Large Group
During the fall, winter and spring quarters, meetings are held on Friday evenings starting at 6:30pm. Our meetings rotate between several types of events.
Approximately every other week, we begin our meetings with a meal prepared by fellow members. Then we hear from a speaker and discuss or pray about the message. The talks are aimed at helping us see our work at Stanford in the context of being a disciple of Jesus.
On the other weeks, we either have a meeting devoted to worship and prayer or to viewing and discussing a film. At the worship meetings we bring the specific thanksgivings and struggles of our time here at Stanford before the Lord. At the film night discussions, we try to think theologically and critically about our culture from the standpoint of Christian conviction.
For further details about any of these meetings and for venue information and directions please contact Rachel Ahern (rahern).
Schedule for Spring Quarter, 2006
Location: EV Cottage Room
We complete the theme of Call this Quarter with focus on the Call to Witness. A witness is someone who has seen something. Paul Leu (ME), George Chang (Statistics), and Nola Stephens (Linguistics) have agreed to share what they have seen of God, in their own experience. It should be a very special time, and a good opportunity to bring friends.
Location: Building 300, Rm 300
An evening of worship and reflection on Jesus' death on the cross.
Recording:
high quality (4 MB)
Location: EV Cottage Room
The Rise of Faith in Universities of the Former Soviet Union
Barrett Horne, Director IFES Russia
Since the late 1980's, a movement of student converts has given birth to a remarkable network of Christians in the universities of Eurasia. Barrett has evolved with the work and now leads the Eurasia Division of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), active in nearly 150 nations. Barrett is married to Carol, and they have two adult children. They lived for years in Oxford UK, but now live in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories.
Recording:
high quality (26 MB)
Location: Building 300, Rm 300
"Walk the Line" (2005) / 136 min / PG-13 / Nominated for 5 Academy Awards; winner, Best Actress Directed by James Mangold, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
Traces the life of Johnny Cash from his boyhood, with loss of a brother and of his father's affection, to 1968 when his outlaw side and his unhappiness give way to the twin triumphs of his concert at Folsom Prison and June Carter's acceptance of his marriage proposal. Along the way there's his first composition, first recording, first marriage, daughters, being smitten with June, divorce, pills and booze, an empty life, and the Carter family's nursing him back to health. June eases Johnny out of a ring of fire. (imdb.com summary)
Location: EV Cottage Room
Ben & Jill Malin will share their experiences of the journey to PhD-hood and beyond.
Location: Bld 300 Rm 300
Sorting the Facts from the Fiction
John Ortberg, PhD Fuller Seminary, and teaching pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, will give a talk and hold a Q&A session on topics related to the bestselling book The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.
If you have read the book you may have wondered about the following questions...
- Were there other authentic sources about Jesus that were suppressed by the Church?
- Why does the New Testament contain some books about Jesus but not others?
- Was Jesus married?
- Did Christians believe in Jesus' divinity before the Council of Nicaea (325 AD)?
- Does the New Testament present an attempt by men to gain control over women?
Location: Oak Room, Tressider Student Union
Woah! Another year has flow by! Let's celebrate the fellowship we've shared over the past year and send off those who are finishing their their studies in style.
Schedule for Winter Quarter, 2006
Location: Graduate Community Center, Havana Room
Eileen Razzari-Elrod will be speaking about the call to academic life.
Location: Graduate Community Center, Havana Room
Love. Marriage. Sex. Dating.
Reading these words likely incites in you
either a cynical or starry-eyed reaction - or maybe both! Our minds and
hearts have been deeply shaped by our experiences and the deluge of images
and advice we receive on a daily basis. But Christians are called to be
transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom.12:2), and this includes
learning how to think and act in ways appropriate to being made by God
and for God when it comes to romantic relationships. What we need is a
theological framework for thinking about sexuality, marriage, relationships,
and love. Come and explore these topics together on Friday evening at
Intervarsity Graduate Fellowship.
David Jones and his wife Mindi moved to Palo Alto in June of 2003 to establish Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Stanford University. Originally from Knoxville, TN, David attended the University of Tennessee. He has a B.A. in Philosophy from University of Tennessee and a M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary.
See Winter Conference 2006 page for recorded talks and photo album...
Location: Graduate Community Center, Havana Room
Bill will reflect on the purpose of grad school and reasons why it may be the right thing (or not) for different people. He will talk about "seasons" of the grad experience that he has seen students go through, and how the grad experience relates to Christian life and calling.
Location: Building 300, Rm 300
Boycott tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. After Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of the bus and is arrested, the Montgomery Improvement Association decides to fight back, naming Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. its president and staging a boycott against the Montgomery buses. The black community comes together in one of the first major organized battles against segregation and racism in the 1950s. But the grass-roots struggle grows harder every day, as bad weather and an aggressive Montgomery police force threaten to put an end to the boycott. Movie is 113 minutes, and discussion will follow.
Schedule for Fall Quarter, 2006
Location: Oak Room, Tressider (2nd Floor)
The welcome dinner is an opportunity to find out what Stanford InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship is about, meet new people, and enjoy a free meal! Members of the fellowship will present the activities IV Grad sponsors, small group leaders will introduce the theme of their small groups, and the worship team will provide an opportunity to worship in song.
Location: Oak Room East, Tressider (2nd Floor)
Dr. Christine Keeling Taylor will speak about God's call to graduate students. She is an Asst Prof of Nuclear Medicine and Director of Marriage Ministry at Menlo Park Presbyterian. Raised in Zimbabwe, educated in London, and on staff at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, she has a great story and a great accent with which to tell it.
Location: Building 300, Rm 300
An evening of worship in song and prayer with a homily by Pete Sommer
Location: EV Cottage Room
Panelists Mark Wistey, Charis Quay, and Karan Venayagamoorthy will share their insights, advice, and hard-earned lessons about life as a graduate student.
Location: EV Cottage Room
Mark Pettersen is the Senior Pastor at Peninsula Vineyard Church.
Location: Building 300, Rm 300
SHATTERED GLASS
This film tells the true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist
Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), who rose to meteoric heights as a
young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at "The New Republic"
for three years (1995-1998), where 27 of his 41 published stories were
either partially or completely made up. Looking for a short cut to fame,
Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his
deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world
came crumbling down...
Movie is 94 minutes and discussion will follow.
Location: Graduate Community Center, Havana Room
Pete Sommer will be speaking about Matthew's birth-story of Jesus. Why does God make a habit of calling us in complicated situations, through unlikely people, to difficult roles? What makes it joyful?
Location: Cypress Room, Tressider Student Union (2nd floor, across the hall from Oak West)
We're having a party to celebrate the approach of Christmas and the end of Fall Quarter!
WHAT: Food, fellowship, carol singing, a short dramatic reading, and a wacky gift-exchange game
WHEN: Friday December 9, 7pm - until the party ends
WHERE: Cypress Room, Tressider Student Union (2nd floor, across the hall from Oak West)
PLEASE BRING:
- A SNACK OR DESSERT to share with the group (there will be no dinner)
- A WRAPPED "WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT" for under $8 for our gift-exchange game. You can bring anything from "nice" (if that's the right word for something under $8) to "off-beat" and "undesirable." Don't forget to wrap it!