Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid PAID Permit No. 14 Tucson, Arizona Your support helps PCM help others! This fall, six walkers from PCM participated in the CROP Walk, sponsored by Church World Service. Are hearty crew raised almost $500 for issues of hunger locally and abroad. The PCM Connection Arizona Presbyterian Campus Ministry is a welcoming, relevant, and biblically grounded community where students and young adults in Tucson can: Be… themselves, beloved children of God Belong… to a community following Jesus Christ. Become… who the Holy Spirit is calling them to be www.pcmarizona.org Laura, an anthropology PhD student, spent last year doing field research in a rural village. She visited both of the village’s two churches, but the experience was too painful. “I haven’t been able to set foot in a church since,” Laura shared to the group of us gathered around the table at the Auld Dubliner Pub. Since the beginning of the semester 10-12 of us have gathered in the pub to engage questions… questions about life, questions about God, questions about faith. Instead of having a set topic, we just open each meeting by asking, “So, what are the big questions that people have been chewing on this week?” And, away we go. Our conversations have covered all kinds of topics from Sin to the origin of the Universe. We’ve wrestled with our basic assumptions about God. We even talked about the religious themes threaded throughout Star Trek and other science fiction series. We started this Theology on Tap program in the hopes of connecting with young adults who, like Laura, aren’t in a place where they feel like they can walk through the doors of a church. And, yet, there is a deep hunger, a deep desire to connect with God and know the Good News of Jesus Christ. There have been a few raised eyebrows about our ministry gathering in a pub. But, I’m reminded in this season of Advent, that God’s Son was not born in the Temple. Instead, God chose to be revealed – and live – among the ordinary people… CAMPUS CHRISTIAN CENTER 715 N. PARK AVENUE TUCSON, AZ 85719 THE PCM CONNECTION ARIZONA PRESBYTERIAN CAMPUS MINISTRY DECEMBER 2009 Winter 2009 The PCM Connection www.pcmarizona.org Inside this Issue: Page 2 - Donors make a difference - Editorial statement Page 3 - Food for the Body, Food for the Soul Page 4 - Freshman Reflection by Caroline Tonarely Page 5 - Thoughts from PCM Board Treasurer by Marjorie Lotz, Preparing the Way… Ben Larson-Wolbrink, Campus Minister A group of students went to Willcox to pick apples and pumpkins to celebrate fall! many of whom probably never even understood themselves as “religious.” And, yet, they had a longing for the Kingdom of God. These are the people to whom Jesus came… and they followed him. As we seek to follow Jesus in the ministries of PCM, we are reminded that Jesus did not promise that discipleship would be easy. We are all invited to take up our Cross and follow him. It is no secret that the current recession has been a challenge for our ministry, for many other specialized ministries, and even for congregations. The PCM Board is taking these challenges seriously, knowing that we may have to make significant changes in order ensure the long- term viability of this important ministry. As we do, we are working hard to explore other possible models, many of which might be quite different from how we are currently operating. As we do so, we remember that God comes in ways that we least expect. So, over the next, several months, we will be doing the hard work to prepare for the future of this ministry. We ask for your prayers during this Advent season as, together, we prepare the way of the Lord. Annual Spaghetti Dinner 5:30pm, January 29, 2010 Trinity Presbyterian Church, Tucson Tickets $10 Luca and Michael at Theology on Tap
Transcript
Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid
PAID Permit No. 14
Tucson, Arizona
Your support helps PCM help others! This fall, six walkers from PCM participated in the CROP Walk, sponsored by Church World Service. Are hearty crew raised almost $500 for issues of hunger locally and abroad.
The PCM Connection Arizona Presbyterian Campus Ministry is a welcoming, relevant, and biblically grounded community where students and young adults in Tucson can: Be… themselves, beloved children of God Belong… to a community following Jesus Christ. Become… who the Holy Spirit is calling them to be
www.pcmarizona.org
Laura, an anthropology PhD student, spent last year doing field research in a rural village. She visited both of the village’s two churches, but the experience was too painful. “I haven’t been able to set foot in a church since,” Laura shared to the group of us gathered around the table at the Auld Dubliner Pub. Since the beginning of the semester 10-12 of us have gathered in the pub to engage questions… questions about life, questions about God, questions about faith. Instead of having a set topic, we just open each meeting by asking, “So, what are the big questions that people have been chewing on this week?” And, away we go. Our conversations have covered all kinds of topics from Sin to the origin of the Universe. We’ve wrestled with our basic assumptions about God. We even talked about the religious themes threaded throughout Star Trek and other science fiction series. We started this Theology on Tap program in the hopes of connecting with young adults who, like Laura, aren’t in a place where they feel like they can walk through the doors of a church. And, yet, there is a deep hunger, a deep desire to connect with God and know the Good News of Jesus Christ. There have been a few raised eyebrows about our ministry gathering in a pub. But, I’m reminded in this season of Advent, that God’s Son was not born in the Temple. Instead, God chose to be revealed – and live – among the ordinary people…
CAMPUS CHRISTIAN CENTER 715 N. PARK AVENUE TUCSON, AZ 85719
THE PCM CONNECTION ARIZONA PRESBYTERIAN CAMPUS MINISTRY
DECEMBER 2009
Winter 2009 The PCM Connection www.pcmarizona.org
Inside this Issue: Page 2 - Donors make a difference - Editorial statement Page 3 - Food for the Body, Food for the Soul Page 4 - Freshman Reflection by Caroline Tonarely Page 5 - Thoughts from PCM Board Treasurer by Marjorie Lotz,
Preparing the Way… Ben Larson-Wolbrink, Campus Minister
A group of students went to Willcox to pick apples and pumpkins to celebrate fall!
