Job Hunting

Well, it's reading break this week.  Reading break is where we get a time off classes -- either to get caught up, or just to go on a road trip to Minnesota, as some of my friends here are doing.

Personally, I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on school-work.  I actually haven't done any school-work yet, however.  Why?

Because it's job-hunt time, that's why.

Job-hunt time.  The period of time between late December to May (for some it's April!) where students look for summer jobs.  The four-month break is a really cool part of university.  It's a huge opportunity -- here you have the chance to build your skills in a variety of job markets.  And many of them are only or primarily open to university students.  University life allows you to study and have the opportunity of working for a significant part of the year.

If you're looking for jobs and are going to be a full-time university student next year, I would suggest looking for government student jobs.  There are literally tens of thousands of these jobs across Canada.  To apply for federal government jobs, google "fswep" (federal student work experience program).  There you can put yourself in a job bank to be called up for job opportunities.  If you live in Canada, your province should also have its own student government job program: in Manitoba the program is called "STEP".

Good luck!

My Definition of Christian Spirituality

     One of the major assignments in my Exploring Christian Spirituality class taught by Gerry Ediger is to come up with a personalized working definition of Christian Spirituality.  As food for thought, I want to share my working definition with you.  This definition tries to get at what it means to be a Christian.

A Definition of Christian Spirituality

Christian spirituality is a life lived in God’s love
In self-acceptance and freedom.
Once this love, ever present, is realized,
then we are able more and more fully 
to return God’s love and to love others.

In order to receive this closeness to God, it helps to spend time
cultivating an intentional relationship with God.
There is no “right” way to do this, but for guidance we can look to the spiritual disciplines
of Christians before us.
The end goal is towards relationship and away from alienation from God and others.

We can see examples of this inner transformation
In the people around us, and in the example we have in Jesus Christ.
Examples of people
unconstrained by the fear and anxiety which seizes so many
and instead courageously involved 
in freeing others from this anxiety.

Renaissance Resoundings @ CMU

[The unfortunate consequence of my attending Missionfest was me missing the CMU concert "Renaissance Resoundings".  Fortunately some of my friends did go.  What follows is a one perspective of the concert by my friend Beth. -- Edit]

Right!  I recently attended a concert of Renaissance at CMU and subsequently spent a great deal of time and energy trying to convey to my good friend David just how magnificent it was.  This struggle to overcome my awestruck speechlessness got me commandeered into writing the little tidbit you are now reading.  So, here is my opinion on the grand affair.  Some of my descriptions may be a little abstract for some but hey, it was a renaissance concert; expect the artsy. 

            The concert consisted mainly of songs in Italian, but there were also some in Latin and maybe two in English.  There were two singers: a lady mezzo soprano, and a gentleman somewhere between tenor and baritone.  The concert began with a second lady performing on the harpsichord.  Now, if you have never heard a harpsichord…you are missing out.  All ravings aside about how fantastic this woman was (like how her fingers seemed to dance over the keys while she herself remained completely serene and reverent in her playing) the sound of this instrument was nothing if not stirring.  It sounds…like sparkling raspberry and apple pie.  Warm low tones that seemed to wrap around you and hug you, and ringing high tones that made you tingle, all sprinkled over with a refreshing twist on the tonal precision you get from a piano.

            The mezzo soprano singer was absolutely moving.  Thirty seconds into her first rendition I was in tears.  That has never happened to me before, so don’t ask me to explain it, but something about the way she sang just tugged at the heart-strings.  A word often seen on vocal sheet music is expressivo; that’s her to a tee.  Her facial expressions were so full of conviction that I felt I could understand everything she said, even though I don’t speak Italian or Latin.  I won’t rant about how flabbergasting she was technically, but let me assure you most emphatically that she did some UNBELIEVABLE things with her voice.  The runs she executed without ever muddling the sound, the way she married the head and chest tones to make the richest sound possible, or how her high notes seemed to dance in the ceiling… each could be a blog entry all their own.  The gentleman who sang was equally impressive, and once again, I could talk for ages about his technical abilities.  Both singers seemed to perform with a poise that spoke volumes more than I could about their obvious years of experience and study.  I felt very blessed and privileged to be sitting in the auditorium listening to them.

            Accompanying the singers were a flautist and a cellist.  I cannot begin to tell you how delicious the sound is when an airy, shining flute, a warm fuzzy cello, a harpsichord, and two pro-grade singers join forces to tackle the musical genius that was the Renaissance.  Think of the last time you had your favorite food for the first time in ages, or somebody gave you a piece of fantastic news; that kind of thrill is exactly what resulted.  On top of all these wonders, one of the university’s many distinguished choirs graced us with a performance.  The song I found particularly wonderful contained this line, “Here my prayer, and let my crying count.”  The harmony of the voices echoing this plea… it made you want to pray.  It was one of those songs that just gets under your skin and reminds you what a great and awesome God we serve; One who is ever present.  I would close with the suggestion that God was deeply pleased to hear the music He inspired so many years ago brought back to life with such tender fondness as it was Friday night.  Cheers!

Hanging out at Missionfest

Hanging out at Missionfest.

     On Friday, I attended Missionfest Manitoba with with a group of students.  The event is sponsored by over 50 churches in Winnipeg and was taking place at Grant Memorial Church.  It is an extravaganza of sorts with many organizations articulating their own understandings of Christian mission.  Friday's event was a concert featuring Matt Brouwer.  

     The place was packed.  Even though my own church wasn't a sponsor, I saw several people from my church there.  Quite a few people from CMU showed up.  As did some of my cousins.  It's times like these when the church family really does feel like a family!  I was just as surprised to see that my school was helping to sponsor the event and so of course I had to go to the pavilion and say hi!

Jesse Doell helping out at the pavilion

     Overall,though, I got the sense that the event wasn't really targeted at me.  There was a more subdued event next door for adults and if I hadn't been so enticed about the concert, I might have gone to that.  Unfortunately, I had to leave before the actual concert -- it was one of those events which has a very long lead-up to the main thing.  What I saw was a discussion with two missionaries from Guatemala where they talked about unconditionally following the lead of God.  I could have enjoyed their point if I wasn't so thrown off by their presentation, which was of the uber-charismatic variety.  The event seemed to me to be a bit like a crusade, where the faith gets over simplified for the sake of getting people going.  Still, if I didn't connect with the content of the evening, I did enjoy the fun atmosphere.