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The first week of undergraduate classes are in the book. It was a good start. Students are enthusiastic and happy to be back on campus together and in person. They have resumed a much more normal approach than the one we experienced last year. The dining commons are lively, the chapel is full, the hallways are enlivened by laughter and friendship. There is a good energy on campus, and we are grateful for it.
We gathered together on Monday for our traditional Convocation Chapel. It is always a joy to see the new students process into the gym while being welcomed with applause by the returning students, faculty, and staff. We prayed together, heard Holy Scripture read by the student senate president, and joined our voices in song. How wonderful it was just singing the University hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”! We also focused our attention on this year’s passage for One Scripture, One University initiative. It comes from Colossians 1:15–17 and declares the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. The passage concludes with these words “he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” I can think of no better way to begin the year than to focus on Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, our Lord and Savior, the King of glory, the Maker and Sustainer of all that is.
No matter what our personal circumstances, no matter what is taking place in the world around us, this truth abides. Though the world may be raging, uncertainty abounds, and life is complicated, we take comfort in the preeminence of Christ. And while the culture may tell us that things fall apart and there is no center, we declare together with Holy Scripture that this is incorrect. There is a center and it holds. It is not found in us; it is not found in human achievement; it is not found in human wisdom. It is found in Christ alone. We sang that song together this week as well. We raised our voices proclaiming that in Christ alone our hope is found.
Please pray for Cairn University this academic year. Our community is strong. Our mission is clear. Our work is important. Our reliance upon God’s grace and provision is firm. Pray that students would embrace their calling as students, that they would grow in their faith and confidence in God and his Son, and that the Spirit would be at work in them and in the Cairn community. And specifically, I ask that you pray for the chapel program. We have an outstanding lineup of speakers this fall, including many local pastors. Pray that these hours each week would be used to the Lord.
We will be in class on Monday, a fair trade off for a four-day weekend in October, but I trust you will have a great holiday weekend.
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