40 Day Challenge
One of the hopes of this MARKcentral was that there would be more stories of people living out the scripture coming out of this week. This was the inspiration behind David and I introducing some group application for all the Mark 1 studies. which looked like two sessions with two exercises to be completed.
The first session, included an exercise inspired by Mark Scandrette’s book, Practicing the Ways of Jesus. In the book, he lays out an experiment done by his community called Experiments in Truth, where members participating in the experiment do some reflection on their lives and identify one area they would like to see change happen, and then identify one behaviour or habit they would like to give up and one they would like to adopt for a period of 40 days. The experiment is meant to be held loosely and not legalistically but has measurable goals and outcomes by the end of the 40 day period. At the end of the time, participants can make decisions about whether this experiment is something they’d like to incorporate in their lives in a regular rhythm.
Some of the questions to help people identify what they want would like to change are as follows: How do I live in my body? What do I think about or dwell on in my mind? How am I managing my feelings and the stresses of life? Where am I spending my time, talents and resources? How am I showing up to my relationships? After reflecting on where you spend your life energy, you can determine one or two priority areas where changes are most needed.
The second step of the experiment is to explore the patterns and root causes for the issues identified by briefly describing the issue or pattern and considering what are the daily choices you make that support this habit or pattern. Reflecting on if there are deeper issues from which this struggle arises?
I’ve known in my own leadership that it’s hard to lead people to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself, so I also decided to partake in the experiment. After some reflection I noticed an unhealthy pattern around envy. I saw how it particularly affected my relationships with friends and colleagues. I also saw it was far-reaching, innocuously affecting my decisions and I was most vulnerable before sleeping at night and when I first woke up in the morning. So I decided that in order to address the envy, I would adopt a practice of writing 10 things I was grateful for each day. I would also, spend the last 10 minutes before I went to sleep and the first 10 minutes when I woke up reading scripture, starting with the major and minor prophets. As I spent time evaluating how I spend my time and talents, I realized that I’d spent more time comparing myself to others and feeling badly than doing some life-giving activities that I enjoy, so as part of the experiment, I included that once a week I would make art in response to the things I was receiving in Scripture or themes I was noticing in gratitude.
In addition to identifying the thing you’d like to change and the new practice to adopt, the experiment invites people to share their experiments with a a partner and a small group that they check in with regularly. I have been blessed to be paired with a few staff colleagues for accountability. I’ve enjoyed hearing their updates, and sharing the things I have been seeing and receiving.
I’m now close to 30 days into the experiment, I will continue this experiment for 47 days (40 days after the end of the second MARKcentral week), so that I can be checking in and sending updates to participants in both weeks. As time goes on, I’m eager to see and hear stories of how others are fairing with their challenges, and at the end of the experiment, I’ll post an update with images of the artwork I’ve created.
#MCOPC2016
One of the hopes in having two MARKcentrals was that there would be smaller class sizes and a more intimate feel of a conference. The estimated number of people at each week being approx 100. All of our plans for a more intimate conference were shifted when 180 people registered for the OPC week! On the one hand, we were grieved at the loss of some of our programming hopes that couldn’t really be accommodated with the number of people we had. But on the other hand, we were deeply encouraged that there were so many people eager to gather around scripture together! Within that 180, there were approx 10 not-yet believing students!
After coming out of a full week at #MCArden2016, David and I were tired, but eager to see what God would do with this group of people. There were many things about this week that were similar to last year: a staggered 2 meal schedule (as we couldn’t all sit together for meals), a mid-week worship night, and similar teaching and lodging locations. But, we had some new elements like staff stepping into new roles, and some group application for all the Mark 1 studies.
Before heading into the OPC MARKcentral week, I found myself stressed and frustrated at the seemingly endless logistical issues to work out. But, upon arrival, I felt a peace come over me, and actually felt at home. Which surprised me, because as recent as 2 years ago I remember feeling completely lost and out of place at OPC.
