The Breakfast Bible Study is back January 23
"The Breakfast Bible Study at Bonhoeffer House has become a midweek respite for me in the last year and-a-half. It is neither easy to be quiet in the midst of life’s noise nor to find God’s peace in the midst of its craziness. But each Wednesday morning, ironically with a rather large group, I find them both. This wonderfully eclectic group of students, faculty, clergy and community members points me to Jesus week after week with their wise words, their challenging discussions, their gracious prayers and their welcoming smiles. I leave with a greater sense of the Spirit's presence within and around me, the Father's provision, and the Son's compassion and call. And the (strong) coffee and delicious breakfast only add to the blessings of this fellowship. I hate when I have to miss – and I hope you will consider joining us."
We're a 2012 Top-Rated Nonprofit 2012!
2012 has been an exciting year for Theological Horizons, and we're excited to announce that we're wrapping up the year with an award: a top-rated nonprofit by Great Nonprofits for 2012!
Friends of the Bonhoeffer House submitted reviews of the work coming out of Theological Horizons, the leadership, and our mission. It was great to hear from recent students, parents, and community members share their varied experiences. What I love about Theological Horizons is that there is something for everyone. Supporting Christians in academia is at the heart of our mission, but is expressed in many ways. Students gather for Vintage discussions and lunches on Fridays, friends gather for Wednesday morning Bible study with Saranell, and Karen brings in great speakers throughout the semester.
Molly's review expressed the warmth of the ministry when she said, "[Theological Horizons] provides students, parents and community members to engage in thoughtful discussions and events that empower individuals to understand culture, thought, faith and life. As a student at the University of Virginia, I found Theological Horizons as the place where I could escape and be fully known--where I could ask the tougher questions in life."
We hope that this place of escape and questioning can be true for many new UVA students and academics in the future. Thank you for your support in ensuring this ministry continues doing such good work!
See our full profile and all of the reviews here!
Sarah Salinas UVa 2014
My experience of Morning Prayer
Morning Prayer has been a tremendous blessing in my life at UVa. It has been a perfect outlet for me to fulfill my desire to have a close, intimate relationship with my God, while allowing me to share my spiritual gifts with others. Waking early and spending 30 minutes praying and worshiping in our beautiful UVa Chapel really sets the tone for the day and allows all of us who join in Morning Prayer to offer praise and petition. It puts me in a place to hear the Holy Spirit speak into my life and provide direction for the day. -- Cameron Archer, graduate student, UVa, Mechanical Engineering
Join us for Morning Prayer in the UVa Chapel. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15 - 8:45 a.m.
Celebrate GIVING TUESDAY
National GIVING TUESDAY is a day to support more than 2,000 charities from all 50 states of the United States. Theological Horizons is a 501(c)3 registered charity and all of your gifts to us are tax deductible... so GIVE BACK generously on Giving Tuesday, November 27! Support us in the work of meeting students where they are on their spiritual journeys and partnering with us to transform lives, by the grace of God. Students come to the Bonhoeffer house as a place of refuge in the midst of the hectic college world. They are met by people who welcome them, walk alongside and invest in the matters of the heart.
During this season of giving, we welcome you to join us in the ministry of Theological Horizons and to partner with us in the work of sharing the Good News with this special community.
Vintage Reflections: Henri J.M. Nouwen
Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996) Today's Vintage lunch welcomed students in from the cold and included hearty ham biscuits, sweet apple cider, and a heaping of warm welcomes. It's hard to believe that we're nearing the end of the fall semester, and today's reading of Henri Nouwen on gratitude and grace could not have been more fitting as students prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Nouwen was an intellectual, a priest, and a servant of God. Born in war-time Holland, he would go on to teach at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, write thirteen books, and serve as pastor of a L'Arche community church, serving and assisting the handicapped. His experiences shaped his conclusions on gratitude, and Nouwen sincerely believed that gratitude was a choice in rather than a reaction to circumstances.
Students remarked on feelings of gratitude. Many feel gratitude when overwhelmed by positivity or when given an opportunity or a gift. Others feel gratitude when they're reminded of simple blessings such as the ability to walk or the chance to celebrate a healthy and happy family, but for Henri Nouwen, gratitude is not an occasional or spontaneous feeling. It's an active decision and habitual response to all situations - the good, the bad, the unexpected. Rather than remarking on intermittent reminders of blessings, individuals should practice gratitude with sincere effort. As Nouwen explains, "the call to be grateful is a call to trust that every moment of our life can be claimed as the way of the cross that leads us to new life". Therefore, the Lord enables our gratefulness and peace in all circumstances through grace.
As discussion over Nouwen's writings continued over the hour, I started to feel grateful for the challenges that the Lord has put in my path lately. Not because they may end with rewards, but because they are opportunities to practice the choice of gratitude. Nouwen explained, "each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious... until finally, even the most normal, obvious, and seemingly mundane event or encounter proves to be filled with grace".
