Category: Campus Ministry

Posted in Campus Ministry, Faith, Music, Worship

It’s a New Day

Posted on by narciejeter

I played Michael Buble’s Feeling Good a couple months ago at church.  Can’t remember the text at this point but it was about the swagger.  There’s a certain swagger to Michael Buble and this song and I think there’s often a certain swagger to the new day that was created in the resurrection.  When Easter came -” it really was a new dawn, a new day, a new life.”  Not that I’m actually picturing Jesus swaggering.  Can’t imagine him in a rat pack hat.  Not even “Buddy Jesus” a la Dogma.  But there is a certain swagger to this new day that has been created.  A day where we have hope.  A day where we aren’t just talking in metaphors and imagery, but we are God’s people here on earth trying to live into the already and not yet of God’s kingdom now.  Among us.

That is a powerful thing.  We’re not just all hanging out down here and doing the best we can for the heck of it.  We’ve been charged with bringing God’s kingdom to earth – that’s pretty weighty and scary and awesome and humbling.  It’s a new day – “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or fre, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galations 3:28)  No more do we have to bow down to classism or sexism or racism or whatever else.  No more do we have to just assume things are going to go on being and doing as they always have.  No more do we have to wait for someone else to stand up and make a difference.  It’s a new day for each of us.  It’s a new time for each of us.  It’s a new opportunity for each of us to really know each other and meet needs and get connected and become community.

Shane Claiborne’s article about inter-dependence day said it much better then I could so here’s a link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-claiborne/this-july-4th-lets-celebr_b_633710.html.  In thinking about college campuses and what gets someone through the door of a campus ministry – what gets folks to seek community – what makes that connection – I can’t help but look towards the fall semester.  I know that having that community around you is vital in college life.  Having fellow journeyers with you is essential and I can’t fathom not having that support.  But how in a world where everyone feels connected (hello facebook, twitter, myspace, whatever the latest trend is) do you actually show the importance of real relationships and the vital news that we as a community, as a body of believers can make real change in the world?

I love Michael Buble’s song because of it’s implications for our Christian walk, but I also love it for this coming school year because we’re doing some things a little bit different at Winthrop Wesley.  Change is scary people.  Let me tell you.  I love how we’ve done things.  I love the students that have been here and are here.  A campus minister friend of mine shared an image that a campus minister shared with him about what campus ministry is like.  It’s like building sand castles in the sand.  As soon as you have a really good looking castle, the waves come and wash it away.  There are pros and cons with that – our “congregation” changes roughly every 4 years and even with students you’ll get the “but we’ve never done it that way before even if it’s been 2 years instead of 30.”  This past year we had a large group of seniors graduate and with some changes to Winthrop’s schedule and with the opening of the new Student Center, the Student Leadership Team and I thought this might be time to make a change.

So we are.  We’re going to mix up our meeting times, we (meaning the lovely Jonathan and Marissa) have painted some of our space, we’re going to do small groups differently and who knows what else differently.  Can’t wait for God to show us how this is going to look because it’s a scary thing stepping out and not doing the same thing that you’ve always done.  The familiar and the natural rhythm can’t be underestimated, but when you know it’s time, you know it’s time.

The main thing we’re doing differently this year is that we’re going to have a mission focus.  We will continue all of our work with social justice in terms of Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, CROP Walk, and the Potato Drop…it wouldn’t be Wesley if we didn’t have that as our backbone.  But we’re going to spend this year with a focus on Human Trafficking.  I’ve been hearing about this for a couple years now and it is something that has captured my heart.  There is so much information out there and so many different organizations and books and people lifting up this issue it’s unbelievable if you start digging around and yet we’re not hearing about this from the media.  It’s not something commonly talked about.  That is frustrating.  So this year we’re going to learn about human trafficking and then we’re going to do something to help combat the problem any way we can.  This means inviting speakers in.  This means reading books and educating ourselves.  This means we’re going to New York City over Fall Break to the Church Center Building and are going to do a United Methodist Seminar with the amazing folks that coordinate the Seminar Program there.