Day 2, with the Question of the Day
During this week, I was the primary point person. David took care of registration, budget and lodging details but I was the one that was up front as emcee, and led staff meetings. When I wasn’t taking care of any issues that arose, I joined the prayer team to intercede for the conference and offer prayer ministry for those in need. Being with the prayer team was a huge highlight for me. I’d never served on an intercession team before this week, and I loved the experience! Often I would hear stories of my friends who have interceded for conferences, and I was skeptical about some of the things they would do and how they would pray, but God in his grace and mercy showed me how some of the more unconventional ways we were praying actually were connecting with what was happening for those teaching and participating in studies. In subtle ways, that only I would notice the Spirit moved and revealed how It was drawing all the pieces together, and addressing some of the places of doubt in my heart. I was so grateful to work with Ruth, Ryan, Ruth and PY on the prayer team and see them lead the conference to connect with God in new and familiar ways.
The #MCOPC2016 Prayer Team!
I also loved working with the staff team, which was a mix of brand new staff and staff I’d known for years. It was great seeing staff step up and for many to lead studies on their own. It was exciting to hear about the not-yet believers in the studies and how they were fairing. We rejoiced as some of these students made first-time commitments to follow Jesus and as others heard from God for the first time in prayer and worship! We celebrated as some students decided to join the Toronto Urban Plunge team! I had so much delight seeing Ashley Chan lead an all KCF worship team and lead us in multi-lingual worship. The culmination of my joy with the staff team happened as we ended our last staff meeting with a 2.5 song dance party, with Ashley Chan and Preston leading the charge and setting the pace. In more recent years, I’ve experienced anxiety when spending time with my colleagues so feeling joy while being them had been rare, but this week I was so full of joy and so grateful for each of my colleagues.
There were a few OCF students who attended this week: one of my knights and Jimmy were in the Genesis study led by Jamie, my staff partner; and PY served on the prayer team with me. For Jamie and I, we had a few points during the week to connect with the OCF crew and it was a blessing to be with them as they processed their experiences and as they asked for prayers for what’s next. All of these students are graduating, and even though I had only been working with them for a year, each of them are dear me. My knights, Jimmy and PY were the first students to welcome me with open arms to OCF. They honestly shared their lives with me, and were open and eager to have me speak into their lives. They allowed me to be me, prayed and cared for me and have been a huge part in my heart for campus ministry being reignited. It was a great gift to spend parts of this week with them.
Even now as I reflect on this week, I can’t quite explain what was happening for me. In this season of many losses and hardships, I felt peace and settled in a way that shouldn’t have been true. I received vibrant images and words in prayer, I saw prayers answered, lives healed and new people join the family. It was thrilling! I felt bold in ways I don’t often feel in my life. I felt free in ways I haven’t felt in months. My friend and our camp host Andrew said this of me, “Every time she’s been up here [to say something] she’s had this huge smile”, and as I looked back at the photos of this week and heard from my staff friends, I see that this was true. I even see a huge difference between how I was at Arden and at this week. So I’m still unpacking what that means, but am grateful for this gift.
The #MCOPC2016 group! So many great memories with this group!
Emerging Leaders Module 1
Every few years, Inter-Varsity offers a specialized training program for staff that they would like to invest in and could see moving into deeper levels of leadership within the organization. The program is called Emerging Leaders, and it takes place over 14 months, with a commitment to stay with the organization for an additional 18 months afterward and be open to the possibility of a job or role change.
Last spring, I was invited to join the newest cohort that would meet for the first time in February. I was honoured by the invitation and gladly accepted. The first module focused on spiritual development. I appreciated the time getting to know staff from various parts of the organization and also to engage God in new ways through more unfamiliar spiritual disciplines.
The resources I received from this module have been super helpful to apply and try with my students and staff team.
Hospitality through Food, Discipleship Baking, and Waffles Around the World
One of the easiest ways to build relationships with people is through food. So, as I spent a good deal of this year observing the existing ministry at OCAD and trying to build relationships with students, I spent a lot of time making and eating food.