A very happy Thanksgiving, indeed. Sarah Salinas, UVa 2014
Click here for the Henri Nouwen reading from this week.
Click here to join the website (free of charge) and access all past Vintage readings.
Vintage Reflections: Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day (1897-1980)
The living room of the Bonhoeffer House this week was more crowded and buzzing than I’ve ever seen at a Friday Vintage lunch. After a long and busy week, chili casserole hit the spot, and the aroma of hot apple cider filled the air.
After the chatting students quieted, Karen introduced the life of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker newspaper and movement, a devoted follower of the Lord, and a radical activist. She was an active member of the women’s suffrage movement, she spent days in and out of prison, and she opened various hospitality houses to serve the hungry and homeless during the Great Depression. Her biographer, Jim Forest, said it best when he wrote “there you have Dorothy Day in two words: saint and troublemaker”.
Day’s writings grappled with the idea of loving and serving others in the most humblest and selfless of ways. She recounted a day in which she cared for a man in need. Day brought him into her house on a Sunday afternoon, gave him a bed for a nap, helped him look for a job, and made him coffee and sandwiches, and after the man left, she discovered he took her wallet as well. When most would take the opportunity to be angry or vengeful, Dorothy Day instead wrote of how she was in to place to understand or judge the man’s situation. Her role was simply to love and serve others to the best of her abilities, and God would take care of the rest.
Students discussed the contradiction of how we should love and how we should judge. While they came to many different conclusions they settled on one universal truth. It’s easy to forget that we all face times of trouble and hardship, but Dorothy Day spent her life seeking these people who were at their lowest lows. And not only did she serve, but she served in the name of God. Day understood that Christ did not neglect the weak and hungry, rather he sought them in a crowd, and that was the impetus for the growth of the Catholic Worker movement all over the world.
I believe Day understood the urgency of living after God when she wrote, “we are not expecting Utopia here on this earth. But God meant things to be much easier than we have made them. A man has a natural right to food, clothing, and shelter… A family needs work as well as bread… We must keep repeating these things… Eternal life begins now”.
Click here for the Julian of Norwich reading from this week.
Click here to join the website (free of charge) and access all past Vintage readings.
Sarah Salinas, UVa 2014
Vintage Reflections: Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483-1543) Today’s Vintage was a wonderful amalgam of barbeque, slaw, Martin Luther’s thoughts on anxiety, and pecan pie. Martin Luther is considered the Father of the Protestant Reformation. He devoted himself to Augustinian monasticism at the age of 20 and was ordained at 24 years old. Luther became concerned with his salvation – where to seek it, where it was embodied, and how to secure it. He resolved that his salvation relied more so on his personal relationship with and faith in God and set his life to come to a biblical understanding of Christ.
Yet through Luther’s commencement of the modernity in the Church, he struggled with crippling anxiety. At Vintage, we looked at 3 passages on this topic, each from his preaching on the Sermon on the Mount. Luther speaks on distinguishing greed from the concern of love. We decided that the difference lies in showing concern for others or allowing self-concern and self-interest to dwell in our hearts. Luther also declares birds as schoolmasters and teachers. Birds are made to preach through their song. They are oftentimes caged, relying upon owners for food, care, and shelter. However, Luther believes that birds were created to be free – happier, singing praises, and relying solely on the provisions of the Creator. Birds “exhort you with this Gospel. Not with mere simple words, but with a living deed and an example.” A wonderful idea – to appreciate each bird’s song heard on Grounds as a testimony of “the art of trusting Him and of casting cares from themselves upon God.”
We students replaced the word “anxiety” with “worries”, and then applied it to our college lives – overwhelmed by grades, social scenes, and academic challenges. However, encouragement was found in Luther’s words in the final passage:
“So forget your anxieties, since you cannot accomplish anything by them. It does not depend upon your anxiety but upon His knowledge and concern.”
Reflect upon anxiety with us by accessing this week’s Vintage reading – click here!
To access past Vintage readings and become a TH member (free of charge) – click here!
Boldly and without hindrance,
Betty Li, UVa 2015
Vintage Reflections: Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich (1343-1413)
Today's Vintage discussion focused on the life and writings of Julian of Norwich, a theologian, anchorite, and daughter of the Lord who lived in England in the 14th century. Apart from her life's commitment to God's work and her intimate understanding of his grace, Julian of Norwich was an example of a godly life in a time of great suffering. Julian was moved by God's goodness 
and how that translated into his loving care for us, his children, and as we consider her profound thoughts today, I cannot help but smile at the simplicity of them all. It took the tiny object of a hazelnut to remind Julian of God's creating, loving, and preserving power. Because she understood that God loves even the smallest of and seemingly insignificant things, she clung to God's life giving goodness. How trivial is one life in a million? It's small, but made valuable and powerful through the goodness of God.