A song and story that has captured our vision for this is from the band Bluetree and the song is “God of this City.”  If you watch no video I ever post on this thing, watch this one.  Seriously.  It is powerful and he can say it a lot better than I can write it.  It is powerful coming out of the mouths of these Irish folk asking each of us – what are we doing to combat these things (hunger, homelessness, child soldiers, human trafficking) in our world?  If this is a new day, what are we doing to show a hurting world the God that loves them and is very much alive?

Here is a video of the whole song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgQccYki-9Y&NR=1

Here are the words:

You’re God of this city, you’re the King of these people, you’re the Lord of this nation, you are…

You’re the Light in this darkness, you’re the Hope to the hopeless, you’re the Peace to the restless, you are…

For there is none like our God, there is none like You, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

You’re the Lord of creation, The creator of all things you’re the King above all kings, you are…

You’re the Strength in the weakness, You are Love to the broken, You’re the Joy in the sadness, you are…

For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

Posted in Campus Ministry, Culture, Faith, Family, Health, Music

Those Moving Moments

Posted on by narciejeter

The two verses that the email version of the Upper Room gave me this morning were Psalm 91:1-2 “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”  The other focus verse was Matthew 28:20, “Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So tomorrow is the big day.  In some ways I feel like this is an even bigger day than surgery day but maybe that’s because I’ll be awake the whole time.  I am SUPER excited to get the stitches out.  I have already scheduled a fabulous wash and haircut from my beloved Robin at Kuttin’ Up for tomorrow evening.  Hugely excited about all of this crusty yuckness out of my hair.  Mom and Mike will go with me to the neurosurgeon’s.  GiGi is going to keep the kiddos.  Whatever they say – I don’t know.  I’ve gone back and forth all day but at present I’m just ready to know something.

To stay occupied I had a wonderful breakfast with an amazing couple that I’m marrying in less than a month and we began to plot and plan ways of sprucing up Wesley.  They’re having their reception at Wesley and I am beyond excited that we have the opportunity to give it a fresh look for their amazing occasion and to get ready for the school year.  We then got to work sprucing up and I had a great lunch with a clergywoman friend – a real treat!  Mike and I finished out the day picking out some new lights for Wesley and voting in the primary runoff.  So some work and civic duty complete it was time to hang out with the kiddos, take them to the splash pool, enjoy some Brunswick stew, cheer on the Gamecocks (cannot believe we won but so thrilled!), watch an episode of Burn Notice and we’re now flipping between the Clemson game and some crazy shoot em up movie on AMC.  It’s been a busy but good day and for that I am hugely grateful.

Dad called tonight after the Gamecocks won and in typical Dad fashion he has now made friends with the scalper who tried to break in line.  Today the guy came up and apologized to him for trying to cut and said he’d try to get him good tickets to Thursday night’s game.  Hilarious.  This is what amazes me about my father.  Even when he sticks to his guns and integrity but is kind of a hard rear, he still somehow makes these connections/relationships with people.  I guess you know where you stand with him and that is awesomely refreshing compared with plenty of people that just blah blah and placate you.

It’s those relationships that are so important.  A dear friend in seminary would say repeatedly, “It’s all about relationship.”  And it is.  There’s just something about that connection with the human spirit.  That which is real in me speaking to that which is real in you.  That beautiful hopeful and yet fragile humanity in each of us that calls out.  We’re watching America’s Got Talent now and this guy just did this whole kite thing to the music of Sarah McLachlan’s “Arms of the Angel” and it was just astounding.  Even Piers was floored by it.  He said he was prepared to make fun of it but it was extraordinary.  Very cool.  Three yes’s.  For a guy with a kite.  Who would have seen that coming?  That’s what’s awesome about the Susan Boyle’s and this kite guy and these random human connections that we make.  Remember that hilarious wedding video from last year with everyone dancing down the aisle?  Maybe it’s just sappy old me, but there’s just something so moving and human and great about these things.  It somehow pierces our cynicism and the layers of dust and crud and stink that seem to sometimes cover our souls.

