March update
Dear friends,
What’s the most important book you’ve ever read (excluding the Bible)?
It’s a difficult question to answer, and one that inevitably sparks both introspection and vigorous conversation. That was our most recent Question of the Week, a new tradition that has developed at the Center. At Thursday’s staff meeting, we create a new question, one designed to generate thoughtful conversation. On Monday morning, our student workers begin asking the question of students when they come to the front desk to fill up with coffee or grab a cookie. The results are compiled and shared at the Friday lunch.
Last week’s question sparked particularly interesting conversations that I couldn’t help both overhearing and participating in. I heard a student’s experience of reading Elisabeth Elliot's The Shadow of the Almighty in high school and how it changed his life trajectory. Another student described being captivated by a book in middle school because it so vividly reflected his experience of growing up as a black student in a predominantly white school. Responses ranged widely, from a children’s book, The Giving Tree to C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity to Athanasius’s On the Incarnation.
The Question of the Week illustrates the unique nature of a Christian Study Center. Of course, the Center hosts a number of programs and activities, described below, that foster Christian thinking and nurture students’ spiritual and intellectual growth. But underneath such activities runs a steady current of conversations and meaningful relationships among thoughtful Christians who are learning together what it means to love God with their minds and extend Christian thinking to all of life.
Our community life is the fertile soil from which classes, book discussions, Friday lunches, and public events spring. As director, I’m blessed to play a role both in such events, and to be a listening ear on all sorts of interesting conversations. Below is an overview in images of the variety of Center activities over the past month:
In Friday lunches this month, students heard from UM Alumni Association President Ayanna McConnell, Christian scholars in Environmental Studies and Native American Studies, and engaged in a discussion of faith and science with Professor Dave Brzezenski. Last Friday’s lunch featured a send-off and prayer for campus ministry organizations embarking on spring break mission trips.
On a cold February Friday evening, the Center hosted an experiential public event, “Food and Hospitality in Christian Perspective.” Attendees sampled offerings from a chef, an owner of an Asian-American bakery, and a local farm, then heard from each how their Christian faith informs their commitment to food and hospitality.
Forty guests gathered in a home in Grand Rapids for our third annual MCSC West Michigan reception, where they heard updates about the Center and students’ reflections on how the Center has impacted their lives at the U of M.
Christian formation at the Center occurs in small group as well. The Life Lab initiative gathers students weekly to practice and discuss a range of Christian spiritual disciplines, based on Justin Earley's book The Common Rule. This semester features two book discussions, one on C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce and one on Miroslav Volf’s The Cost of Ambition.
Finally, during this spring break at the University of Michigan, students and staff are enjoying some well-earned downtime. We’re grateful for a vibrant community that fosters Christian thinking on a university campus, and we’re thankful to all of you for your role in making that happen.
Blessings,
Rick
Dr. Rick Ostrander
Executive Director
Michigan Christian Study Center
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
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