News and Updates!

NC Zoo Trip

Join us this Saturday for a trip to the NC Zoo!

Tickets will be $12 and we will carpool there.

Here is some info about the zoo:

Located just south of Asheboro, the North Carolina Zoo is seated on a 1,500-acre tract of land in the Uwharrie Mountains. Approximately 500 acres of this property have been developed into one of the largest “natural habitat” zoos in the United States. You won’t find cages made of steel and concrete here. Our animals are given enclosures that mimic their natural habitats to include trees, ponds, rocks, grass and dirt.

The North Carolina Zoo grew from an idea initiated by the Raleigh Jaycees in 1967. Through a series of fund-raising events–including at least one professional football game-the site was selected and secured to be close to the center of the state. We are 75 miles west of Raleigh, 25 miles south of Greensboro and 75 miles northeast of Charlotte.

The first exhibits opened in 1974 as a temporary facility while the permanent Zoo was being built. Our first permanent exhibit was the “Forest Edge”, home to Zebra, Ostrich and Giraffe. This opened in 1979, and exists today much as it did in the late 1970′s.

Zombie Prom for Life

Zombies love brains, but hate cancer!

Come on out and join us for a zombie themed dance to raise money for Relay for Life!

March 23rd 8pm- 12am

Entry fee $3

Associated Campus Ministries Building Rm 214

Dress in your best zombie outfit for a chance to win $50 cash! The Spartones will be making a special appearance and performing and selling their CD! We will also have zombie make up available, but non-zombie prom’ers are welcome.

Bring extra money to buy snacks and pictures, or make an additional donation to help fight cancer!

Come out to support a great cause, fight cancer, and have fun!

Spring Break Retreat

On March 5th-9th, we will be going on our annual Spring Break prayer retreat in Myrtle Beach!

Over the course of the week we will be reading and discussing The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. We will also be involved in a service project and have multiple opportunities to hang out around Myrtle Beach. We have reserved four condos and we’ll have access to two pools, two hot tubs, and an exercise room.

The cost of the trip will be $175 if you pay by Feb. 20th and $200 if you pay afterwards. The cost of the trip will include a place to stay, food for the trip (including going out to eat a couple of times), and entertainment. Please make payments by check and give them to Andrew.

It will be a fun and relaxing trip! Hope to see you there!

Witness To Innocence- Shabaka tells his story Feb. 16th

On February 16th, Shabaka WaQlimi is coming to UNCG to speak about his time on death row.

Shabaka WaQlimi (Joseph Green Brown) came within thirteen hours of being killed in an electric chair in Florida when a new trial was ordered in his case in October 1983. Twice a day, he heard the chair’s lightning-like noise from his deathwatch cell. When a prison tailor came to measure him for his burial suit, he was put back in his cell kicking and screaming. He refused to order the traditional last meal.

In 1974, a Hillsborough County jury convicted Shabaka of raping and murdering Earlene Treva Barksdale, a storeowner and the wife of a prominent Tampa lawyer. The case hinged on Ronald Floyd, a man who openly resented Shabaka for turning him in for robbery. The jury also saw a purported “smoking gun,” a .38-caliber handgun that prosecutor Robert Bonanno said was the murder weapon.

But an FBI ballistics expert—a witness the jury never heard—said the handgun could not possibly have fired the fatal bullet and several months later, Floyd admitted his lie.

Yet the Florida courts granted no relief, and in 1983 Governor Bob Graham signed Shabaka’s death warrant. His charges were finally dropped after an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stated that the prosecution had purposefully allowed false testimony at trial. Shabaka was released in 1987 when the state decided not to retry the case. He had spent 13 years on death row.

Two decades later, Shabaka – a name that means “uncompromising” in Swahili – puts his outrage to work by trying to solve the problems of struggling people. He previously worked with troubled youth at a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. He says that his biggest victory to date is that “I’m alive. . . . that’s good enough for me.”

Hitchhiking

At church this Sunday, the Pastor opened his sermon by showing this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NK1RsItAAs. He then began to discuss a specific kind of Christian, the “hitchhiker”. This is someone that is fully behind the church and wants to see it grow but doesn’t want to put in the work and as soon as things get difficult they are gone to “better” places. It’s such a sad thing but it happens all the time. But why should we not be a hitch hiker? While in the past I have heard many sermons about the importance of church, the one that I heard this Sunday has provided me the strongest imagery (loosely retold).

“During a trip a Pastor was spending a few nights with a husband and wife. During his stay he noticed that they showed so much devotion to their dog. They fed the dog the same food they were eating, it had its own room and bed, and they were constantly giving it attention. In fact, it was almost as if they were giving it more attention than their guest. The Pastor was shocked and amazed at their behavior. So one night he asks them why they don’t have any kids. They gave so much attention to the dog, they would make great parents. The wife ran out crying and the Pastor asked why it offended her. The husband told him that they once had a son but he died of a terminal illness and the wife was told by her doctor that she could no longer have children. The dog actually belonged to the child so when he passed away the couple devoted all of their love and attention to the dog because they loved their son so much.”