"For the highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God. It comes down to us to meet our humblest needs. It gives life to our souls and makes them live and grow in grace and virtue. It is near and swift in grace, for it is the same grace which our souls seek and always will."
Students in today's discussion were encouraged by the idea that all goodness in life comes from God's goodness, and we were struck by the fact that a "vintage thinker" from the 1300s would have such insights into the things that concern us today. To understand the immense love of God, to Julian of Norwich, was to find rest and purpose in Him alone. As she wrote, "never can we stop the desiring and longing until he is ours in the fullness of bliss."
Click here for the Julian of Norwich reading from this week.
Click here to join the website (free of charge) and access all past Vintage readings.
Sarah Salinas, UVa 2014
Family Weekend Open House at the Bonhoeffer House
Click on the invitation to rsvp. All are welcome, with or without families!
Guest Blogger Critiques a Vintage Recipe: Santa Fe Soup
Guest blogger: Sarah Salinas, Theological Horizons Intern and lover of all foods Students were welcomed into the Bonhoeffer House this afternoon after one of the cooler weeks we've had in Charlottesville in a while. Karen mentioned that she'd be making soup on Tuesday, and I hadn't realized until I walked into the house today that I've missed that home comfort. After a long week of classes, soup can be a simple but effective remedy for stressful minds. I'm here to share the recipe, because this hearty soup should be a staple in everyone's kitchen this fall!
Santa Fe Soup
- 2 lbs ground turkey or beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 5-oz. envelopes ranch-style dressing mix
- 2 1.25-oz. envelopes taco seasoning mix
- 1 16-oz can black beans
- 1 16-oz. can kidney beans
- 1 16-oz. can pinto beans
- 1 16-oz. diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained
- 1 16-oz. can tomato wedges, undrained
- 2 16-oz cans white corn, undrained
- 2 cups water
- Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions for garnish
Cook the meat & onion together until the meat is browned. Stir the ranch-style dressing mix & the taco seasoning into the meat. Add the remaining ingredients with their juices. Add the water and simmer for two hours. If the mixture is too thick, add more water. Garnish each serving with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.
Celebrate! Party Pics and News
There’s nothing we love more than to see the Bonhoeffer House filled with friends--so imagine how delighted we were to welcome more than 100 students, faculty and friends for the Celebrate! event on Sept. 16. With the generous help of a great host committee, board members, and student volunteers, we celebrated 12 years of the Bonhoeffer House and the warm community that God has created here.
Remarks by Karen Wright Marsh, executive director:
This place was a dream once. It was named before we even saw it: the Bonhoeffer House. We were inspired by the heroic German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who called Christians to live their faith at the center of the world. Bonhoeffer embodied a very personal witness to God’s grace and truth, as “Christ for others” and in his life he showed us how powerful, how beautiful life in community can be.
Charles and I were living in Baltimore, where he was teaching at Loyola. The two of us had founded Theological Horizons ten years before and begun the lifelong work of encouraging Christians in academia. Charles, ever the visionary, began talking about this Bonhoeffer House and we wondered what this dream might become.
When Charles accepted the faculty position at the University of Virginia in 1999, we searched Charlottesville for a “Bonhoeffer House”, this dream on our hearts.
We were looking for a place where faculty could talk about how their faith connected to their intellectual work and their teaching;
We were looking for a center of support the promising professors of tomorrow---graduate students following God’s call into academia;
We were looking for a home for our own family where we bring along students on their spiritual journeys, welcoming their questions and speaking God’s truth;
We hoping to create a mentoring community within the university--a Bonhoeffer House which would be “a welcoming home for engaging faith, thought and life”.
With the board of directors of Theological Horizons, Charles and I affirmed something that Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself said once: “I believe that God is about to accomplish something that we can only receive with the greatest wonder and awe.”
When we walked through the door at 1841 University Circle that autumn morning, we knew we’d found it. A place for community. A place for conversation, peace and friendship. A place for Christians and for seekers, too, inviting questions about spirit and life at the heart of the University. It was crystal clear—with its red tile roof and stucco walls it even looked like the Bonhoeffer home in Berlin-- which had us saying, “Wow! This IS a God thing!” We knew we were standing in the Bonhoeffer House.
Our family put in all we had to make this vision reality. The Theological Horizons board of directors and many partners invested generously, too. Together we claimed this Bonhoeffer House and put that plaque on the door, confident that God would provide for the future of the house.
Over the past 12 years, thousands of others have walked through this Bonhoeffer House door and stepped into God’s grace. While there’s nothing uncommon about the cooking here-- the theological insights we offer echo what Christians have believed through the century, there’s the welcoming fulfillment of Jesus’ promise: “Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20) Every time we offer up this space, we have truly opened the door for Christ.
