Friday, March 1:
We offer prayers of thanks for the recent engagement of ICS PhD student Julia de Boer to Sankalp Lal. The ICS community wishes the couple peace and encouragement as they make plans for their upcoming wedding and much joy as they anticipate their future together.
Monday, March 4 - Friday, March 8:
Please pray today, Monday March 4th, for the Board of Trustees as they meet this evening. We ask for guidance as they discuss the various matters before them, and wisdom in their decision-making. As this is the time of year when they begin to look forward to the next fiscal year and its budget, we ask God to give them clarity and understanding of the operational needs of ICS as it continues to work out its mission.
Please pray this weekend for safe travels for Ron Kuipers and Pat Webb as they drive on Sunday the 10th to enjoy an evening get-together with our friends in Sarnia. We ask God for engaging conversation as we share with them updates on ICS and its work, and as we enjoy food and fellowship together.
The Finance Committee will begin the preparations this month for developing the 2018-19 budget proposal for consideration by the Board at its May meeting. Please pray for each member of the committee, our Director of Finance, Harley Dekker and the rest of the Leadership Team as they plan and forecast for the next year.
Monday, March 11 - Friday, March 15:
We ask for your prayers as our ICS faculty, students, staff, and committees continue conversations about long-term institutional vision and future program planning. This is long, detailed and often invisible work that requires much wisdom and foresight. We are thankful for the care taken already by those involved in having these conversations, and we pray for their continued stamina and spirit in guiding ICS.
Please pray this week for our Perspective production team as once again they work hard to bring completion to this special alumni issue. Pray particularly for Danielle Yett and Hector Acero Ferrer as they give leadership to the process, ensuring that all keeps to the timeline. We ask God to give the authors creative minds as they write and encouragement as they participate in this project together.
Recruitment for our third Undergraduate Workshop, titled “God and Politics: Religion and Public Life in the 21st Century” is underway. Please pray for the workshop’s planning team as they continue to promote the event among prospective participants and supporters.
Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22:
We ask for prayers for those involved in this semester's Interdisciplinary Seminar: Order, Wonder, Love: Reflections on the (True) Origin and End of Philosophy. This is an integral part of the academic work shared by the ICS community. We are thankful for the opportunity for Senior and Junior Members to work together in considering this topic, and for the blessing of Jim Olthuis' and Henk Hart's eager participation in the course.
Preparations for the meeting of the Senate in early May begin this month. We pray for those diligently at work on the materials necessary for this event, noting especially Registrar Elizabet Aras and Academic Dean Gideon Strauss. We pray also for the Senate itself, as it oversees the academic program of ICS, and for Dr. John Kok in particular as he provides leadership as Senate Chair and Chancellor.
ICS/CPRSE is an active member of the Canadian Interfaith Conversation (CIC), Canada’s premier inter-religious dialogue network. In the context of this partnership, CPRSE has been actively involved in the planning of the 2019 Our Whole Society Conference, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and religious leaders. Please pray for the continued success of this important collaboration.
Monday, March 25 - Friday, March 29:
We ask for your ongoing prayers for the staff of ICS in all that they do to keep the day-to-day life of ICS chugging along. We are thankful for their commitment, their expertise, and their furtherance of ICS's mission.
The last day of classes for the Winter 2018 semester is fast approaching! Please pray for the students as the work hard to complete their assignments and study for their final exams. We want to especially pray for those students who intend to graduate in May, as well as those who are finalizing their theses or preparing for their defense.
We give thanks this week for Senior Member Bob Sweetman who will be inducted into the Jesuit Honour Society--Alpha Sigma Nu--on the 29th of March. This honour is in recognition of his many years of involvement in support of Regis College and its students.
