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Please pray for Christian Union's ministry at Harvard.
“The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.” -Phillips Brooks, Harvard Class of 1855

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

With a wonderful play on words, Phillips Brooks captured both the glory of being made in God’s image and the humbling, life-altering pursuit of knowing God. This week in our Bible courses in the second chapter of Philippians, we will encounter the jaw-dropping ‘Christ Hymn.’ This brush with greatness not only describes the nature and character of the Messiah, but as the grizzled Apostle Paul contends in the remainder of his letter that Jesus’ example had become the standard for us: the cruciform life.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” - 1:3-5 (ESV)

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Thank you for your continued support and investment in what the Lord is doing on Harvard’s campus through Christian Union Gloria. By God’s grace and your prayers, we had a wonderful pre-retreat, where the upperclassmen students were able to reconnect in-person after a long time apart. Our times in worship and the Word were a delight, and the students came back to campus ready to welcome the incoming class of 2025 into Christian community.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” - Philippians 1:21-26 - Psalms 85:4-7 (ESV)

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Thank you for staying connected by praying for the ministry through the summer. We have enjoyed a very fruitful summer season at Harvard, marked by the weekly Exodus Bible study, as well as the nightly student-led Prayer Corps. We are very excited for the fall semester, which will begin shortly in a few weeks. As we start to turn our attention to the fall semester, when the entire ministry will be studying together the Epistle to the Philippians, we ask you to join us in thanking God and in praying for the following:

“4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.”
- Psalms 85:4-7 (ESV)

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Thank you for your continued support and prayer as we minister to the students at Harvard. This summer we have been walking through the book of Exodus. You can watch some of the Exodus teachings on our student ministry’s YouTube channel here. It has been a blessing to all the students who have been attending, as well as a place of weekly gathering as a community to study the Bible.

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.” -Exodus 15:1–3

Moses said those words in Exodus 15 after experiencing the deliverance of the Lord from the Egyptians, as a song of praise to the God who sees, saves, and provides for his people. We are grateful for God’s continued provision for our students, whom He has sustained this spring, our student leaders, whom God has continued to give vision to, and our ministry fellows, who have continued to serve and lead faithfully through a challenging season. We are ultimately grateful for God’s decisive act of deliverance in history through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, where He reconciled us to himself by grace through faith and freed us from the power and penalty of sin. Hallelujah!

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” - Jude 3

Those words from Jude 3 are now a part of the commission given to the outgoing seniors in the Harvard class of 2021. Our hope and prayer for them is that they would “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” as they head into their various fields of work upon graduation. Please continue praying for the class of 2021 as they transition into a new season and step into what the Lord has next for them.

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” -Acts 13:2-3

This spring’s study of Acts has been an encouragement to all the juniors and sophomores who have been participating in it to seek God more wholeheartedly and seek to hear the voice of the Spirit as they boldly proclaim His name. Thank you also for your prayers that the freshmen who are studying the Seeking-God Lifestyle as well as the Sex and Spirituality curriculum. Continue to pray that they would be transformed by the content and experience spiritual growth through it. We believe those Bible courses have been impactful in the lives of the freshmen already.

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

This spring semester, our sophomores and juniors have been walking through the book of Acts. Peter and the apostle’s example of boldness have continued to challenge believers for many generations. In Acts 5, after being arrested and told not to preach, Peter is freed by an angel then immediately gets back to preaching the gospel. Upon his consequent arrest, he responds to the council saying “We must obey God rather than men.” What great boldness! It is our hope and prayer that as we read and study these stories that they bring encouragement and hope to our hearts, moving the students to greater zeal for the name of Jesus and for advancing His gospel.

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,

As we enter a new semester of ministry to students, we are reminded of Psalm 31:19 which says: “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!”

During winter break, CU Gloria was able to continue ministering to students in a number of ways, chiefly through a series of workshops about Hearing God’s Voice, Spiritual Warfare, and Leadership. There was also a wealth of student-to-student ministry taking place through discipleship groups and two student-led reading groups throughout the break.

On the precipice of this spring, many Harvard students are now celebrating their return to campus during the last two weeks of January. There are around 2,000 students back in campus housing by the river and in the Quad along with many more in the surrounding area who are living off-campus. The joy and high energy of starting this new semester were felt during the first Leadership Lecture Series (DOXA) where a number of students shared powerful testimonies about God’s work in their lives during winter break.

Thank you for your prayers and support in the ministry. Many students are growing in their faith because of your investment in CU Gloria.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and Friends,

It is hard to believe that 2020, a truly eventful year with all its ups and downs, has finally come to an end. God has seen CU Gloria and our students through all the unexpected turns that met us this year like needing to shift early on in the spring semester to Zoom Bible courses and Zoom Doxas (our Leadership Lecture Series) and maintaining that momentum through the fall semester as well.