MCSC September update: A Non-Anxious Presence
Dear friends,
Last Wednesday, along with Kristin Wong, the Center’s new Director of Spiritual Care, I met with a small group of students in our conference room. The topic was “Being a Christian at Michigan in Troubled Times.” We listened to students describe challenges of being surrounded by the party culture of dormitory life, professors who sometimes expound in class based on a skewed understanding of Christianity, and being ostracized by fellow students because of their Christian faith. For some, recent national events have exacerbated such challenges.
Reflecting on the sense of weariness and isolation that can accompany being a Christian in a secular setting, one student remarked, “The Center is where I come for rest. There’s a spirit of peace that pervades this place. I can talk to anyone here and just be myself.” I was reminded of one of the historical antecedents of the Christian Study Center movement, Francis and Edith Schaeffer’s L’Abri (“the refuge”), founded decades ago in the Swiss Alps to provide a welcoming place for young people from all over the world.
The Michigan Christian Study Center is many things—and as demonstrated below, a beehive of activity this time of year. At our core, however, we are a place of God’s peace—a “non-anxious presence,” in Mark Sayers’s words, in a frenetic and fragmented world—a welcoming space where students, faculty, and staff can experience a deep sense of belonging.
“Thinking Christianly, Living Faithfully”
Friday lunches continue to comprise the programmatic core of the Center’s educational activities. On a typical Friday, over a hundred students cram into the Center for lively conversations with U of M professors and alums based on our theme, “Thinking Christianly, Living Faithfully.” September featured,
Prominent evangelist and Christian apologist (and UM Law alum) Abdu Murray
Alison Vander Roest, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering
Pete Dahlem, a UM Philosophy alum and pastor of a multicultural church in Ann Arbor
Kristin Collier, clinical associate professor of Internal Medicine
Also, we have created a new podcast series from our Friday lunch conversations. Click this podcast link to experience a taste of what our students encounter each week.
Going deeper in Christian formation
Every Wednesday morning at 8:00 am, fueled by Dunkin Donuts, twenty students and I continue our journey through the Center’s new academic credit-bearing History of Christianity course, which comprises Module #3 of our Program in Christian Studies. In addition, local pastor Bob Lynn leads a book discussion of Lesslie Newbigin's timely work, Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth.
Going deeper in spiritual care
I’m excited to announce that the Center has added Kristin Wong to our team as Director of Spiritual Care and Community Life. Kristin is a UM alum, a wife, mom, and grandmother, and a professional counselor in Ann Arbor. While the Center’s primary focus is on cultivating Christian thinking, we recognize that students are whole persons who are developing intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. Thanks to the support of many of you, we are grateful to be able to deepen our impact on students by attending to their spiritual and emotional needs.
Building faculty community
September also included a year-opening faculty reception on the patio to enable Christian professors to interact with their peers across the university. In October, the Center will host a faculty discussion entitled, “Christian Faith in the Classroom: What Can We Learn From Each Other?”
Providing a Christian voice in the university
On September 15, the Center hosted its first public event of the semester, "The University and the Pursuit of Truth," featuring UM Law professor Dan Crane and university administrator Valerie Johnson. We were also grateful to host Provost and Executive Vice President Laurie McCauley, who provided introductory remarks. Valerie's and Dan's reflections provided Provost McCauley with a fitting example of the Center's commitment to fostering a thoughtful Christian presence at the University. An audio recording of their talks is available here. Our next public event, Promise or Peril: How Stories Guide Technology and Will Shape Its Future, takes place on October 20.
Student profile: Cynthia Adebayo
Sometimes people ask: What is the Center’s primary focus--undergraduates, graduate students, or faculty? My typical response is “all of the above.” We are grateful that in addition to undergraduate students, a significant number of Master’s and Ph.D students have made the Center their community as well. One such student with a particularly interesting background is Cynthia Adebayo, who is of Nigerian descent, grew up in London, and now studies in the U of M’s doctoral program in Public Health. She also serves as a Hospitality Coordinator at the Center.
On how she found the Center:
"I learned about the Center on Instagram prior to coming to U of M, as I was really searching for places and communities in which I could grow in my faith. Upon visiting during Fall Open House, I signed up for the Program in Christian Studies and have been a part of it since last year."
On how the Center has fostered her spiritual and intellectual growth:
"The first initiative I truly engaged with at the Center was the Story of Scripture course (first class in the Program of Christian Studies), and it transformed how I engaged with the Bible. I genuinely appreciated learning about both the in-depth and overarching context of God's Scripture. Such programs at the Center helped strengthen my foundational understanding of my faith and gave me the confidence to study books of the Bible that I previously did not feel I could interact with."
On the value of the Center to graduate students in particular:
"The Center provides a space for graduate students to explore how they can contribute to their academic disciplines and research with a Christian mindset. It further reminds me that my identity does not lie in academia but in who God has created me to be."
Finally, I have a humble request: The Center continues to experience phenomenal growth. In the first four weeks of the semester, we have had over 1,600 student visits. That is well above last year’s number, which was itself a significant increase over 2023. With growth, of course, comes additional expenses. If you are not currently a monthly donor to the Center, would you consider becoming one? If you currently support the Center monthly, would you consider increasing your amount? Doing so will enable us to continue cultivating a thoughtful—and peaceful—Christian presence at the University of Michigan.
Thanks for your support, and Go Blue,
Rick
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Dr. Rick Ostrander
Executive Director, Michigan Christian Study Center
(Donate HERE to support the Center monthly or with a one-time gift.)