Summer classes are over now, and as our students finish up the last of their summer session finals, I’m reflecting on the past couple months. It’s been so nice here in Athens this summer. No matter what the time of day, I can hop in my car and drive down Milledge avenue, trusting that there will be little traffic, if any, between me and my destination. never mind that it’s 101 degrees outside. No, Athens in the summertime really is a unique, enjoyable experience. Orientation sessions were a positive new experience for me, not to mention our Bible Study of those cotton-pickin’ parables, and the relaxed pace of the summer has been a steady source of creative rest.

We’ve finished up our “Cotton Patch” Bible Study as of last week, and I can say with confidence that those who participated did not leave the same as they came in. In one of his sermons from earlier this summer, Clarence Jordan likened Jesus’ spiritual revolution to a changing of seasons, a transition in the nature of things that makes the old ways of working obsolete, down-right lacking. In this transition we find ourselves as caterpillars facing the coming spring. We have the choice to get ready for that change, to prepare for new life as a butterfly, or to remain unchanged as caterpillars, and miss out on what spring has to offer. Repentance, Jordan tells us, is not about hanging your head and acting sorry for getting caught doing things you weren’t supposed to. Repentence, he tells us, is about recognizing that the season is changing, and getting ready for that radically new order. In the past 8 weeks I’ve been privileged to see some of our students gearing up for the coming spring, so to speak.

As I look ahead to that looming change that is the beginning of the school year, I can’t help but think that this in an appropriate motif, even though we’re headed into the fall. We have small groups to organize, service projects to plan, worship music to practice, and brand new students to welcome in as we come into this new season of activity. God willing, we also have a new parking lot to install in the coming couple of weeks.

God has continued working in our hearts and minds here at the Presbyterian Student Center this summer. I’m really excited to see what else is up those Almighty sleeves as we continue forward from the dog days of summer into the Dawg days of fall.

Mitch Roper

This summer at the PSC, we’re havin’ us a good ol’ fashioned Bible study. It’s based on a series of lectures and sermons by Greek scholar, farmer and founder of the Koinonia Community, Clarence Jordan. This study focuses on the parables of Jesus, what they really mean, the lessons they teach, and what these lessons have to say to us, as committed followers of this Jesus fellow some 2,000 years removed from the socio-political context of him and his disciples.

This Tuesday we had our third lesson and discussion.  This time we discussed Jesus’ “Parables of the Revolution.”  We focused on the dramatic parable (that is, a parable where the lesson is actually acted out instead of just being narrated in a story) of Jesus’ trial in front of Pilate, as told from the account in Matthew. We listened to an audio recording of Clarence Jordan, in which he explains that Jesus Barabbas, the violent, insurrectionist criminal (whose name literally means, “Jesus, son of the father”) represented the violent type of revolution that we so often hear about in the news, and which was just as common then as it is today.  Meanwhile, Jesus Christ (whom we also call “the son of the Father”) represented a new type of revolution, one of love instead of violence.  As we digested this historical symbolism, we discussed the irony of the situation:  that the religious authorities of the day convinced the crowd to have the Jesus of violence released, and the Jesus of love crucified.  The mixing of politics with religion was a constant theme throughout this discussion, and I think we all walked away with a new appreciation for the passage of scripture on which we focused.

The “Cotton Patch Parables” Bible Study at the PSC meets every Tuesday at 6pm through the end of July.  Next week we’ll be trying to answer the question, “Who is God?” If you can join us, we’d love to have you.

This past Thursday was Earth Day, and we used this special opportunity to forge new and unlikely bonds of fellowship.  Jews, Catholics, Atheists, Episcopalians and Pagans converged at the Presbyterian Student Center to join us for a special Earth Day screening of a documentary called “Dirt! The Movie.”  This film uses humor, science, and a very human touch to give audiences the dirt on dirt, and explain how soil is surprisingly central to many of the issues we face as a global community.  A rousing interfaith roundtable discussion followed the screening, as students and community members from diverse faith (and non-faith) traditions wrestled together with some of the tough questions this film brought to our attention.  Special thanks to third-year Ecology major and PSC regular Calley Mersmann for helping to make this night of interfaith dialogue a smashing success.

Are you looking for a good Lenten devotional? d365 is a website that was developed in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While there are devotionals for every day of the year, their Lenten series is called Journey to the Cross. Try it out between now and Easter. Let us know what you think.