Category Archives: IVCF

IVCF Update (May 2021)

Posted on by
InterVarsity in New Brunswick
 
Games Night Set Up We hosted virtual games nights over the winter term in addition to meeting for Bible study
 
Gathering Around Scripture
This term we studied the Gospel of Luke. Our hope was to draw on our 12 Neighbours study from last term and continue to think about what it means to love our neighbours. There was a bit of dread in the air as we anticipated hosting everything online for the winter term, but we were pleasantly surprised.  People showed up! They wanted to engage with Scripture with their friends, and they found our Bible study a good place to do so. I think attendance was more consistent than it’s ever been.

 
One of our “picnics” held online, the first half of May was cold and rainy here!
Picnics in The Park

We are thankful for the warm weather and will be taking advantage of it this summer by hosting weekly, socially distanced “picnics in the park”. We’ll be gathering in Queen’s Square Park at 6pm on Thursday evenings all summer with our packed dinners to sit on the grass together, six feet apart. If weather or pandemic restrictions require it, we’ll meet online to eat together.  Feel free to share this information with any students in the Fredericton area who may want to join us.
 
 
Thank You
 
This August will be my final month as a campus minister with InterVarsity. I want to thank all of you who have prayed and donated during the past four years. This work is not something that any one person can do alone and I am very grateful for your many contributions to it. I’m sad to be leaving and also excited for the next adventure, I’ll be heading back to school in the fall to study law at UNB.  My colleague Patrick will continue to serve students in New Brunswick.  InterVarsity’s Atlantic Director, Jamie Macarthur, is looking for staff and/or volunteers to serve the work in New Brunswick and across the Atlantic region.  If you have any questions about InterVarsity’s future in New Brunswick, or just want to say hello, please reach out to Jamie!

 Krystal, myself, and Emma as students at a retreat in 2014.
 
Join Us for a Reunion

We are hosting a reunion for all staff, students, volunteers and friends who have ever been involved with InterVarsity in New Brunswick. We’re going to meet for one hour over zoom on Sunday, May 30th from 7pm to 8pm to catch up and reminisce. InterVarsity’s Atlantic Director Jamie, and President Nigel, will both be joining us.  Come meet them! You should have already received an invitation to this from us, but if you’re looking for the zoom link just respond to this email.
 
 
Fundraising Update
I will be raising support for InterVarsity in New Brunswick this summer. As an Atlantic Team, we have set collective goals around raising funds and finding volunteers before the end of August.  I hope to connect with you in the coming months!
 
Donate
 
Prayer Requests
We’re still living in a pandemic. Please pray that students will recharge this summer after another challenging online term. Pray for health and safety this summer, and that universities will be able to re-open fully in the fall.
Pray for connections this summer. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and we’re meeting outside! Please pray that friendships will form and that students will experience community in meaningful ways.

IVCF NB Fall Update from Abigail Wood

Posted on by
Invite, Invite, Invite!
In September people are more open to try new things than any other time of year.  We have been inviting widely all month to meals and Bible studies.  During the first few weeks of class at UNB, STU, and MTA, students attended clubs fairs and invited everyone who stopped by to kick-off barbecues at their homes.  Students in our communities were taking advantage of all opportunities to make new connections.

At the clubs fair: Fredericton students Chiara, Mary Jo, and Wade hand out invitations to meals & Bible studies
We are off-campus
In both Fredericton and Sackville, student life happens just as much off campus as it does on campus.  A group of students in Fredericton have committed their homes (4 houses!) to be “community houses”.  These houses are spaces of hospitality and prayer.  In Fredericton two houses are hosting open dinners every week. These dinners have been gathering points for both students who come almost every week and those who want to come and check out our community or just don’t feel like cooking.  A handful of students in Fredericton and Sackville are meeting every morning to pray for for their friends and their campuses.  Much of this prayer is happening in community houses.
A Weekend Retreat
InterVarsity Undergraduate at Mount Allison grabs a group photo at the retreat
“I need to read my Bible and pray more” is what students tend to say when they want to engage more deeply with their faith.  We decided to use our fall retreat, a weekend away at Camp Medley, to give students tools on how to read their Bibles and pray better.  We gave some examples of different ways to engage with prayer and scripture, such as lectio divina, praying through psalms, and sitting in silence.  One student said that while praying through the psalms, she heard from God more clearly than she ever had before.

Choosing Rest Over Busyness

Our retreat intentionally had a very light schedule.  This gave students space to try out some of the prayer and scripture exercises we showed them.  It also gave them space to nap, play frisbee, drink tea, sit in the sun, or do homework if they needed to.  One student decided to leave her phone in her cabin for the whole weekend.  On Friday night this was causing her a bit of anxiety, especially as she wouldn’t even have a time piece, but on Sunday she was completely content to just sit and be.  Students are learning that God does not call them to constantly perform and prove their worth, but that he calls them to healthy rhythms of both work and rest.
Fundraising Update
I am on campus! Together we raised enough money for me to start on campus in September.  This is incredible, and I am very thankful. We still need to gather about $500 in monthly support to raise the full budget.  Will you consider committing to a monthly gift of $50 or $100? 
Prayer Requests

 
We want to be welcoming to all. Please pray that students with diverse backgrounds and diverse beliefs will come to and feel welcomed at our dinners, Bible studies, and informal gatherings.
In Sackville, community housing plans for next year are already underway. Sackville is unique in that most students are already signing leases for next year. Please pray that InterVarsity students who want to build a community house will have success finding roommates and a place to live.

Cathedral youth called to mission abroad

Posted on by

Matt Allen has been a regular member of our congregation this past year and is preparing to serve God in a mission abroad with IVCF. He is self financing his salary for this mission and the Missions Committee would like to share his request for support.

“I am coming on staff with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Over the past year I have been working with Inter-Varsity in Fredericton. But now I am feeling like God is calling me to an International placement with Inter-Varsity. I am looking at a placement in either Martinique or France to work with the local student groups and see how they can grow and make a larger impact on their campuses and in their countries. Right now both of those locations have less than five staff working there. So I want to partner with them and see how we can grow. Right now I am fundraising for my salary and my budget costs. I am looking to fundraise $40,000. Would you be willing to support me either financially or through prayer. If you would like to join my newsletter email me at [email protected] and if you would like to financially support me you can at ivcf.ca/donate/mallen” – Matt Allen