brown bag discussion in the basement of The Pourhouse (314 E Kirkwood Ave) to discuss the relationship between Christ-driven sustainability and service. Looking forward to seeing you there!

October 24-31:

2010-10-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Monday Prayer:

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Charter Room, IMU

Sustainability Themester events: "Is My Life Sustainable?"

As a part of IU's Themester on Sustainability, GFM is hosting a related service event and brown bag discussion. On Thursday, November 11, from 5-7pm, join us at the Shalom Center's Bake Night as we serve the homeless in the Bloomington community by baking treats for them. On Friday, November 12, we will attend Dr. Timothy Moran's (sociology, SUNY-Stony Brook) lecture entitled "Unveiling Inequality" from 9:30-10:45 am in the Student Building room 150. Shortly after the lecture, we will hold a brown bag discussion in the basement of The Pourhouse (314 E Kirkwood Ave) to discuss the relationship between Christ-driven sustainability and service. Looking forward to seeing you there!

There is a Men's (video) game night at Jason Tiearney's home on November 6that 6pm. Please bring extra Wii controllers since Jason only has two. Any Wii games, board games and snacks are welcome!

714 Sherwood Hills Dr.

Bloomington, IN 47401

Ph. # 217-871-2909

Extra Directions: Our place is in a condo complex at the top of the hill on Henderson south of Winslow. If you're coming from the North turn in at the first entrance on the left after the PakMail building and our condo is in the third parking lot to the right. Contact Jason Tiearney with additional questions (jmtiearney@gmail.com).

The IU GFM Christmas party will take place on Sunday, December 5th, at Amrita and Spencer’s. Time TBA.

Francois Amah, a new incoming graduate student this January, is looking for housing opportunities in Bloomington. He’s interested in living with other Christians, so if you know of any openings, please email him directly (famedard@hotmail.com).

This Week in IU GFM: October 18-23

2010-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Monday Prayer:

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Charter Room IMU

We continue with the Manuscript Bible Study this week Thursday from 7-9 pm in Ballentine 004.

The Family Game Night is this Saturday, October 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm. The Rasmusen family will be hosting the event and providing some refreshments and games such as cards, Pit, Yut (A Korean game) chess, Go, Wii-Sports. Please bring along your favorite game(s) and a treat or drink to share. Children are very welcome! The Rasmusens are located at 2810 S. Dale Ct. (south of College mall).

Hope to see you there!

This Week in IU GFM: October 10-17

2010-10-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

Monday Prayer:

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Poplar Room, IMU

Women in the Academy are making an afternoon trip to Brown County State Park followed by some strolling around Nashville, IN. This Saturday, October 16 (from 3-7 PM), join us for fun fall colors, quaint Nashville shops, and our hunt for the best cup of coffee in Nashville. We'll meet at Malsi Zambrano and Jess Fox's apartment at 3:00 so we can carpool and arrive at the park around 3:30. If you have questions or need a ride to Malsi and Jess', please contact Jess Fox (jessfox@indiana.edu). Hope to see you there!

The Family Game Night on Saturday, October 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Stay tuned for more details!

Thinking About Faith group meets this week Tuesday, 7:30 pm, at Tim O'Conner's house (3119 S Forrester St). Newcomers or newly-returners are very much welcome to join in. They will discuss Flannery O'Connor's short story, "Revelation," which is attached here.

Finally, please keep your calendars clear for a GFM Themester Event called "Is My Life Sustainable?" We will participate in a service project at the Shalom Center on November 11th, and attend a lecture by Dr. Timothy Moran on November 12th followed by our discussion (brown bag format). Details forthcoming.

Other Opportunities and Announcements

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Note: We have been asked to pass on information about other pursuits of Christ-followers in the Bloomington area. These are not official GFM events, nor are they sponsored to GFM in any way; nevertheless, let us join together in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Conversation Friendship Partner with an International Student:

Anyone interested in sharing God’s love with an IU international student?

Strong outreach needs for international students in Bloomington.
There are 6,500 international students at IU in 2010.
Most importantly, we received the Great Commission from Jesus: “Go and make all disciples of all nations” (Matthew chapter 28:19)
How exactly does the one-on-one conversation program work?
Once you volunteer, you will be matched with an int’l student of the same gender
Meet once a week with the int’l student to develop a meaningful friendship
Feel free to talk about what Jesus means for you with the int’l student

Currently, there are more than 30 Chinese students who requested to have conversation partners. Contact Yoon Kang at yoon.kang@alumni.iu.edu in order to share the love and truth that Christ has demonstrated to you with an international student!
Callout for
Community
:

Several christian young professionals and graduate students in the Bloomington area are interested in creating social opportunities similar to those that young professionals in larger cities such as Indianapolis, Chicago and Palo Alto, CA. To accomplish this goal we are planning on having a weekly get together at local eateries and other establishments close to downtown Bloomington. Stay up to date with the weeks event follow us at:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=125292700828695

Thinking About Faith discussion group

Folks,

A dozen of us had an excellent discussion on Tuesday of Flannery O'Connor's short story, "Parker's Back." Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 12, 7:30 pm -- not this upcoming Tuesday, but the next.
We are planning to discuss another short story by her, "Revelation," which was written just a few months before she died of complications from lupus at age 39. The story constitutes Ch.3 of the volume we have been reading, Flannery O'Connor: Spiritual Writings. I also attach it here.
Best,
Tim

Spend October with IU GFM!