And this happens often—just take the past four days. God was present on Thursday night when summer interns, community friends and graduate students discussed experiences of theology lived out in Kenya and Richmond. On Friday, Christ ministered among 35 college students reading C.S. Lewis over lunch in the living and then as a pack of middle school girls came for a Bible study. Yesterday, 5 friends arrived with armloads of flowers and tablecloths to create a welcome for you today. And so it goes.
It is our hope that all who come receive a spirit-filled embrace that Christ gives so generously. Even while the Bonhoeffer House echoes with the everyday sounds of our family and the barking dog, the antisocial cat, it has become something far more: the Bonhoeffer House is one small response to God’s call to be “Christ for others”.
You friends have been and continue to be critical to keeping the doors of the Bonhoeffer House open. Your friendship and your involvement sustain Theological Horizons, with its heart at the Bonhoeffer House and its programs reaching lives far beyond these walls. Today we thank you—and we offer gratitude for many partners who have walked with us all along the way-- for your prayers, for living this dream with us, in making this welcome for Christ over the past 12 years.
Sometimes when the roof is leaking, lunch is overcooked or resources are tight, we ask if we’re making a difference in the midst of the American university?
The writer Andy Crouch has an answer I love. He tells us to look to the fruit of our work. “Do we see a divine multiplication after we have done our best? Does a riotous abundance of grain spring up from a tiny, compact seed? This is grace: unearned, unexpected abundance that can leave us dizzy with joy. It is a return on investment that exceeds anything we could explain by our own effectiveness or efforts.”
Vintage, Bible Study & Morning Prayer are happening
Now you can see the flyer for our fall semester programs! Wow, these days are rich and full...Join us.
Step in for Morning Prayer in the UVa Chapel on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15-8:45 am. God, music, friends--the best way to start the day.
The Breakfast Bible Study is on Wednesdays at 9 am. Saranell is teaching a series guided by the book Fresh Air, The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life by Jack Levison. We are studying the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and will learn from Job, Daniel, Simeon, Chloe, Ezekiel, Jesus and Peter. Come and expect to encounter God in unexpected places. All are welcome! Students, faculty, community folks.
We've had one Vintage lunch so far (BBQ chicken & Augustine!) and are really excited about the theme for the fall: The Vintage Life. Each week we look at the lives of "Vintage" Christians throughout the centuries, enter their stories, read their words and seek to understand what they experienced. We're discovering how they encountered God in their doubts, joys, conflicts, questions and pleasures--and asking the question, "What elements of the Vintage Life are fruitful for us today?" Can't be here? Become a member (it's free) and you can read along with us as we post the texts for each week.
There are lots of other things going on--lectures, brown bag lunch workshops, student presentations and discussions.
Check out our calendar--and add it to you google calendar--and you won't miss anything.
Wahoo Welcomes (are you in the photo?)
Our intrepid team of upperclassmen & grad students delivered cookies to 57 first years in their dorms on Move In Day. The welcome continued as we hosted our annual Wahoo Welcome Lunch on August 31. More than 86 students dropped by for the traditional Bonhoeffer House lunch offerings: homemade iced tea, crunchy romaine salad, Cane's chicken strips and chocolate dessert...A great beginning to a new year! Our weekly Vintage lunch and conversation group begins the following Friday, Sept. 7 from 1-2 pm and features our favorite readings from the classic Christian tradition. All students are welcome! To see a map to the Bonhoeffer House
Night Prayer in the UVa Chapel - Aug 19
Our last summer Sunday evening prayer is this Sunday at 8 pm! Chris Campanelli will be bringing music as Saranell Hartman leads us in prayer and Scripture. Come as you are - if you've been moving into your student apartment, just driving back from vacation or enjoying one of the last days of summer. Hope to see you in the University of Virginia Chapel. (And Morning Prayer begins again on September 10 - every Monday/Tuesday/Thursday morning at 8:15)
Morning Prayer in the Chapel begins September 10
Morning Prayer in the UVa Chapel begins on Monday, September 10 and will continue each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8:15 till 8:45. Cameron Archer will bring the music again and we've got a great core group of students and other from the UVa community joining with us for another year of meaningful mornings. Join us! Learn more
Welcome to the new Theological Horizons website!
How have we been spending our summer, you ask? Redesigning the website! We hope that this will be the place you turn to for Christian scholarship—with lots of archived lectures, readings and resources—and a home for Christian community—with a current calendar of events, newsy blog and ways to get personal invitations to all that we do. (Click on the “ TH Members” flag to join for free and you won’t miss anything!) The new site was made possible by a special gift form Cantey and David Deeter and Anne and Chad Zimmerman in honor of Myra and Bob Marsh, in celebration of Bob’s 80th birthday. Bob is an emeritus board member and Myra and Bob are longtime partners in ministry. Happy birthday and many blessings, Bob!