Welcome to the MIT Graduate Christian Fellowship!

It's that time of year again! Whether you were just added to this email list or you are a seasoned GCF veteran, we have some fun events this week for you!

Friday Aug 30: Activities Midway Dinner! Royal East 5:30pm

Every year, we invite new students to go out to dinner with us after the Activities Midway. This year, we are heading to Royal East at 5:30pm. Please drop Christina an email at celee@mit.edu if you plan on coming just to make things easier to plan but last minute drop-ins are always welcome too!

Saturday Aug 31: Grand Tour of Boston! Starts at Kendall Square at 10am

Join amateur historian Rev. Kevin Ford on a walk to remember around this historic town! Contact Kevin at ivcf@mit.edu for more details! Then join the...

GCF Welcome Potluck! University Park Commons on Sidney St. 6pm

Hungry for more? Returning students will cook for the new students! So bring your most delicious creations! Put down what you're making on this google doc. 

Sunday Sept 1: Church Visits

Looking for church to call home? Allow an experienced GCF'er to show you around their church! Contact Keith(leungk@mit.edu) to meet other people going to the same church!

Monday Sept 2: United Christian Organizations (UCO) BBQ! Location TBD 12pm

Annual BBQ with all of the Christian fellowships on campus! free food - Yeah!.

Tuesday Sept 3: UCO Reg Day Service! Chapel 7pm

Start your academic year off praising God! A great praise and worship gathering which you don't want to miss!

Thursday Sept 5: A Taste of Cambridge! 5pm

See what's out there by joining a few senior GCF foodies in sampling restaurants near campus! All first years are welcome to join! only 10 spots available! Contact Keith (leungk@mit.edu) to join!

For the most up-to-date info on events. Please visit the GCF calendar on our website!

Announcements

• If you have email and enjoy the written word, then the emails team is the right place for you! Contact Emily to contribute your 2 cents.
• SidPac ice cream social at 8pm in the Seminar room on Thursday! Come all for frozen treats and conversation!

Recap Lane

A few hardened climbers set out to conquer Mt. Monadnock! Did they succeed? Scroll down to find out!

Prayer Square

• Praise God for looking after our dessert socials!
• Pray for the new lunch time small group starting up this semester. Pray for God to clear a path for a student leader to rise up in the group.

Send prayer requests for the newsflash to leungk@mit.edu

Community Corner

Just dancin' on the mountaintop...no big deal - Mt. Monadnock

"We've been to the mountaintop

We've seen the glory of our God

He is here"

_Mountaintop by The City Harmonic (Keith's fav CDN band)

Verse of the Week

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."
_ Hebrews 13:1-2

For Other Good News and Updates, Visit the GCF Website: http://web.mit.edu/mitgcf/www/

GCF Goes Hiking | Aug 24 - Mt. Monadnock 9am-6pm

Welcome to the MIT Graduate Christian Fellowship!

Thousand Minstrels woke within me,"Our music's in the hills;"-Gayest pictures rose to win me,Leopard-colored rills.

 _excerpted from Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem Monadnoc

This week GCF is taking to the hills of New Hampshire for a stroll through God's wonderful creation. Karaoke in the car, brilliant sunshine and unending vistas await! Contact Po-Ru ASAP if you are interested in going (especially drivers!)

What:             Hiking!
Where:           Beatiful Mt. Monadnock
When:            Saturday, August 24th @ 9am-6pm
Contact:         Po-ru | poruloh@gmail.com

Announcements

Dessert Socials are coming to a dorm near you and we need your help to serve delicious desserts to new students! We need your help, even if you don't live in the dorms! Please contact Steph if you can help carry desserts and welcome students! Much appreciated!

Ashdown - Sat 8/24 8pm Hulsizer Room

Edgerton - Sun 8/25 8pm Large Lounge

Tang        - Mon 8/26 8pm 24th Floor Lounge

SidPac    - Thurs 8/29 8pm Seminar Room

Recap Lane

We were rocking out in the tiny Christian Fellowship Lounge! Haven't heard any complaints from other religious groups yet... hehe

Prayer Square

• Praise God for providing us rooms to do our dessert socials in! Pray for GCF to make great impressions when welcoming new students at the GCF dessert socials.
• Please pray for the new lunch time small group starting up this semester. Pray for God to clear a path for a student leader to rise up in the group.
• Pray for Yong's safe return from Africa!

