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March, 2015
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A Campus Ministry for ALL Students, Supported by Members of the Episcopal and Lutheran Church
from across the Nation
Sunday Worship: 5:30 p.m.
Monday: Free Lunch: 12:00 -1:00
Wednesday Worship ("Bread and Belonging"): 5:30 p.m.
510 N. Guadalupe (across from Tower Garage and the UAC)
Our Purpose: In gratitude for God's mercy in Christ, we shall be a community of worship, service, and hospitality.
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Thanks, Ancient Greeks
The ritual that is Spring Break is neither mandated by Federal Law nor a constitutional right, but it is of more than passing importance to most college students. Some trace the custom back to the spring rites of ancient Greeks and Romans. In the season of rebirth and fertility, veneration was paid to Dionysus and Bacchus, the respective Greek and Roman names for the god of wine. While worship of Bacchus does not quite describe the contemporary Spring Break, there is certainly a great deal of honor paid to wine and its cousins in the family of adult beverages. The habit of traveling to a beach or other resort may have begun as early as the late 1800's, when students would go to the beach or to mineral spas to recover from the rigors of academia. But it was a hurricane that swept through and destroyed much of Miami and surrounding cities in 1926 that may be blamed for what Spring Break has become.
In an effort to attract visitors back to their once pristine city, Ft. Lauderdale built in 1928 one of the nation's first indoor Olympic-sized swimming pools. As competitive swimming was just beginning to be popular, the pool was a draw for coaches from northern states who wanted to get their athletes in the water as soon as possible. Within a decade, an annual swim competition was held at the pool, attracting teams from across the country. With those teams came other students, and even after the competition was long discontinued, they kept coming. A 1958 novel by Glendon Swathout titled Where the Boys Are led to huge jump in visitors; at its peak, Ft. Lauderdale hosted over 350,000 college students each spring.
Many sites now host spring breakers, but many of the rituals remain the same. Bacchus still gets his due, the virtues of sunscreen are ignored, regrets pile up in equal measure to the fun. Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. Bacchus has enough devotees, but Christ still calls to be served in the guise of all kinds of people - the hungry and homeless, the lonely and the grieving, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the forgotten. I'm all for having a great Spring Break, but I encourage you to think that a great Spring Break is truly great when it includes finding a way to serve. If it's a day with Habitat for Humanity in your home town, that can make a great Spring Break. If it's helping serve supper some night at Southside here in town, that can make for a great Spring Break (by the way, get there around 5:00 and they will put you to work just about any night). Whatever the way, find the way. It's a step on the way that is the Way, the way of Jesus. Best of all - no hangovers, no sunburn, no regrets. Just joy. GIve it a try. And above all else, wear sunscreen.
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UPCOMING SUNDAY SUPPERS
Until our kitchen is remodeled, we'll be having suppers together on an every other week or so schedule. Our next supper is after our 5:30 worship this coming Sunday, February 8th. It's SALAD SUNDAY! Bring any kind of salad (tuna, tater, green, bean, jello, whatever) to share. That's all there is to it! On the 22nd, it's PIZZA SUNDAY, where we'll have a competition between four local pizza joints for the best pie around. April 5th will be EASTER POTLUCK SUNDAY; bring anything at all to share. Finally, on April 26th, we'll have BREAKFAST TACO SUNDAY. More on that to come. Remember our services are now always held at 5:30, with dinner to follow.
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 GOD GOES TO THE MOVIES - March 11:00, 5:30
St. Vincent stars Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Naomi Watts. The IMDB says, "A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door." Students who have already seen it say, "This is a great movie." We'll start at 5:30 with an abbreviated form of Evening Prayer, then watch the movie and follow it with a conversation about theological themes and God's presence through the story. No reservations needed; popcorn provided. |
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CHRIST CHAPEL COOKS FREE LUNCH
The free Monday lunch program sponsored by Christ Chapel and UCM-Wesley continues throughout the semester, and your help is wanted. While area churches bring in lunches for UCM, every other Monday is Christ Chapel's turn. So, if you'd like to help cook, come join us starting at 9:00 a.m. at First Lutheran Church, 130 W. Holland. To help set up or serve, be at Christ Chapel around 11:30. Our dates to cook: 3/9, 3/30, 4/13, 4/27.
