Kayak-a-thon 2007

Last Saturday Francois and 18 others took to the rivers for the 7th Annual Kayak-a-thon, a fund raiser for the outdoor ministries of the CCO. I was logistical support, collecting all the boats to use, distributing the gear, making hot chocolate, picking up the donated Panera Bread sandwiches, and cheering on the weary-muscled paddlers. Here is a video from the start of our morning.

Thanks to all who prayed, pledged or found sponsors toward the sustainability of the Outdoor Ministries of the CCO! We are thankful to be supported by such a wonderful community of people.

From Crackle: Kayak-a-thon 07

Experiential Education in the News



Check out this article from the New York Times about what Outward Bound is doing for veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Click here.

A weekend mission conference

This past weekend, Joy and I attended the mission conference at Brice's Creek church in North Carolina. The church is one of our supporting churches and every two years they invite the missionaries they sponsor to return and let the congregation know what they have been doing. The theme this year was: Where is God?

It was an incredible experience of hearing from 25 missionaries from around the world and the US how they have seen God move in their work. It's easy to for me to forget but God is working in Africa, in the Middle East, in Eastern Europe, in the Caribeans, and of course on US college campuses.

What an inspiration to hear from these folks that have been in ministry all their lives and are still following God's leading; some continuing in their work (the dentist ministry in Kenya for 25 years) and other moving to a whole new part of the world (Athlete in Action minister moving to Jerusalem after 10 years in Austria).

Joy and I also had a chance to talk to the youth group and to the college and career group about what it means to be a faithful to the calling of being a student.

Thank you for all your prayers and support that keeps us "out there" with students.

Who said today's students are not spiritually seeking? I especially like the organic prozac comment!

Student Voices

Left to right: Cecelia Woodworth; Kristin Mills; Andrew Shaffer; David Herman; Kate Natzler

I try to convince all my classmates to come to the monastery because it's like organic Prozac. These men are so calming and soothing and it's wonderful. The surroundings and the sermons are always wonderful and intelligent and educated. It's just very warm and accepting.
Cecelia Woodworth, Boston University (Divinity and Social Work)

I just tell my friends it's awesome, the brothers they are all really cool people and it's so much fun to come. I love this place; it is so beautiful and relaxing.
Kristin Mills, Boston University

And at the service tonight I really appreciate how beautiful the monastery is, the stain-glass windows and the architecture. I am really glad I came tonight.
Andrew Shaffer, MIT

It's an amazing experience, the acoustics, the hymns and the smell. It is the only place I have ever been at that actually uses incense; it makes it more powerful.
David Herman, Boston University (Electrical Engineering)

Coming to the 515pm service on Tuesday is my favorite part of the week, it's just so relaxing, and it's so welcoming. It's the only place I found that you just walk in and know it's automatically a community. The brothers are so welcoming every time I come.
Kate Netzler, Boston University (Theology)

From the Society of St John the Evangelist e-newletter. The monastery is located in Harvard Square.

Feels like life's on hold going the speed of light

When you live in a house and decide to get all the floors refinished, life sort of goes on hold. What do I mean? Well, between 4-9 tonight we can't use our bathroom upstairs (I actually drove to the office!). Next week, when our kitchen and front hall are done, we'll have long periods of time when we can't access our whole house! Not only that, but everything in those rooms is removed. So, we've been sleeping at our friends' house and will continue to do so until we can walk on our floors for good.

Now, the speed of light part? Well, our schedules haven't thinned out just because we can't really live in our house; they have actually gotten a little fuller. The drywall has to be complete before the floors are coated so the dust doesn't ruin the finish. That means we've been drywalling and spackling nights and days for over a week. Thanks to those who have lent a hand. Francois is trying to write papers and read books in the meantime for class, and Joy is continuing to tackle a hefty load at the office. The next four weekends include a trip to NC for a missions conference at a supporting church, a McGlauflin (joy's mom's side) family reunion, a conference, a wedding that 'Cois is in, and a Rippey Street Christian Community retreat!

Jackie-dog is also taking the brunt of it. She is seriously disturbed with the disarray and noise of the house (altho' the floor guys love her and throw the ball for her on their smoke breaks). She must weigh an extra 5 pounds with all the sawdust and plaster dust that is in her coat!

Now, on to a more positive note. We love our nieces and nephews. Here they are. Ian and Lydia at the bus stop for the first day of school. Ian is in 2nd grade, and Lydia in kindergarten. They belong to Karl and Bea ('cois' sister). They live 1/2 block away - so close we can see their front door from our back door!Here is Deborah. Look at that smile! She is Jon (joy's brother) and Lydia's second. What a ham.
This is Rachel. She is the oldest and a very good older sister to Deborah and...
Titus McGlauflin Barron. He's just so cute! Can you stand it?? The Barrons live in Alabama and we'll see them at the reunion next week. What a treat.
Well, this has turned out to be a bit more of a personal update. Hope you enjoyed it.

Ethics and Orientation

Francois spend yesterday with Carnegie Mellon's first year MBA students supervising a work site around the corner from our house. Given the landscape of today's business world, CMU decided that the first day of orientation for these business students should be about ethics-in-action: an introductory lecture on ethics followed by a day of community service. It's also a great way to connect these incoming students to life outside their new campus home.

check out the story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

A Long Obedience In The Same Direction.


Although we did not read Eugene Peterson's book by the same title, it's one of the lessons students learned on LDW this summer while we paddled 170 miles on the Georgian Bay.


Sometimes it's not easy to explain to folks how transformation happens in the wilderness. Students often need time to process the intensity of the experience and its application back on campus. Other times it cristalizes in a way that inspires. Here's what one participant said at the end of the trip:

"We learned a lot about many different aspects of leadership during this trip - how to communicate effectively, different leadership styles and when they're appropriate based on the needs of the group, and tons about group dynamics. At first I thought I was collecting a grab bag of skills and knowlegde having to do with leadership or a list of areas I would have to consider in any leadership roles I take on, but I realize now that we were learning a lifestyle - a new level of Christlikeness that I had never seen before. On one of the last nights, Francois introduced us to the idea of 'yada' - to know. He told us it involves identifying what is true and responding to that truth, and the truth is that God loves each and every one of us, that He designed us all fearfully and wonderfully unique, and that He designed us to be known by one another and be in relationships with one another. It is in these relationships that we may image Him, both as a community and in all of our individual relationships. We learn to communicate effectively first and foremost so that we might understand one another, so that we have a more finely-tuned means of knowing one another and also allowing others to know us. We practice different leadership styles so that we might discover how to lead out of our own characters and in a way that best responds to and develops the characters of those we are leading. We study group dynamics because studying a community that strives to follow Christ is studying Christ himself. It's learning how Christ can work through any and every interaction and then just watching him do that. The next time I take on a leadership role, I will see it as the chance to work with a group of people, learn who they truly are, and love them with a Christlike love so they can grow more into who they are in Christ - as his beloved, all while they are revealing to me more of who I am as well. I've seen that leadership isn't about having a certain type of personality or a certain amount of knowledge, it's about relationships and discovering Christ with and through other people, and that's something God created all of us to do.
-Kelly Royer, LDW 2007 participant