I just love it.  I love when we’re shocked speechless by something and are blown away by the sheer force of joy or passion or just God given poignancy of something.  You can’t see Susan Boyle sing and not think – wow – didn’t see that one coming.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

  If Simon Cowell can be blown away – Oh my.  (I also love the girl that rolls her eyes like yeah right like this woman can sing.)  You can’t watch the wedding party dance down the aisle and not get caught up in the moment of it all.  They just practiced once briefly.  Hilarious.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0
You can’t take part in this life we’ve been given with your eyes and ears even halfway opened and not have your foundation rocked some of the time (sometimes in a great way, sometimes in a not so great one), but the good comes with the bad, the joy comes with the mourning, the hot fudge sundaes with the brussel sprouts.  It’s awesome to be able to savor the igniting of the human spirit and those shake the rafters experiences that just blow you away in the best of ways.

So as I think about diving into the unexpected tomorrow, I know that….well there are so many cliches I could write here, I’m hesitating.  I could say it’s all good or it is what it is or any other random pat answers.  Instead though I’m going to say the journey rocks on.  And it does.  We’ll keep you posted!

Here’s Laura Story’s Mighty to Save – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqogpLpC5Q

Posted in Campus Ministry, Culture, Faith, Family, Health, Movies, Music, Tumor

San Francisco

Posted on by narciejeter

Mom and I watched a movie last night with Clark Gable and an opera singer called San Francisco.  Although her opera singing was not the favorite of my ears, the story was decent and talked about the great earthquake and fire of San Francisco and faith and all sorts of interesting historical stuff. It was much better than watching the cartoons, news and newborn channel on the hospital television.

So they’ve taken off the lefthand iv and took out the righthand iv this morning.  They removed the staples from the central line in my neck yesterday so the only things left to do to get me out of here is take the bandage off of my neck and remove the drip.  Definitely gives new thought to the phrase “brain drain.”  Other than that I’m doing pretty well.   I have to admit now that I wasn’t so sure that I was going to wake up as me.  I know that they didn’t say anything about me not being myself when I woke up but with the whole brain thing I was concerned that I was going to just be here but not really be here.  But I am here!  My head hurts of course – duh! but my real slightly silly brain is here and for that I am truly, truly thankful!  If I could do a little jig I probably would (I think of Papa Mac my grandfather dancing down the aisle singing Lord of the Dance with his two leg prostheses).

It’s been sad watching the news here with the floods and I can’t imagine what those families are going through.  Many prayers for each of them and all of the days, weeks, and years ahead.  I keep saying surreally that I just had brain surgery, but I certainly didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with water all around and losing my family.  May God’s peace, strength, and presence surround these people in ways that they can’t even comprehend.

It’s amazing to me the strength of the human spirit and that push to keep going whether to the frontier of San Francisco, that beautiful 16 year old girl wanting to get back out and travel again in her sailboat or in watching this World Cup action and the exhilaration and electricity that come from people uniting in a common theme and cause!  We’ll see what the doctors say in the days and weeks to come.  As Mike told y’all, the doctor got all of the tumor except one line that was where it was fuzzy and close to the motor cortex.  They’ll either wait and see, do some chemo and radiation or will go back in and do another surgery.  Either way looks like I won’t be making it to Nicaragua in August but I know the students will have a blast!

I’m tired and I’m definitely not back to normal, but it feels good to know that I’ll get to see my kids soon and that life is going on as usual for now.  Josh is leading a Bible Study at Annual Conference right now so Mom and I have been praying for him.  He and Dad will travel back this way this afternoon.  Caleb was with us the morning of the surgery and GiGi has been sending us updated picture messages on the phone of the kids.  Mike will be doing the music at St. John’s – Fort Mill this morning.  Renee, Guyeth and Rob visited yesterday and they were each a blessing!  Prayers for Lindsay, my cousin and Guyeth and Rob’s daughter who got t-boned by a car full of 5 guys last night in New Orleans.  Even though it flipped, her Explorer just seemd to have one dent which is a blessing but I know she’s going to be sore and shaken up so prayers for peace, relaxed muscles, and rest.

