From all of us at ICS to you, our faithful friends and supporters, may God’s richest blessings of love, joy and peace be yours in 2019. We hope you join us in prayer before the Lord as we begin this new year.
Tuesday, January 1 - Friday, January 4:
We ask for your prayers this week for our Senior Members Bob Sweetman, Rebecca Smick, Nik Ansell, and Gideon Strauss as they make final preparations for the classes they will teach this semester. Please uphold them before the Lord as they seek to work out their calling as teachers and mentors.
This week, please pray for our Junior Members returning from their homes, from far and wide, that they will have safe travels. We ask too for their encouragement in their studies as they start a new semester of academic activities.
Monday, January 7 - Friday, January 11:
Please pray this week for Gideon Strauss who will be teaching the first class of the semester (Wednesday morning) in his new course: “Black Panther, Afrofuturism, and the Ethics of Liberation.” We ask God to bless this learning opportunity with creative and insightful interaction.
This week, we ask for your prayers for Bob Sweetman who will be teaching his course: “Albert the Great, Meister Eckhart, and Women’s Spirituality”. Pray too for our students, as well as the TST students who will be joining us, as they begin this new semester of learning.
On Thursday of this week, the first day of the course: “God in Flesh and Blood: Revolutions in Christology” with Nik Ansell will be held in our new Learning Studio. Pray for Nik and the students who will be participating in this course.
Pray also this week for the two distance education courses which start this week: “Biblical Foundations,” taught by Nik Ansell and Jeffrey Hocking, and “Organized Religion: Christianity and Anti-Capitalism in the U.S. and Canada,” taught by ICS PhD candidate Dean Dettloff.
Monday, January 14 - Friday, January 18:
Please pray for this year’s Interdisciplinary Seminar (IDS), titled “Wonder, Order, Love: Reflections on the (True) Origin and End of Philosophy,” which meets on Tuesdays from 1:45-4:45. Senior Members Nik Ansell and Bob Sweetman will will examine the triangulation of wonder, order and love in reflections on the origin and end of philosophy. This course will continue to explore the theme of order and love that became so important in the previous IDS on the legacy of Cal Seerveld, Henk Hart and Jim Olthuis.
We ask for prayer for Ron Kuipers as he continues in his leadership role as President of ICS. Pray for wisdom and discernment as he leads the Leadership Team in the many matters that require decisions, particularly those related to the advancement of the Institute and our ongoing relationship with The King’s University.
We give thanks this week for the new opportunity we have in our Wayfinding program. ICS Adjunct professor Mike Wagenman will be teaching the hybrid version of Vocational Wayfinding offsite in a London venue. Please pray for Mike as he prepares for the sessions, and for this new group of students as they interact with the material.
Monday, January 21 - Friday, January 25:
CPRSE continues to build on the “Currents in Reformational Thought” series, featuring the contributions of our current and emeriti faculty to our scholarly tradition. Currently, the CPRSE team is nearing completion of a forthcoming festschrift on the work of Emeritus Senior Member, Lambert Zuidervaart. Please pray for those involved in editing, producing, and publishing this important series.
On January 24th, ICS/CPRSE will host Dr. Heath Carter, Associate Professor of History at Valparaiso University, for our Winter Term “Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship” seminar. Please pray that this event be a time of fruitful exchange and reflection on the intersection of biblical scholarship and a life of faith.
Monday, January 28 - Thursday, January 31:
Plans are underway to host a third Undergraduate Workshop in the spring of 2019. Following this year’s workshop, Senior Member Ron Kuipers and The King’s University professor Jeff Dudiak will be teaching the course: “To the Unknown God: Paul and Some Philosophers”. Please pray for the course instructors and workshop planning team as they continue to put together this wonderful learning opportunity.
The ART in Orvieto advanced summer studies program which will take place in Italy, between July 16 and August 6. The intensive program will include the Art, Religion, and Theology seminar led by Senior Member Rebekah Smick, as well as an artist's workshop led by David Holt. Please pray for the success of this program which has brought much life to ICS over the past few summers.
We thank God for the response to our Advent Appeal, still ongoing, which has been encouraging. At this time of writing, we still have a way to go to meet our targets in most areas, and we encourage everyone to continue to give as they are able. We are deeply grateful for God’s provision, and also for you, our faithful members and donors.
