This fall we will be continuing our Faith Flicks program every other Thursday night, starting this coming Thursday, August 19th. Faith Flicks is a chance to get together and watch funny, challenging, and/or heart-wrenching movies that make you think a little deeper about your faith. We always have a great time. Here’s the line-up for our Fall semester:

August 19th                    Saved!
September 2nd               The Blindside
September 16th              Pray the Devil Back to Hell
September 30th             Babette’s Feast
October 14th                   For the Bible Tells Me So
October 28th                  Lars & the Real Girl
November 11th              Why We Fight (Veteran’s Day)
November 25th              No Movie (Thanksgiving Break)
December 2nd                The Nativity Story

Faith Flicks will be shown in the TV Room at the Presbyterian Student Center, and each flick will begin promptly at 8pm. If you have any questions about Faith Flicks, contact Stephen Morgan at sjmorgan@uga.edu. See y’all on the couches.

As many in our worshiping community know, the Campus Ministry Intern has a lot of various responsibilities in and around the Presbyterian Student Center. One of these responsibilities is to design and carry out a ministry project throughout the course of the year, with the intention of enhancing the PSC’s ministry through an avenue that the intern is passionate about. Last year, with the help of God and many of our students, I completed a ministry project focused on ecological stewardship. This year, with the help of God and many of our students, I hope to complete a new ministry project. This time, the focus is on cultivating a more intentional culture of prayerfulness at the Presbyterian Student Center. In formulating the idea for this project, I have looked to scripture as a guide in my thinking, in particular to a couple of verses from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (5:16-18).

I believe that our growing community is blessed in that we come together each week to worship God and pray together, and that we find joy in service and the thoughtful discussion of issues and theology. However, I also believe that we as a community tend to shy away from prayer as a constant spiritual practice outside of our weekly worship and community groups. I think that prayer is a chief avenue through which God helps us to discover our part in manifesting God’s will on earth. I also think that prayer with others can be more intimate, and therefore sometimes more uncomfortable, than even some of our most intimate physical moments with each other. For these reasons, I believe that we have to intentionally work toward being more spiritually vulnerable around each other, and I think that we as a community of faith at the Presbyterian Student Center have a lot of room for growth in this area. I recognize that my own personal prayer life is lacking as well, and I hope to encourage others to work with me to grow in prayer, both individually and in community. It is my hope that in doing so, we may live abundantly, rejoicing always, praying constantly, and giving thanks in all circumstances, since this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

I have set five broad goals for this project in order to help organize myself in working toward these ends. Those goals are as follows:

1. Creation of a dynamic community of prayer within the PSC.
2. Improvement of PSC facilities to facilitate prayerful practice.
3. Increased prayerful connections with local Presbyterians.
4. Increased prayerful connections with other Campus Ministries.
5. Personal spiritual growth in the direction of prayer and meditation.

Toward completing some of these goals, I already have certain things in mind, such as setting aside time every day to pray in the PSC Chapel (goals 1 & 5) and building a permanent prayer labyrinth on our property (goal 2). As we come together this academic year, I hope to involve as many students as are interested in this project to accomplish these goals; God knows I can’t do this on my own. If you have ideas that you would like to share with me, or if you would like to know more, please contact me. Also, make sure to check the ministry project bulletin board in the Dining Hall at the PSC. I will be updating it with new information about my project throughout the school year.

Mitch Roper

April and May were busy, but good, months at the PSC. We returned from our Spring Retreat and finished the semester strong.

On April 25, we hosted High School Night at the Presbyterian Student Center (see picture). We had high school students from Oconee Presbyterian, Friendship Presbyterian, Covenant Presbyterian, and Alpharetta Presbyterian join us for dinner and worship. It was great to have high schoolers worshiping with college students and for them to see that it is possible to be in college and be a person of deep faith. All together, we had about 75 people there.

The following week, we had our graduates’ night. We celebrated those who had been a part of our community and who were be sent on to other places. It’s difficult to say goodbye, but it’s also a joy to send these students on to the next chapter in their lives.

Finals week followed. We had a great “study break” with pizza, games, etc. (see picture) early in finals week. By the end of the week, the PSC was empty as students left to go home, go to summer jobs, etc.

For those that are in town over the summer, we will have a Bible study on Tuesdays at 6p beginning on June 8 and going through July. Staff will also be around for orientation and other events over the summer, but we won’t have regular hours. If we don’t week you around this summer, we hope to see you on August!

This past weekend, we ventured to Camp Buc for our spring retreat. The weather was perfect. The mountains were beautiful. We couldn’t have asked for more.

We began the weekend with games on Friday night. On Saturday, we explored our theme, “Living Lives that Matter,” with devotional times throughout the day. Some of us also went hiking for several hours in the afternoon. This is a picture of some of us on top of a mountain during the hike. We ended the day with a campfire and a movie.

On Sunday, we worshiped together in the outdoor chapel. As we left for home, some of us took a detour and hiked up Whiteside Mountain. It was a great weekend filled with meaningful conversation, good food, and plenty of time to relax.