IV Newsletter 0.1
August 13th, 2007
Brothers and Sisters, Friends (Romans, Countrymen), and persons otherwise associated with InterVarsity at RIT,
Welcome to your first e-newsletter for the 2007-2008 school year.
Outline:
- The winds of change…
- Old Timer’s Meeting
- NSO Events
- Large Group Topics
- Follow-up
- Contact us.
1. “I think I feel a change in the wind, says I.”
As many of you know, God has given Intervarsity/USA the vision to see Students and Faculty Transformed, Campuses Renewed, and World-changers Developed. This year God has put it on our hearts to accomplish this mission by endeavoring to Create a God-seeking Community for RIT. As an entity, we want to be more outwardly-focused than we have been in recent history, because we are convinced that for some mysterious reason God loves to use his people through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring transformation in both communities and individual lives.
The first question everyone asks is “How are we going to do that?” At the start of summer large groups I made an
attempt to explain some of our yet underdeveloped ideas of the how fresh out of Basileia. There were many concerns and questions, as there should be when attempting new things — they must be tested for weaknesses and adapted accordingly. This process is what Servant Team has been working through over the summer; and below you will find some of the events and basic details that are the meat around an ideological structure that we have developed.
Recently it has been brought to my attention by several sources that misguided rumors likely stemming from that first summer meeting are spreading through the chapter. I recognize that I am partially to blame, for rumors are propagated by a desire to know, and this is my first contact with many of you for the summer. However, I would urge you to contact a member of Servant Team (listed below) with concerns, or simply suppress the natural tendency to spread such thoughts until you can hear the truth for yourself at the…
2. Old Timers’ Meeting
Sunday, September 2, 7:00pm in Building 6, room A205
This is one of the most important meetings of the entire year. Oh, and if you were part of Intervarsity last year and didn’t graduate yet, you are officially an Old Timer. If you’re a new student don’t feel excluded! You’re more than welcome to come.
We will be celebrating the summer and anticipating an amazing year of life-transformation, campus renewal, and the development of world-changers as we together create a God-seeking community for RIT. You’ll get the full story behind that and the related structural changes to small groups, large group, etc. These all come together in several practical goals God has placed on our hearts for the year.
Please don’t miss this!
3. Quiz. NSO stands for…
- New Student Outreach
- Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra
- National Statistics Office (for our former president)
- Nobly Splay-footed Ostriches
I won’t justify the question with an answer.
Many of you are working on planning out the details for our New Student Outreach, now seven exciting weeks of events leading all the way up to Expedition, our fall retreat. Here’s a brief and inexhaustive list of events to wet your appetite:
- Oobleck Kickball
- Major Night
- RIT Scavenger Hunt
- Pot Luck Pig Out
- Cupcake Social
- Deaf Awareness Night
- Women’s Dine Around
- International Dinner
- World Cup Soccer
…and a lot more!
This year during Week 2 we are changing it up a bit. This week will be focused around outreach through service. Monday of that week we will have a Meet, Greet, and Eat at Gracie’s to try and get new students involved in the service projects for the week.
Outreach isn’t a one time deal…so in addition to events we would like to create opportunities to continually outreach on campus. GIGs (Groups Investigating God) will be starting up right away. Other ideas such as a grocery network to help students without cars get to the store, and organized outreach lunches that strike up conversation about upcoming large group topics are underway.
Most of all, we don’t want to lose focus on this fancy word “evangelism”. We can put on many events but it doesn’t mean anything if we forget why we are doing it! We are called to show God’s love through our words and actions and then praise Him when His grace transforms their lives. In order to reach out to a campus of 15,000 we need the entire IV chapter involved. If you would like to know more about NSO and/or be interested in helping out with outreach events, GIGs or anything else please email Chelsea.
4. Large Group
This fall our large group series is going to be called “The Search for Community.” We will be bringing in lecturers to discuss various aspects of community and the needs for social interaction that all humans require. Many RIT students, freshmen in particular, are looking for ways to fit in and to find a community of people who will support them and that they can feel a part of. Our goals are to present to the lost and lonely people of RIT what a community should be and encourage students to find a place where they can have good, healthy community. We want to challenge IVers to make InterVarsity a place where people can come to find that type of community. Some topics we will be exploring include accepting people with all their baggage, having a purpose, dealing with gender issues, forgiving one another, ethnic diversity, deaf/hearing diversity, and many more.
5. Follow-up
Katlyn Hutchins is our Follow-up coordinator. Here’s a personal (and I admit, slightly edited) note from her:
Hi Everyone!
As most of you might know, there are lots of New Student Outreach events planned for the upcoming Fall Quarter. It is important that we follow up with all of the people that we meet during these events. I am looking for people to volunteer to be part of “follow up teams” next year. I’m looking for follow up teams to help me follow up with people and to invite people to the events that are planned. I need lots of people to help out. Send me an email with some form of your fall schedule if you are interested in helping out, and I’ll get back to you with more details so you can decide if you’d like to serve this way. Thanks! Don’t forget to keep the incoming freshman in prayer, and be praying for all of us to be used by God to win many souls for Christ!–Katlyn
6. Contact us.
These are your Servant Team members and Intervarsity Staff Workers. We’re here to serve God by serving you and the RIT community. Please don’t hesitate to email us.
Erik Belandi Small Groups Coordinator
Chelsea DeCapua Outreach Coordinator
Belinda Segui Service & Missions Coordinator
Andy Slippey Large Group Coordinator
Matt Sones President, Prayer Coordinator
Jon Steffens Club Coordinator (aka IV ambassador to RIT)
Nicole Page Staff
Mark Weber Staff
Grace and Peace,
- m a t t
“Therefore,
prepare you minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully
on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”