So life goes on and just like those people in the crazy movie San Francisco – it may not all be pretty and it may be a fight, but it is life and we serve and know and trust the One who goes before us and beside us and ever with us each step of the way.  Praise be to God!

This is the link I wanted to post for you on Friday – it’s a song from Amy Grant’s new record – “Overnight” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cPYk6qB4Q0

  I also wanted to share with you Michael W. Smith’s “Healing Rain.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1bjTOFbZA

Posted in Campus Ministry, Faith, Family, Music

It’s good to be.

Posted on by narciejeter

It’s good to be at Wesley.  In my little universe.  Catching up on email and listening to my itunes.  Songs from Dawson’s Creek soundtracks.  Bahahaha….and all sorts of things.  A couple have stood out this morning.  Amy Grant’s Better than a Hallelujah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOHJghBU0XA

is one of them.  By the way – I own all the music I post.  Not the youtube videos of course, but just sayin – support your musicians people.

I also love Tom Conlon’s music.  His Emmanuel  is one of my favorite songs and always makes me think of my ordination.  I also love this one that to many says a lot about church – God doesn’t reside in a church but God resides in God’s community here on earth.  Such simplicity and such power.  Here’s the video of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97twloqVygE

  Here’s one called Old Town that he did at Wesley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta0wrIZWc9A&feature=related. 

I reconnected with one of my best friends this morning and it almost brings me to tears even writing about it.  There’s something about shared experience!  She and I used to eat these awesome rolls from the restaurant Hop’s.  They’re much like the ones at California Dreamin’ but better.  That’s what the title of her email was this morning and not even seeing the name – I knew who sent it.  There’s something about the breaking of bread and shared experience.  Something far more powerful than we can encapsulate or wax eloquent on this side of life, but to me that’s the importance of breaking bread.  My favorite bits of ministry and of this walk of faith in general has been around the table whether growing up with covered dish dinners (my favorite – you can’t beat the desserts) or sharing around the dining room table at Clairmont Religious Life and talking about Lord knows what or sharing in communion around our coffee table at Wesley.  It’s the food for the body and the soul.  God loves you.  God forgives you.  Supper’s ready!  Thanksgivings for all of the meals I have shared along the way with so many people and thanks to the one who sustains us each step of the way with the morsels of hope, love, and peace that keep us keeping on.  I am grateful.

Posted in Campus Ministry, Faith, Health, Music, Tumor

What to do today…

Posted on by narciejeter

So I’m sitting at Wesley with a million and one things to do and that’s what I love about my job.  However I’m just sitting here eating peanut m&m’s and am thinking how wonderful all of you are to be praying for me.  I kind of don’t want to let any of the surgeons or medical people know about all this because feel the pressure!  =0)  It’s completely surreal that this is happening and that there are facebook groups being created to pray for me.  This can’t be my life.

But it is, and in the midst of everything I feel y’all’s love and support hugely!  It’s been great to catch up with friends from high school and college and grad school and my work at Emory and all of my wonderful Winthrop folks.  One of my favorite messages is from my friend Jan who I met while working in Religious Life at Emory.  Jan is Jewish and wonderful!  She said she’s sending up some Jewish prayers!  Hey if God’s chosen people are praying – tee hee….  The thing that is wonderful is that I love all of you.  Each of you has touched my life in intricate ways and this tapestry of love that is being created around me is powerful.  Again, no pressure doctors.

Just want to give each of you a hug.  One more hour of work before time to go give a copy of the MRI/CT Scan CD to the neurosurgeon.  Oh yes – there are pictures of my brain and the tumor on the CD.  If I could figure out how to post them I would, but I don’t have those mad kind of computer skills.  For some people it helps to see it and wrap the mind around it (it made me feel better like I wasn’t crazy for having a seizure and falling out of a bed randomly) but then padre didn’t feel better after seeing it – totally understandable.  So back to work and then off to deliver some pictures and find out what I need to do for pre-op!

  Love this video.  And her story.  And that she’s from South Carolina.  Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e00JWpre67U.

