Pres House: My Home away from Home

Though I dearly miss Sunday mornings at First Congregational Church of Ripon, I excitedly report that I have become part of a second church community: Pres House, a student-focused Presbyterian Church located at the heart of UW-Madison's campus. Admittedly, I was initially a little skeptical to dive into a new church environment; First Congo and its members have been my home and family my entire life. However, after a few weeks of attending worship services and church events, I finally released my anxieties and let God fully immerse me in the next stage of my faith journey.

I would like to share some of my experiences at Pres House, which could perhaps ignite new ideas for fellowship events at First Congo.

Pres House holds a "Documentary and Dessert" each semester where church members gather together to view a documentary about a social issue, enjoy a dessert and conclude the event with a discussion about how we, as Christians, can respond to that particular issue. This semester the documentary examined the poverty line in the United States.

Last weekend we hosted an open mic night where singers, saxophone players, guitarists and even a kazoo player shared their talents, accompanied by board games, hot cocoa and cookies. This event was also held to raise money for "World Vision" a Christian organization aimed at providing basic needs to poverty stricken countries and those in need of disaster relief.

To extend our fundraising efforts for World Vision, Pres House is holding a 30-hour Famine in a few weeks. Those who wish to participate are asked to make a $30 donation and fast for 30 hours. The church will be hosting another fellowship event during the time of the fast as a way to increase community with one another and learn more about fasting from a biblical and spiritual perspective.

Over the summer members of the church formed a marathon team, which involved raising thousands of dollars for World Vision. The team members trained together throughout the summer in Madison and eventually ran the Chicago marathon in the fall. Some church members who are not runners came along with the team to cheer them on.

In a few weeks, 3 to 4 students are each preaching for about five minutes on one Bible passage. In this way, members of the congregation have the opportunity to think critically for themselves about scripture and share their thoughts with the rest of the church.

Finally each spring break, members of Pres House have the opportunity to go on a service trip elsewhere in the county. Last spring, a group traveled to Joplin, MO to help a man rebuild his home after the devastating tornado. The year before that, students traveled to Washington D.C. to learn more about homelessness, ways to appease the problem and how to think about the living conditions of citizens in Madison. In a few months members of the church will drive to Alabama in honor of the 50th anniversary of the start of the civil rights movement in Birmingham. The group will also visit Montgomery and Mobile in hopes to learn more about race in 2013.

Pres House continuously offers events, but many of them are only feasible with the help of many individuals and their talents. The student body of the church is smaller than First Congo, in fact. I encourage members of First Congregational Church of Ripon's congregation to foster an even stronger community through film, athletics, music, travel and other activities.