Hospitality through Food
My Knights live in a house on Jarvis, which we often used as a place to gather for meals and parties. In the fall, I began a semi-regular (twice a month) practice of invading their home and teaching them how to make different types of cuisine on Sunday evenings. My fondest memories are of our sushi-making gathering and our samosa party. These gatherings served as a conduit for deeper relationships in our community, places where people felt welcome to brings friends, and to hang out and spontaneously end up in worship and prayer. One of my student leaders, whom I’ll refer to as the Witty Chef, is also a gifted baker and cook, often making all the household meals for his siblings, even though he is the youngest! He works part-time at a grocery store, and often the beginning of every meeting I had with him would entail him telling me of specials for that week. One week, turkeys were on sale, and he decided to get one and learn how to cook it, even though he’d never done so before. He decided to brine the turkey, which is something even I haven’t done, and cook it one day, just for fun. He invited me and the rest of the leadership team to come eat it. and I can assure you. it was the best turkey I’ve ever had!
Discipleship Baking
Often when I’m getting to know someone I try to build relationship by doing something that they enjoy doing. This often works well when I also enjoy the activity too. Two first year students I met this year are avid bakers, and a few times during the winter semester I got to know them deeper as we baked together. I enjoy what I call discipleship baking, as it gives people something to do with their hands, and frees them up to be more candid than they might be if we were just sitting across a table having coffee together. Discipleship baking with art and design students is a lot of fun because there’s a willingness to be adventurous and ambitious in flavours and recipes, like during reading week, a student and I made all four of the cookies in this video!
Waffles Around the World
We again decided to love and serve the campus by giving away free waffles during the last three Wednesdays of the semester (the busiest time for students). For the winter semester, we were able to get an OCAD student union grant, and we wanted to switch up how we did our waffle nights. So we decided on the theme “Waffles Around the World”, as a way to showcase waffle flavours and practices from around the world and use these events as an opportunity to celebrate and engage the ethnic and cultural diversity of the campus. Each week we offered different flavours: Spanish Churro, Cambodian Coconut, and Savoury English Potato waffles. In our interactive art pieces, we asked people questions to engage their own and others ethnic and cultural identity, because we believe that people’s ethnic and cultural identity say something about our God. As we prepared for these events, we spent some more time planning and talking through the whys of event, and spent time in scripture helping us see how God values and loves diversity. As I worked with a team on the interactive art elements, the Witty Chef led the team in the kitchen. In both the fall and winter terms, the Witty Chef took care of getting all the waffle making materials and managing all the kitchen logistics for our waffle events. I found out later how much he’d absorbed the teachings from the scripture and was able to call his team to the vision. I also found out that my first encounter with the OCF community (where I made potato waffles and brownie waffles), made a huge impact on his life, and influenced his decision to choose to make potato waffles for one of the weeks.
Urbana 2015
Urbana is a tri-annual missions conference hosted by InterVarsity USA and Canada. Every time one happens. there is often lots of vision cast and lots of invitations to consider, and this Urbana was no different. This post is late in coming, just because there is still so much to take in and process about the experience. If you weren’t able to go, video and audio files are available here.
There were 8 OCAD students who attended, 5 did the general seminar track, 2 did the poverty track, and 1 did the Canadian Student Leadership track. It was hard to find each other throughout the conference. but there were some key points where we were able to connect and hear from one another and pray together. And of course, to hang out and take fun photos like these:
Many of the students were moved to be more intentional with how they steward their talents and resources. Some were moved to consider what life in mission post University could look like. Some received visions in listening prayer about invitations God was extending to them. As the months have passed, I’ve been able to hear how and what these students are hearing from God as they continue journeying with Him and offering their lives, talents and resources for his purposes. For some, they realized they cared a lot more about the things of God than spending time with God, and others realized they were too focused on their relationship with God and were not caring about things He cared about like justice. It’s not been surprising how often I’ve referred students back to these talks and these teachings, as many still hold the same relevance now as it did then.
