Journeying with college students as they follow Christ.
OUR MISSION
The Mission of UKirk is to connect and empower those who lead, support, and advocate for collegiate and higher education ministries. Specifically, the vision is to:
Encourage and enable relationships between PCUSA and Cumberland Presbyterian campus, congregational, and chaplain ministries.
Promote the sharing of resources, models, and best practices.
Coordinate and facilitate events for collegiality and continuing education.
Advocate and interpret the mission of collegiate and higher education ministry to the church, encouraging prayer, participation and support.
Connect with other PCUSA or church-related ministries.
Welcome to the UKirk Network Registration. Although all PCUSA and PCUSA associated ministries are automatically considered part the UKirk Network, each ministry must register (or re-register) to be recognized by the Office of Collegiate Ministry and the UKirk Network, regardless of your branding status.
UKIRK DAILY
UKirk Daily is an app that offers two Biblical passages and a prayer. It was created to encourage collegiate students and young adults to develop a regular practice of connecting with God through listening (reading) and speaking (prayer). In both it’s design and interface, it really couldn’t be more simple.
Our Instagram
[email protected]:30 PM EDT. (Note new time!) Bring your questions and ideas. Go to the UKirk Leaders FB page for Zoom link or email Ukirk national @gmail.com
JESUS SENDS IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Station 7
FIND: Map
READ: Acts 1:6-8 and pray for places on a map
RESPOND: Sing “Your Love is Alive.” Take a neighborhood walk and pray for each home.
REFLECT: Where is God guiding you to use your gifts and talents?
PRAY: Risen Christ, lead me to places near and far where I can share your love and gift of new life. Amen.
JESUS COMMISSIONS THE APOSTLES
Station 6
FIND: Glass of water
READ: Matthew 28:18-20 and pour water of your hands as you remember your baptism
RESPOND: Sing “Wild River”
REFLECT: How is God call you to use your gifts and talents?
PRAY: Jesus, guide me to invite others to experience new life found as one of your disciples. Amen.
JESUS SHARES THE SPIRIT
Station 5
FIND: Cup of hot tea
READ: John 20:19-20 while smelling and sipping hot tea
RESPOND: Sing “In the hands of Christ my King”
REFLECT: What gifts and talents has God given you?
PRAY: Resurrected Lord, pour your Holy Spirit into me so that I may pour blessings of your peace into others. Amen.
Station 4
JESUS GREETS THE DISCIPLES
FIND: Pictures of your friends
READ: John 24:36-40 and pray for your friends by name
RESPOND: Sing “Come as you are”
REFLECT: What is it like when you see a good friend you haven’t seen in a while?
PRAY: Jesus, you call us your friend and give us blessings of peace. Help us celebrate your amazing presence. Amen.
Station 3
JESUS MEETS TWO FOLLOWERS
FIND: Find a piece of bread (or cracker). READ: Luke 24:13-16; 28-31 as you break and eat the bread
RESPOND: Sing “Beautiful”
REFLECT: When has God surprised you?
PRAY: Risen Christ, we assume things work according to our own plans. Open our eyes to the surprising way you are at work in our lives. Amen.
JESUS GREETS MARY
Station 2
FIND: Flowers
READ: John 20:15-16 and notice the pattern of the flower
RESPOND: Sing “Raise a Hallelujah”
REFLECT: When was God working in your life even though you didn’t recognize it at first?
PRAY: Lord, you are planting new life all around us. Grow our seeds of faith and make them blossom in your love. Amen.
Station of Resurrection 1 - THE EMPTY TOMB
FIND: Empty Box (or backpack) with stone set to the side
READ: Mark 16:1-6 while feeling the emptiness of the box or backpack
RESPOND: Sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”
REFLECT: How are you making space in your life for God's new thing?
PRAY: Jesus, we come to Easter full of expectations and hopes. Help us to let go, to create space for you, and to welcome your new thing in our life. Amen.
•Station #14 - Mary, Mary, and Salome set out in the morning•
Read Mark 16:1-3.
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These three women don’t know Jesus is risen. All they know is that someone needs to take care of their loved one’s body. Raw with grief and worried that they won’t even be able to get to him, in the quiet of the morning, they gather their supplies and set out toward the tomb.
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“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.” “Praying.” Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press, Boston: 2006).
•Station #13 - Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus•
Read Mark 15:42-47.
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Rituals are part of doing life together, and especially of doing faith together. The act of burying Jesus would’ve been an important way for his followers to honor the leader they had just lost.
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In these socially-distanced days, a lot of our rituals don’t look like they used to. Our worship services, our social gatherings, our classes and meetings and ways of marking special occasions, have all been turned upside down.
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Joseph of Arimathea’s position in society meant he could approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. His resources meant he had a tomb in which Jesus could be laid to rest.
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What gifts of your own might you use to mark important moments in this season?
Students and colleagues, we are praying for you today. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/9040b4fadaa22a0f85-holy/86805643
See everyone in 2021! Contact Krystal at ukirk at upcaustin dot org or Lauren at ukirkregistrar at gmail dot com with questions!
Join us tonight for our Good Friday service via Facebook Live on the UKirk page. Thank you to the college student leaders Katie Lee, Emily Hinshaw, Huyn Suk Choi, Emily Madsen, David Angulo, Alyah Yarden, and Sewon Oh, and to college ministers Rachel Hebert, Terilyn V. Lawson and Michael Sanchez
•Station #12 - Jesus dies•
Read John 19:28-30.
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Here we are. Sitting in the dark after Jesus has been put to death. Imagine a just-snuffed candle, the charred smell of a smoking wick lingering in a darkened sanctuary or a lamp-lit living room. Some churches remember Jesus’s crucifixion through a tenebrae worship service, which includes extinguishing a candle after each Scripture reading. As wisps of smoke curl up from the last candle you can almost hear, almost feel, the heavy exhale of Jesus’s last breath.
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Barbara Johnson once said, “we are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.” So here we are. Sitting in the dark, waiting for Easter. Still, the candle’s wick is glowing. Just barely, but when it comes to rebuilding a campfire from embers, that that’s all you need.
𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘦𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 (2016).
•Station #11 - Jesus promises a criminal eternal life•
Read Luke 23:39-43.
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The song “Heavy” by Birdtalker is originally about the songwriters moving forward in their own relationship, but its lyrics can also resonate with the way Jesus invites this criminal beyond the labels and misdeeds of his past. His past isn’t the entirety of who he is.
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Listen to “Heavy” by Birdtalker.
What are the heavy things you’re carrying?
How might God be meeting you in the midst of them?
What would it look like for you to move beyond them?
•Station #10 - The soldiers crucify Jesus•
Read Matthew 27:32-37.
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Spend some time looking at this sculpture from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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What about it unsettles you?
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The artist didn’t sculpt it about Jesus, but does it shed any new light on this Scripture for you?
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𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪ñá𝘯, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳, 2008, 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 2010, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘦, 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮, 𝘎𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴, 2011.56