Blaurock + Graduation Coming Up!

     Well, I haven't been posting in a while, which goes to show how busy everything has been over here!  For the past two weeks students have been working hard trying to finish a cornucopia of essays and assignments.  Hmmm...what can I tell you?

1.  Last Friday we had a cake auction to raise money for the Blaurock, our student-run coffee shop.  They also are unveiling a new advertising campaign which is pretty intense.  There was music and...lots of cakes!

The Blaurock's new advertising campaign!

2.  I am graduating this year!  So along with the rest of CMU's graduating class I recently  received the email confirming that I'm graduating, and telling me about graduation weekend.  I'll be posting more about that as the date comes closer.  


     I hope you have been enjoying your March!  

Jesus: the Peace that Matters (Peace it Together Day 3)

     

     It was Sunday morning.  The audience watched as Irma Fast Dueck took to the stage.  Some slouched in their seats - after all, this was Peace it Together, and many had not slept long.  Some had just woken up a few minutes before, sauntering across campus to the chapel.  They had spent the night playing cards, watching movies, and grilling CMU students about past stories.  Irma, as usual, was upbeat.  
     "Devil worship," she began.  There were confused faces in her audience.  Then she explained.  AC/DC.  Cards.  Dancing.  Many people in her community saw these things as Devil worship as she was growing up.  The Devil tempts Jesus a third time, promising him complete control over the nations if Jesus worships him.

     For the Devil, power is control.  Being at the top, not needing to vulnerable, unable to be hurt.  Control.

     Not so for Jesus.  Power for Jesus isn't about control because having control destroys relationships.  You can't have a relationship with someone you control.  The desire to manipulate hurts relationships.  Jesus is God with his control voluntarily stripped away.  Jesus can get angry without shaking the world.  Jesus can talk to anyone without their being scared of him.  Jesus strips away control so he can have relationships with people.

     The Devil was offering Jesus ultimate human power.  But taking that power would remove Jesus' ability to have relate to people as equals, which isn't why Jesus came.  


PIT is over!  Thanks to everyone who attended, as well as all the CMU students who helped out.  If what I saw was any indication, fun was definitely had!  Safe travels home and all the best!

Jesus: the Peace that Matters (Peace it Together Day 2)

     Waking up was more difficult the next day.  The worship session was at 9:30, and the first thing I noticed as I walked through the chapel door was this gigantic ladder in the back row.  Everyone sat down.  What did the ladder have to do with the topic of the session?

     We got into groups and selected some of our favourite stunt videos from YouTube, which they proceeded to show on the big screen.  Then Justin Neufeld, one of our philosophy professors, spoke about Jesus' second temptation in the desert, where he was tempted to jump down from a high point and let angels save him.  The temptation here was for Jesus to take the easy way out, to use his power for his own advantage.  Jesus said no, quoting from Scripture: "Do not test the Lord your God." 
     I understood the point of the session to be that we need to avoid taking the easy way out, that following Jesus often calls us to the more difficult way of living.  That makes sense as long as we realize that this is only in certain cases.  Often it is wise to avoid trouble, and taking the difficult path in every circumstance is not always advisable.  What do you think?
     Another highlight was a theatre event in the evening, a play called "Gadfly" by the acting troupe Theatre of the Beat.  It  is based on the story of Sam Steiner, a young confident man who dodged the draft in the United States by crossing over to Canada.  We see Sam struggling with his Mennonite heritage, trying to balance those beliefs with the state and what he personally believes is right.

Theatre of the Beat after the show

     Finally, we have the variety show, which took place later that evening.  This talent competition was absolutely amazing!  Our Arts and Entertainment directors Claire and Coby were hosting as the bumbling couple Bernie and Buetta.  Between acts we were shown their love story.  It was honestly too hilarious to describe. 

Bernie and Buetta

     And of course the night went on.  I'll see you in the morning!

Jesus: the Peace that Matters (Peace it Together Day 1)

     Jesus: the Peace that Matters.

     This year's Peace it Together youth conference brings it all back to the centre of our faith.  What does Jesus' story tell us about peacemaking?  Over the course of the next three days, our speakers will be asking what topics like food, politics, and power have to do with how Jesus lived.

     We are hosting nearly a hundred youth from across Canada right here on campus for the weekend.  I say "we" because CMU students help in crucial ways.  Some of us help with the creation of the schedules, we help present PIT small group sessions, we run events, and we host students in our dorm rooms.  We are intensely involved.

  

     Our guests started arriving at 3 pm.  Many of them are related or friends with current students, giving the afternoon the feeling of a family reunion.  Care packages from home were brought by younger siblings.  The noise was loud at times as our guests arrived full of energy after travelling for hours.  We welcomed PIT students with music (and  dancing!)

Nothing welcomes students like a PIT version of "I need a Hero".  Nothing.

   

     After supper everyone went to Chapel for our first session.  The PIT series concerns the three temptations Jesus endured after he fasted for 40 days in the desert.  The first was for Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread.  The second was for Jesus to jump off the temple and let his angels save him.  And in the third temptation, Satan offered Jesus control over all the nations of the world if Jesus would worship him.  

     The room was packed, and as we sang with the worship band it was incredibly loud.  Kenton Lobe, a current CMU professor, spoke on food issues.  Today, he said, we have almost a billion people in the world who experience hunger every day, and another billion people who struggle with chronic obesity.  We watched a video of struggle set to frantic piano music that symbolized many of our busy, frantic lives.  Why do we feel such a need to be busy all the time?  And finally, is there a connection between our busy lives and the way we eat our food?  Do we need to pay more heed to Jesus' response to this temptation, that people need the word of God as well as bread?

     In the evening, PIT students went on the walk-a-mile to meet each other, and then chilled out around campus until late into the night.  But not too late.  Tomorrow is going to be very busy!