Posted in Campus Ministry, Culture, Faith, Music

For Now

Posted on by narciejeter

So just had a good lunch with some clergywomen!  Love!  When I came back to Wesley playing was a song from Avenue Q called “For Now.”  Love the show and the song and so true…For Now from Avenue Q…

Mike and I had the pleasure of going on the campus ministry trip to Harlem a couple weeks ago and we took the students from Winthrop Wesley to see Avenue Q.  Yep a little on the edge, but totally fitting for college students.

Stuff is for now…but we know the One who is bigger than time and anything else we’re dealing with here on this crazy planet.

Posted in Campus Ministry, Faith, Family, Health, Tumor

So…

Posted on by narciejeter

So I was at a campus ministry conference last week and was having loads of fun when I suddenly began not feeling well. Thinking that this sprung from staying up too late and working too hard (yes, we do work in the summers) I skipped lunch and slept and made it back in time for some small groups. Still not feeling well, I headed back to the dorm room at 5 pm and went back to sleep. 5 pm to sleep, do you say? Crazy? I know.

Somewhere in the middle of that, I had a very scary dream where I thought I was having a seizure and couldn’t breathe and felt completely and utterly out of control. The next thing I remember is being on the floor of the dorm room and thinking hmmm….I’m laying on carpet. I crawled back up into bed (oh should have said that the beds were lofted – you gotta love dorm rooms) and then later blew my nose only to find that I was blowing out blood. Yes, squeamish people, this is not the blog for you. If you’re looking for rainbows and leprechauns they are not here. Well, after seeing the blood, I turned on the light in the room and I realized that there was blood all over my face and in my hair because my nose and lip were busted. Some dream! In the midst of this I got my phone and hopeful that morning was soon to arrive, I was saddened to find that it was 12:08 am. The good news is that some campus ministry friends were still awake and hanging out downstairs where I knew there was Tylenol. After a quick run downstairs to them where I’m sure I looked like a mess and crazy because I’m telling crazy stories about dreams of seizures and I’ve fallen out of my bed and I have strange bruises on my arms, I’m back upstairs calling my mom in the middle of the night trying to figure out what in the heck is happening to me.

A very, very wise person called campus police and just as my mom was praying for guards at my door, they literally showed up. I know I must have looked a mess because they quickly unbunked my bed and asked if they could call the paramedics. The paramedics came and checked me out and everything looked good. They asked if I wanted to come with them and thinking that I was finally starting to feel sleepy, I said no, but then I started feeling nauseous and hot again, and so yes, I have now taken a ride in an ambulance. Oh my even in the middle of the night, that is embarassing.

Several blood tests later, I’m checking out pretty well. I think all the ER people thought I was just a crazy girl from South Carolina. Which is true. But somehow in the midst of this the doctor began to listen to my story, and to this “dream” that I had about a seizure and she ran a muscle enzyme test that showed that I had most likely had a seizure. Good to know that I haven’t just started randomly falling out of beds.

So this very wise doctor then does a CT Scan and sees a suspicious place on the scan so decides to do an MRI and lo and behold just before 7 am on Saturday morning I am in the middle of Winchester, Virginia hearing that I may have a brain tumor. Anyone see that one coming? And then here comes my very own McDreamy. Actually it took him several hours and I wouldn’t have described him as Mcanything – steamy or otherwise, but he was very nice and reassuring even in the midst of hearing the whole can’t drive 6 months after a seizure and all that jazz.

So where does that leave me? It leaves me with a waiting game and a fighting game. I get to do a functional MRI in the next couple of days to see how close this low grade tumor is to the extrafabulous part of my brain that helps me to function and then sometime next week I hear that we’ll get to know what the plan of action is. For me, I already know what that is. I’m going to love, I’m going to fight, I’m going to cry, I’m going to feel, I’m going to get mad, I’m going to laugh, and I’m probably going to have some headaches.

I never took the time to write a blog before. Ha ha. But I’m thinking now’s as good a time as any to start. Will post more as I figure things out.  Thanks for all of the prayers!  You can ask questions, but we don’t have many answers.  I think God likes questions though so have at it!