PRAYER STATIONS - A REMINDER
Before or after lunch, follow the trail of candles into the sanctuary and spend time at one of five different prayer stations set up around the room. There is a place with maps on the floor so to pray for particular cities or countries. There is a table with candles to light in prayer for a person or situation. There is a place to prayerfully let go of your stress, a place to offer thanks, and a place to confess. All our available throughout Monday lunch, even as the sanctuary is almost always available before 10:00 and after 3:00 every day for quiet and prayer.
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BREAD AND BELONGING - WEDNESDAYS AT 5:30
We are journeying through Lent with the voices of saints past in our ears; Julian of Norwich, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, and Hildegard von Bingen, among others. Join us at 5:30 every Wednesday. On Wednesday of Holy Week, April 1st, we will carpool to First Christian Church to walk their Stations of the Cross, a moving exhibit on a 3/4 mile long trail through the Hill Country woods. |
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WHAT'S HAPPENING?
Upcoming events worth noting are listed below. More details will come out with a later newsletter, but keep these in mind when you're making plans...
April 4: Snake Farm - It's a reptile house. And a zoo, and it's way more interesting than what you might think.
April 6: Southside Community Center - We cook and serve supper to 40-60 men, women, and children who would otherwise go hungry.
April 17-19: Beach Clean-Up - our annual trip to Corpus Christi to participate in cleaning the beaches and enjoying some time at the Texas State Aquarium and in the waves.
April 24: Game Night - all kinds of board and video games. Wagering is not encouraged.
May 4: End of School Year Party - We'll use this time to honor our graduates and celebrate the year past.
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ANNUAL "SEDER" DINNER
For decades, Christ Chapel and its predecessor bodies have explored the roots of the Christian Eucharist by exploring the meaning of the Seder dinner, celebrated by Jews every year in rememberance of their liberation from bondage in Egypt. This is not a Seder dinner in the proper sense of the word, as we have neither the means nor the right to co-opt a sacred ceremony of our Jewish brothers and sisters. It is intended to be a respectful examination of what that meal means and how the themes of liberation are implicit and explicit in the Christian Eucharist. Because our kitchen is out of commission, we will hold the dinner this year on March 31st at First Lutheran Church, 130 W. Holland, starting at 5:30. Many hands are needed to help prepare for the meal, starting at 9:00 a.m. that morning. A sign-up sheet to indicate a time you could help or your interest in attending will be available in the week ahead. A limited number of seats will be available, and reservations are required, so if you want to come, do sign up or e-mail christchapel@txstate.edu immediately.
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Reviews
Submit your own for any new thing. Opinions below are strictly those of the chaplain, but they are absolutely right.
Brother Jed
Brother Jed brought his usual brand of weirdness to campus last month, giving us a chance to say how we as Christians are different than the "gospel" he and his companions proclaim. I wish it weren't necessary to counter his words, because everyone who walked by would know that's not what Christians are about. Instead, in the words of the old camp song, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love." It's not too late, it's never to late to send that message.
Campus Carry
In some alternate universe, the legislative proposal to allow students to carry guns on campus may sound like a good idea. The campus police, the city police, the sheriff's department, and the Texas Highway patrol don't live in that universe. They live here and now, and they say it's a bad idea. I think I'll defer to their better judgment. If you agree, e-mail Jason Isaacs, our local representative in the Texas House.
Still haven't gotten there. Some have said it's way overrated; Fuego's is better. I haven't been there, either. I'll try to get them both done by next month. Meanwhile, the abuelitas at the Exxon on Guadalupe and University Drive rock my taco world.
Pie Society
Pizza need not be the soul-less and formulaic offerings of those chains who would do well to spend less on advertising and more on ingredients. Pie Society is a case in point. They've a pie with an excellent crust, creative toppings, and a pleasant dine-in environment, should you so choose. What they don't have is cheap pizza which from the very first bite reminds you why it was so cheap, and as of this week, no delivery except perhaps through College Delivery.
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AND DON'T FORGET...
Higher Grounds Coffee House is open every morning at 8:30 until 12:00. Try a cup of organic, fair-trade coffee. Bring a travel mug, if you can. And if you'd like to staff the shop as a volunteer, we've openings at various times throughout the week.
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Our campus mission is to be a welcoming spiritual community, a place for people of any gender, race, national origin, and sexual orientation. Growing together in faith, we seek the unity that Christ envisions for His church through learning, liturgical worship, service, and fellowship. |
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