Send prayer requests for the newsflash to leungk@mit.edu

Overheard @ GCF

Michelle: Lets do the rest of bible study on Matthew 5 next week

Keith: Why do you think it will take long?

Michelle: err... because I have thoughts...haha

Steph @ the beach: George, is that...a science paper you're reading?!?

Community Corner

Surprise!!! Happy Birthday Charis!
"does it still count as Charis Teo photography if you were behind the camera? just kidding!"
_Emily

Tang Small Group loves the Woods Hole Small Group!

Verse of the Week

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, an he will make straight your paths."
_ Proverbs 3:5-6

For Other Good News and Updates, Visit the GCF Website: http://web.mit.edu/mitgcf/www/

Worship - Plain & Simple | Aug 16 @ 8pm | CFL (W11)

Welcome to the MIT Graduate Christian Fellowship!

"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." _Psalm 29:1-2

Let us have a time of worship this Friday, where God will be our sole focus. From our hearts, may we generate a sound pleasing to God. If you like to sing, play, listen, dance or pray, we invite to come join us in the CFL! Bring your instruments and feel free to request or lead a song or two (or else you make Keith lead the entire time! noooo). We'll put lyrics and chords up on a projector. No practice, just raw and free-spirited worship.

What:              Worship Night/Jam Session
Where:           Christian Fellowship Lounge (CFL) - Bldg. W11 Basement
When:             Friday, August 16th @ 8pm-9:30pm
Contact:         Keith - 617-229-9672 | leungk@mit.edu

Announcements

• The GCF Website has been revamped! Check it out here. Special thanks to Alvin and George for their talents!
• The GCF Worship Team needs you! Interested in serving as a musician, slide projectionist or sound engineer? Contact Kayleen 
• If you have email and enjoy the written word, then the emails team is the right place for you!  Contact Emily to contribute your 2 cents.
• For upcoming events, check out the GCF Google Calendar

Recap Lane

A bike ride through historic Lexington and Bedford was washed out due to rain. Instead, we did what GCF loves to do...eat!

Prayer Square

• Our Brother Yong is currently in The Congo on an ambitious mission trip. Praise God for allowing him to enter the country despite complications with his visa. Pray for Yong's safety and health as they travel around The Congo. Pray for God to guide Yong to be a transformative force in Africa. 
• Pray for GCF to make great impressions when welcoming new students at the GCF dessert socials. Pray that we are able to book space in every dorm to put on the dessert socials.
• Please pray for the new lunch time small group starting up this semester. Pray for God to clear a path for a student leader to rise up in the group.

Send prayer requests for the newsflash to leungk@mit.edu

Overheard @ GCF

Person 1: So there is this 4 liter bucket and a 2 liter bucket. With unlimited water, how do you measure out 3 liters? 

Two unnamed GCF'ers proceed to think deeply, pouring buckets of water into each other in their minds for a half-hour.

Person 1: Oh, shoot, maybe the riddle was with a 5 liter bucket and 3 liter bucket to make 4 liters.

grrrr!

Community Corner

Some GCF'ers work on their prayer lives by going on terrifying rides at Six Flags!
"Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!"
_ Psalm 31:2

Verse of the Week

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
_ John 4:23-25

For Other Good News and Updates, Visit the GCF Website: http://web.mit.edu/mitgcf/www/

Summer Bike Ride | Fri. Aug. 9th, 3-8pm

Welcome to the MIT Graduate Christian Fellowship!

Take advantage of the summer and come on a bike ride down the Minuteman Trail with your fellow GCF-ers!  We’ll take the T to Alewife with our bikes, then leisurely ride up and down the trail to explore the scenic and historic sites around Lexington and Bedford.  We’ll have dinner somewhere along the trail before heading back home.

And don't worry if you're an amateur: the path is flat and paved, and any bike will be able to do the trail since we’ll take the T.