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Monday Prayer is a weekly opportunity to gather together in prayer for one another, our campus ministry, Indiana University, and God's work in the world. Below is the schedule for the month:

October 4:

9-10 am, Charter Room, Indiana Memorial Union (IMU)

2-3 pm, Poplar Room, IMU

October 11

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Poplar Room, IMU

October 18

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Charter Room IMU

October 25

9-10 am, Charter Room, IMU

2-3 pm, Charter Room, IMU

Manuscript Bible Study will be held on October 7 and 21 from 7-9 pm in Ballentine Hall 004. Each study stands alone, so new folks are always welcome.

On Saturday, October 16 (3-7 PM), the Women in the Academy are making an afternoon trip to Brown County State Park followed by some strolling around Nashville, IN. Come join us for fun fall colors, quaint Nashville shops, and our hunt for the best cup of coffee in Nashville. We'll meet at Malsi Zambrano and Jess Fox's apartment (610 N. Woodbridge Dr.) at 3:00 so we can carpool and arrive at the park around 3:30. If you have questions or need a ride to Malsi and Jess', please contact Andrea Boudra at aboudra@indiana.edu. See you there!

Mark your calendars for a Family Game Night on Saturday, October 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Stay tuned for more details!

September 26-October 2 events

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Monday Prayer is a weekly opportunity to gather in prayer for one another, our campus ministry, Indiana University, and God's work in the world. If you are an earlier riser, join us from 9-10 am in the Hoosier Room in the IMU; a few folks meet from 2-3 pm in Poplar Room in the IMU too.
Mark your calendars for a Family Game Night such as cards, Pit, Yut (a Korean game), maybe badminton, chess, Go, Wii-Sports on Saturday, October 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm. More details to follow.

September 19-25 Events

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Monday Prayer: 9-10 am in the Charter Room, 2-3 pm in the Charter Room (IMU)
Manuscript Bible Study: Thursday, 7-9 pm, Ballantine 004
Tailgate Party: Saturday, 4:30-6:30 pm, Markus and Stephanie's Home

1st gathering of the Women in the Academy!

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First Women in the Academy event this weekend!

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Join us this Sunday evening for the first Women in the Academy event of the semester. We are meeting at Malsi and Jess' (second-year MA students) apartment east of campus. Come and get to know other IU graduate students and faculty, as well as other women (wives, colleagues) associated with IU. Finger food will be provided. Friends are welcome! If you need a ride, please contact Jill at 360-1815.

Date/Time: 5 – 7 PM, Sunday, September 19

Location: Please email Jess (jessfox@indiana.edu) for directions.

Sunday in Bloomington...

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...Where in the world should I attend church?

Great question. Bloomington has many opportunities to get connected to the living body of Christ. Here are a few suggestions to get started:

Do a bit of research on the website provided by the Indiana Daily Student Newspaper.
Talk to folks involved in GFM. You will find that they attend many different places of worship in and around Bloomington. Some churches offer evening services geared toward the student population or have specific graduate student small groups.
Listen for church bells and follow...

IU GFM September Calendar

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The new school year has just begun, and your calendars may be filling up quickly. September is also a full month for our IU GFM group; please keep these events in mind and come when you can!

This Friday, September 3, from 7-9 pm, downstairs in the Pour House Café (314 East Kirkwood Ave), we will host a Welcome to Bloomington event. Returning graduate students and faculty will share some of their favorite activities in and around Bloomington. This will also be a great opportunity to meet some of the members of our community. Stop by for coffee, snacks, and some new friends.

Monday Morning Prayer (from 9-10 am) is a weekly opportunity to gather together in prayer for one another, our campus ministry, Indiana University, and God's work in the world. We meet in one of the rooms in the Indiana Memorial Union:

September 6: Charter Room, IMU
September 13: Hoosier Room, IMU
September 20: Charter Room, IMU
September 27: Hoosier Room, IMU

Manuscript Bible Study starts up next week Thursday, September 9 from 7-9 pm in Ballentine Hall 004. This group meets every other week.

On Sunday, Sept 19 (5-7 PM, location TBA) we will kick off our Women in the Academy gatherings. This is a periodic gathering of Christian Graduate and Faculty Women for support, encouragement and fun. Stay tuned for more details, ladies!

The first official social event of the semester will be a Tailgate Party on Saturday, September 25th from 4:30-6:30 pm. This is a great place to meet other grad students and faculty, play some cornhole, and cheer on our IU football team! Hosted by Professor Markus Dickinson (of the Linguistics department) and his wife Stephanie (Statistician). Address: 2301 N. Dunn (just north of the stadium). Bring a dish to share. More details to come.

Other Announcements:
A new graduate students, Huy Nguyen (hqnguyen@umail.iu.edu), would like to meet with another graduate student from IUGFM in order to be an English conversation partner and understand more about the IUGFM ministry. If you are interested, please email him directly.