The Pastor then challenged the congregation to put this in the perspective of Jesus and the church. If we love Jesus and God so much, shouldn’t that love flood the church? Shouldn’t we want to do everything that we can to help it grow and thrive?

This is such a powerful image for me because I know that I have been so blessed and have experienced the love of Christ that I know others have not yet seen. It is so important for those of us who know what that love is like, to be able to share it with others. This is what church is and this is why we shouldn’t be hitchhikers. We are not called to take everything we can out of church and then leave it high and dry. We are called to grow the church and stand by it, giving everything that we take. I think we can all agree that the love of Christ is a powerful thing and that everyone should be able to experience it.

I hope you all are having a great week and don’t forget to take a moment each day to share the love of Christ with others in any way that you can.

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Acts 20:28

All You Need is Love.

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all you mind, and , “Love your neighbor as yourself. “ – Luke 10:25-27.

On days such as Valentine’s Day we notice symbols of love all around us. Most other days of the year it can be much less apparent. Overall, Jesus said that we must love others like we love ourselves and we show our love all the time. Everyday we must ask ourselves how did we show love (God’s love) to someone? That can be such a daunting question to answer.

Showing your love to others doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give a hug to everyone who walks by you today. It can be as easy as listening to someone. It can be as easy as sitting with someone who appears to be alone. Lately this semester I have encountered peers who have dealt with death, financial struggle, stress, and disappointment. Sadly, we cannot make these hard challenges/times simply evaporate. However, just listening and being there to talk to someone who needs the company can be a huge way to show love to others. Through difficult times having someone to listen can give people hope, advice, and the input others need.

Through every kind and loving act, be it volunteering frequently or as simple as listening to someone who needs the company can reveal God’s kindness to others.

-Have a very Happy Valentine’s Day and God bless you!

Three Little Birds

Do you ever feel stressed out? Do you ever feel overwhelmed? That all of your commitments, obligations, and responsibilities are too much and will come crashing down on you like a wave that will sweep you away from the shore that is your norm?

I used to.

I am a music major. I am trying to be an active member of a couple student groups on campus. I am trying to do well in all of my classes. I am trying to have a social life. I am trying to…well, you get the idea.

And I am no exception. Far from it. Everyone has a hundred and one things that they could be doing right now. How do you keep from feeling stressed about everything that has to be done and just focus on the now?

Give it all up to God.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

We are more valuable than the birds, and God takes care of them. Why should we think that he will not also take care of us?

So next time you feel the stress coming on, take a deep breath and know that God will provide for you, no matter what it is you are going through. Now, who knows what that will look like?

Mario Kart Tournament Rules!

Mario Kart Wii Tournament for Relay for Life

Saturday Feb. 11th at 4pm

ACM Room 214

$5 entry fee 1st place- $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card 2nd place- Remote Controlled Mario Kart

With only 10 days left until the tournament, here are the rules of the tournament:

Each bracket will consist of 4 racers chosen at random.
Each round will have 5 randomly generated races.
Items will be set on aggressive and the computer will be set on difficult.
The top two racers after a round will advance to the next round.
Participants can use either the Wii remote by itself or with the Nunchuck. GameCube controllers and Wii Steering wheels are permitted but will not be provided.
The last round of races will be played on Mirror.

Board games will be open for everyone to play throughout and after the tournament, so even if you aren’t brave enough to enter the tournament you can hang out! Light snacks and drinks will also be provided.

We are all really excited about the tournament and we hope to raise a lot of money for Relay!

Do you understand what I have done for you?

The story of the Jesus washing the Disciples feet has always been pretty interesting to me. A teacher, highly respected amongst his peers, lowers himself to the position of a servant to wash the feet of his friends. Everyone wore sandals in those days. Everyone walked to where they wanted to go with no paved roads. Feet were dirty, and it wasn’t above Jesus to clean up the mess. In John 13 Jesus says ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

This past weekend I was on a Teens Encounter Christ retreat, a program that has changed my life in more ways than I can imagine. Over the course of the 4 days I was there I was given the opportunity to wash the feet of my fellow TECites and in turn have my feet washed by them. For those who haven’t experienced a foot washing let me say that it’s a really moving experience, even a bit uncomfortable if you know who is on their knees before you washing your feet. This got me thinking: What can we do to wash the feet of others? What does it mean to stop gossiping, stop tweeting, stop texting, stop running, stop ignoring, stop stressing, stop procrastinating…and start serving? What does that mean for you? Imagine what it could mean for those around you.

For more information about Share The Word: Teens Encounter Christ visit www.stwtec.org