This Urbana, also gave me the opportunity to partner with InterVarsity USA in the Pan-Asian North American Lounge. I’d wanted to serve in this capacity for the past few Urbanas, and this time the circumstances all came together to allow it. I’d never served in a lounge before, so it was a new experience. I enjoyed getting some time to meet and reconnect with students. Some highlights were creating “Tree Auntie” with some of my South Asian staff friends, and getting to reunite with more South Asian staff friends and SALI participants during the South Asian gathering. I also got to reunite with Peter, Parmina, Pintu and Joana from Bangladesh!
Knights, Pumpkin Soup and so much Bubble Tea
As I come to the end of this year, I am grateful and full. This year has been tough personally and organizationally, but whenever I think of my time on campus with the OCF community I am filled with joy. After a somewhat anti-climactic end at Ryerson, I was not expecting to be showered with welcome at OCAD, and yet I was. Here are some of my highlights from the year:
“Are you going to knight us?”
Early in September, after spending a good deal of time in the summer developing relationships with two students in particular, I asked them to join me for dinner. I was intentionally vague in the purpose of our meeting, as I was trying to hold things loosely. But I did ask that we go out, and not meet in their home and be in a place with an atmosphere where we could actually have a conversation, as opposed to some of the loud, lively restaurants closer to campus. While we were walking, one of the students asked if I was going to knight them, as that’s the first thing she came up with after putting the pieces she had together. I laughed and apologized for the vagueness, and once we were seated I filled them in. I wanted to tell them I noticed the good missional work they were doing in their friend’s lives, even choosing to live downtown in an apartment with two not-yet believing friends! I offered to pray with them, offer resources as they needed and to help them as they grew in their witness and hospitality this year. They gratefully accepted and their home became a hub of activity this year, with epic parties, delicious dinners and lots of late-night prayer and worship. The times when I would meet individually or with both of them, were some of the best moments of the year for me. They graciously invited me into their home and their lives, and relationship with them has reignited my love for student ministry. And since that day in September, I have called them, my knights.
Pumpkin Soup
One of the student leaders I worked with this year is an international student from Singapore. One morning as we were staffing a table for a community fair, I discovered he loved all thing pumpkin, especially soup. Now this student who would describe himself as “headstrong” was sometimes challenging to connect with, he was often a confusing mix of stubborn and teachable, which I realized was exactly how I was when I was a student. The way my staff won me over was her demonstration of unconditional love. So, when this student was extremely stressed with school and still trying to serve in his various leadership roles with OCF, I knew I could release some of his leadership responsibilities (which I did) but beyond that there was little I could do to help with the stress, so I did what my mother would do, I made him some soup. He was surprised, grateful and I think this moment marked a point where he felt he could trust me more. Right after our event that night I got this message and photo from him, “Already had my first bowl, thanks again Archi!!!!! It was so good! I missed this so much lol”
So Much Bubble Tea
During my last year at Ryerson (and my last year living downtown), there were a number of bubble tea places that opened. And I was so excited to have another option for meeting locations with students. Then, I found out that NONE of my student leaders liked bubble tea, and only ONE of my friends would go with me. I was devastated. But then this year at OCAD, 90% of my one-on-one mentoring meetings happen over bubble tea. I’ve had multiple conversations about the best locations and combinations, when to go, who the best servers are, and so much more. I even got to take a few OCF students to my favourite place near Ryerson.
I’m grateful that in this season, God has been faithful. My vision and passion for working with students has been renewed. I’ve been able to deeply connect and love these students. And even small things like a lack of bubble tea has turned into abundance, which shows me that even in the simplest longings God meets me, which gives me hope for the bigger things.
GROW Training
In the first week of March, IVCF offered training for undergraduate staff in how to grow their fellowships, the training was offered in three tiers. I entered the tier 1 training with trepidation, fearful that I would be scolded for not performing as I should and thus given remedial training. But almost immediately my fears were assailed, and I was able to get some good training and take a step back from the work I was doing on campus and see the ministry with new perspective.
We were given new tools to assess growth in our fellowships, and were able to discuss topics with fellow staff in similar contexts as us. I was surprised at how refreshing the training was and look forward to implementing new strategies in the ministry.