many of whom probably never even understood themselves as “religious.” And, yet, they had a longing for the Kingdom of God. These are the people to whom Jesus came… and they followed him. As we seek to follow Jesus in the ministries of PCM, we are reminded that Jesus did not promise that discipleship would be easy. We are all invited to take up our Cross and follow him. It is no secret that the current recession has been a challenge for our ministry, for many other specialized ministries, and even for congregations. The PCM Board is taking these challenges seriously, knowing that we may have to make significant changes in order ensure the long-term viability of this important ministry. As we do, we are working hard to explore other possible models, many of which might be quite different from how we are currently operating. As we do so, we remember that God comes in ways that we least expect. So, over the next, several months, we will be doing the hard work to prepare for the future of this ministry. We ask for your prayers during this Advent season as, together, we prepare the way of the Lord.
Annual Spaghetti Dinner
5:30pm, January 29, 2010 Trinity Presbyterian Church, Tucson
Tickets $10
Luca and Michael at Theology on Tap
The PCM Connection Page 2 of 6
The PCM Connection is a quarterly newsletter of Arizona Presbyterian Campus Ministry, a ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA). If you have any input or responses regarding this newsletter send them to: [email protected] This edition was edited by, Ann Lawrence, PCM Student Intern.
Page 5 of 6 The PCM Connection
Many Thanks to all our donors! Contributions from Sept. 1-Dec. 1: Giving $1000 or more Immanuel Presbyterian Church Larson-Wolbrink, Ben and Gretchen Presbytery de Cristo St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Valley Presbyterian Church Giving $100 or more Brittain, Robert and Ann Case, Bill and Barbara Davies, John and Joan Faith Presbyterian Church Fohr, Bruce and Janet Fohr, Rob and Christine Hill, John Lawrence, Kirk and Lorna Lutz, Elizabeth McCormick, Fay Ruth Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Murphy, Leonard and Judy Olmstead, Lyle and Arlene Raffety, David and Jayne Richards, Irvin and Moira St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Tucson Samoy, Joey and Sue Sharpe, Patricia Smith, Michael and Karen Thomas, Ray and Robin Thomas- Hillburn, Hale and Holly Tortolita Presbyterian Church Wood, Red and Cheryl Yanamura, Gary and Jennifer Zimmerman, Carl Giving up to $99 Bredehoft, Kevin Brock, Mona Diekema, Larry and Bridgett Free, Dale and Peggy Jordan, Albert Kiser, Greg and Bonnie Rae Marble, Justin and Vanessa McConnell, Margaret Roof, Tom and Ginny Samoy, Gregorio and Laura Sara, Stephanie Stroh, Barbara Strong,Liz Tompkins, Dave and Gayle Whiting, Frank and Pat Windsor, David Witt, Jacob and Autumn
Students fill their plates at the Internal Thanksgiving Dinner
Laura opening all the cans of sweet potatoes, corn, and cranberries.
PCM at the Gaslight Theatre “The Cisco Kid”
Feb 19th at 6:30pm Tickets: $20
Tickets on sale now
Thoughts from the PCM Board Treasurer Marjorie, Lotz, Board Treasurer
Marge Lotz at the PCM Spring fundraiser
Wedding Photo
Less than a decade ago, Presbytery de Cristo funded 100% of the costs of Presbyterian Campus Ministry, which was around $60,000. In recent years our outreach has grown, and so has our budget, to close to $100,000. At the same time, Presbytery de Cristo has had to reduce its funding due to a decrease in available funds. In 2009 Presbytery de Cristo’s support of PCM was $38,000, about 38.3% of the total PCM budget. In 2010 Presbytery de Cristo has pledged $38, 500 toward PCM. While we are enthusiastic about the slight increase from this year, we also recognize that $22,000 of this support is a one-time grant for the year 2010 only. At this time, it is difficult to predict what, if any, funds we can count on receiving from Presbytery de Cristo in 2011.
As available funds from Presbytery de Cristo have decreased, the PCM Board has worked hard to raise funds from individual donors (friends of PCM, alumni, parents, etc.) and congregations. We’ve also organized fundraisers like the Annual PCM Spaghetti Dinner and the PCM Gaslight Theater Night. And, indeed, God has been faithful, providing the support needed to continue this vital ministry. We plan to be proactive during the upcoming year so that we can meet the financial challenge that 2011 will pose. As we do so, we recognize that prudent controlling of expenses will be key. At the same time, we hope we can rely on you to expand our legion of supporters. We (the PCM Board and students) acknowledge and give our heartfelt thanks to God and to all who have supported PCM, with prayers, time and monetary gifts in the past, and we hope we can count on you in the future. With your support and God’s provision, we look forward to continuing this important ministry to college students and young adults! ,
PCM Alumni Wedding
PCM celebrated the wedding of alumni Jim Williams and Cassie Grant (former student intern) on October 23rd. Rev. Ben Larson-Wolbrink officiated at the service, and in addition to the bride’s siblings, the bridal party was made up with PCM alumnae Kenna Koch, Megan LeCluyse, and Lynnette Soares. Current PCM student Erin Acino was also a bridesmaid.