Email Keith below if you want to join (plus if you need a bike or have an extra to lend)

What:             GCF Bike Ride
Where:           Minuteman Trail; meet at the Kendall T Station
When:            Friday, August 9th @ 3pm; back to MIT by 8pm
Contact:         Keith | 617-800-9672 | leungk@mit.edu

Announcements

• New Student Orientation (NSO) is coming up, starting the week of August 19th!  Stay tuned for more info, and email Christina to help out.
• The GCF Worship Team is a great way to serve in worship to the Lord! Interested in serving as a musician, slide projectionist or sound engineer? Contact Kayleen 
• If you've been enjoying this email or think you could do better, then the Emails Team is the right place for you.  Contact Emily
• For upcoming events, check out the GCF Google Calendar 
• If you have any great pictures or stories of GCF life, send them to Keith

Recap Lane
Last week, we headed to the Esplanade for a picnic by the river.  There we saw some old and new faces, celebrated Heather's birthday (with a tricky digital candle), and enjoyed the fruits of each other's labor in the form of tasty foods.

Prayer Square

• Praise God that plans are falling into place for NSO, and pray for God to work through those helping out and for all of us to exhibit God's joy and love.
• Pray that the new exec team would have wisdom, grace, and strength.  Give them a strong relationship with you, a servant attitude, and spiritual maturity to lead in this coming year.
• Praise for bringing new students into our midst already!  Pray that God will continue to bring people from every race, language, nation, state, department, discipline, and background, from on campus and off campus.

In all things may God be glorified!  Send your prayer requests to Keith

Community Corner

A beautiful sunset over the Charles at last week's picnic.  Thanks to Dawsen for documenting the evening!
All Things Considered
Wishing your advisor would give you the real scoop?  Check out "10 Truths a PhD supervisor will never tell you" as food for thought.

Verse of the Week

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
_ 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

Picnic on the Esplanade | Aug 2 @ 6:45pm

This is the inaugural edition of the GCF Newsflash! Throughout the year, the weekly newsflash will contain all the information you need to know about GCF in one email, with fun features in the mix.

Welcome to the MIT Graduate Christian Fellowship!

This week we’ll be having a summer picnic on the Boston side of the river. There will be cake and other food but if you want to bring something to share please do! As always, feel free to invite your friends! Rumor has it, a super fun after party may happen after the picnic. Please RSVP for the Picnic in this Google spreadsheet.

What:              Picnic on the Esplanade
Where:           Esplanade Wooden Docks: Google Maps. Meet at 77 Mass Ave at 6:45pm to walk together from MIT
When:             Friday, August 2nd @ 6:45pm
Contact:         Christina | 408-868-8532 | celee@mit.edu

Announcements

• The GCF Worship Team needs you! Interested in serving as a musician, slide projectionist or sound engineer? Contact Kayleen 
  
• If you have email and enjoy the written word, then the emails team is the right place for you!  Contact Emily to contribute your 2 cents.
  
• For upcoming events, check out the GCF Google Calendar 
  
• If you have any great pictures of GCF life, please send them all to Keith
  

Recap Lane
The summer of 2013 has been filled with many blessings so far. First, our very own Heather got baptized in June. In July, we were privileged to witness the great thesis defenses of Dr. Albert and Dr. Ange! Congrats to all of you!

Prayer Square

• Pray for God to work through those helping out with the new student orientation events coming up and for all of us to exhibit the joy and love that comes from above
• Praise God for doing incredible things in GCF last year and pray that those serving on the exec committee continue to rely on His strength throughout the year
• Praise God for growing and building our small groups in faith, hope and love. Pray for Annie, Heather and the new small group leaders this year to receive new energy and establish great connections to the people that God has entrusted them with
  

Send your prayer requests to Keith

Community Corner

The Tang Small Groups climb Mt. Jefferson in NH. 
"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him."
_ Psalm 95:4

Sprinklers/Rainbow decide to show up for a GCF soccer match.

Verse of the Week

"The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."
_ Psalm 34:10

For Other Good News and Updates Visit the GCF Website: http://web.mit.edu/mitgcf/www/