Theology of Work
For three consecutive Saturdays, students and staff from across the GTA gathered to be participate in a course designed and executed by my dear friend and colleague, Christa called the Theology of Work. The first week outlined how we define our relationship with work and challenged students to see all work as worship. The second week gave the students some space to assess their spiritual gifts and talents. And the final week gave some practical teaching on giving and stewarding money and power.
Each week we piled into Christa’s apartment and ate brunch as we worked through the content.
The food was delicious, the teaching was sound and the students were challenged. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with my colleagues, as I’ve missed planning and leading events with other staff.
I only had a few of my students attend, but for those who did they really came away with a renewed vision and set of resources.
A new year and a new season
2015 started on a restful note. For the first time in years I wasn’t working at a conference after Christmas until the New Year, and I was able to spend some time relaxing and recouping after a busy season. The first weekend of January, I went away with my regional staff team for a time of prayer and planning for the new year. We went to an air b & b in Manila that was once a church. It was a lot of fun exploring the b & b and finding remnants of the church, like a bedroom in the bell tower and a beautiful stained glass window in a bathroom. The time away offered good perspective on the year ahead, and good space for us as a team to support one another as we shared the challenges that we face in the upcoming season of ministry.
The past few months for me have been spent in discernment about my time with IV and what the future could look like as I entertained a host of possibilities. The discernment period ended with an offer to a new 3-5 year contract which I will say more about in future posts.
January also marked a milestone birthday for me, and I celebrated with samosas and mimosas and a throwback photo booth where I recreated some photos from my past with some friends who have been in my life since my childhood and other significant moments.
As I enter into a new season of life and ministry, I’m struck by the significance of possibility and also that I find myself at the same age as Jesus when he began his formal ministry. I am curious to see what this next season of ministry will hold for me.
National Staff Conference
Every three or so years, IVCF gathers all of their staff from campuses, camps and the national service centre for a time of training, fellowship and vision casting, as we see where God will lead us in the next season of our various ministries. The theme of this year’s National Staff Conference was “Good News Life”, and it centered on how we are called to live lives of witness with teaching, story-telling and new resources to share the gospel in our ministry fields.
Becky Pippert, author of Out of the Salt Shaker Into the World was the primary speaker and teacher at this conference, and she led us through a seeker study series called “Uncovering the Life of Jesus”. The material follows a format similar to an inductive study with suggested questions to help people look for the answers within the Scripture. I’ve led a few other seeker studies called Groups Investigating God (GIGs) on campus in the past, and I’ve often found the gap between participating in a study and leading one is very big. These GIGs have been effective in reaching seekers where they are at, but often requires a whole different set of training and preparation materials. However, the Uncovering the Life of Jesus material has been formatted in a way that the gap between participating and leading is much smaller, so there’s a higher possibility of the material reaching multiples of people quickly. Since this conference, I’ve led this material with my student leaders and there have been a few people we’ve approached about doing this series with us (more on that in another post).
Since National Staff Conference only happens every few years there’s a lot more that is part of this conference; like dramas, worship, story-telling, silent auction, bookstore and stage design. This is a time when the many hidden skills and talents of IV staff come to the surface as they get to use some of their skills and schooling. For me, I was invited to be part of the stage design team with SFU’s IV staff and my dear friend and Ryerson alumnus Barron and the ever-talented IV graphic designer Rebekah Rotert. I enjoyed working on a team with these two, but re-entering the design world was not a pleasant experience for me. But, as a team we produced a beautiful stage design and designed an interactive marquee that people would engage throughout the week. The premise was that people would seek out light bulbs throughout the spaces of the conference and common areas (like the front desk or Starbucks) and if they retrieved a light bulb they would screw it into the display. It was a marker to show that each effort brings forth light, but it truly is a thing of beauty when all the bulbs are found and light up the whole display. It was a lot of fun seeing the piece slowly light up throughout the week.
Though I was pretty exhausted after coming out of a busy season of ministry and a challenging period of discernment, I found myself receiving a lot during this conference and have seen some of the fruit of this teaching in my own life and on campus.
The Arch 