Happenings in Madison

It's been a few months since I've given an update about my church away from church, so I would like to share a few happenings at Pres House!

Two weeks ago, our sanctuary was transformed with a crazy idea from my Pastor Erica. For a long time she has wanted to make our worship space look less like a conventional classroom and more like a space where students can worship interactively. Instead of lining up rows of chairs in neat lines, we moved the chairs into "clusters" or "pods" so people can sit in groups. In the center of each cluster is a small table where Pastors Mark and Erica place paper, pens, group discussion questions, and tangible objects to facilitate dialogue during periods in the sermon, make worship more accessible to non-auditory learners and engage us all. It's a neat concept and we are still trying to figure out some of the hurdles involved, like keeping the space wheel-chair friendly and figuring out how to approach communion, but the new setup holds promise.

This week we are having our first fireside chat, a Pres House tradition from the 1940s that we are bringing back. We are collaborating with a mental health student org to discuss the issue of mental health on campus (of course, while sitting around the fireplace). A theme we have set for our church this year is to "continue the conversation"; hopefully the fireside chat will do just that.

About a month ago, we went on Fall Retreat at the Green Lake Conference Center! The weekend was focused around the topic of "vocation: what am I called to do with my life?" A quaker artist from New Mexico led seminars filled with poetry and exploration of her artwork. A highlight for us all was spending Saturday morning creating collages about what we envisioned our lives being about. It was wonderful to be back at home in Green Lake too!

I feel so fortunate to be a part of this community in Madison and appreciate everyone (or anyone) who took time to read about it in the Ripon area. Thank you!

Andrea

Leadership

Hola! I'll keep this short because I have Spanish homework calling.

Aside from new spanish courses (among others) this semester is particularly exciting for me because I am finally an upperclassman and am beginning to take on leadership roles on campus. Specifically, I have begun to co-lead a weekly freshmen women's "small group." I'm hesitant to call it a Bible study, because it's not, though many aspects of the group are similar to a conventional Bible study.

Here's a brief rundown of what small group is at Pres House:

Each week we begin small group by "checking in" with each other (as we drink copious amounts of tea and coffee and fill up on freshly baked cookies): we hear about the highs and lows of everyone's weeks and receive updates on notable events shared from the week before. Then we re-read the scripture passage from the past Sunday's worship service and spend the bulk of the meeting discussing ideas from our ministers' sermons. Finally we close in prayer.

I was a part of small group last year for sophomore women and this year I agreed to lead a freshmen group with a friend. Our first meeting was on Tuesday night and I can happily report it went pretty smoothly. Three freshmen showed up and all of them had questions about small group, Pres House in general and basic, "freshmany"things like making friends and joining clubs.

It was wonderful to learn about each of the women's lives--I even discovered one girl is from the same hometown, Shoreview, MN, as my freshman roommate and that this girl's sister attends St. Olaf College (where I went to school my freshman year) and is a junior like me. However, though the process of leading a group, I'm learning a valuable lesson about my faith.

I'm discovering that it's a genuine challenge to lead a Christian group. What kinds of questions can I ask the group so as not to offend someone or assume too much? Can I flat out ask a person if they are a Christian? How does the group begin to dig deeper into each other's lives, beliefs and insecurities? I know all of these questions will answer themselves with time and practice. In fact, it's exciting to know we are at the beginning of what will hopefully become strong, enduring relationships with each other. I just pray that I can moderate an environment that can foster relationship building smoothly.

Small group is a unique place where students can gather with one another and with Christ to grow as a group toward God. It's hard to find an similar environment elsewhere on campus. I feel fortunate to be a part of this group and seek God's guidance as I do my best to lead others.

Also, if you have any leadership tips, I'd love to hear them. :)

Adios, es la hora para espanol.

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.