Higher education grant projects on our horizon

Leaders of Christian Study Centers partnering with us on The Higher Pursuits Project: Exploring Spirituality and Purpose in the Contemporary University gathered in Madison, WI earlier this month.

We are grateful to be participating in three current and upcoming grant-related projects made possible by the generosity of the John Templeton Foundation.

The first is the Triangle Faculty Roundtable. Once a semester from 2020-2022, the North Carolina Study Center is partnering with the Duke Center for Christianity & Scholarship (the grant coordinator) and InterVarsity Graduate & Faculty Ministries to host faculty gatherings that foster dialogue at the intersection of the Christian faith and modern science. Each event engages with 60-80 faculty from Triangle-area universities and consists of listening to a relevant academic presentation, then discussing the ‘big questions’ raised by the presentation over a meal in small groups. The Triangle Faculty Roundtable is based on and adapts the approaches and experience of the Cambridge Roundtable on Science and Religion.

The second is the Higher Pursuits Project, “an endeavor to engage the history, ideals, and values that shape the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and human flourishing in the contemporary university.” This grant is coordinated by Upper House (the Study Center at the University of Wisconsin), with the North Carolina Study Center is a sub-grantee. We are using this opportunity to develop enhanced educational resources for students and faculty seeking to connect their faith to their academic and vocational pursuits at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The third grant is officially titled ‘Harnessing the Strengths of Comprehensive Moral Communities for Virtue Development in Higher Education’. It will run December 2021 through November 2024. Coordinated by researchers at Baylor University, this project will study how five leading Christian study centers—including the North Carolina Study Center—influence moral identity and virtue development among college students in relation to five secular universities and three religious colleges. These researchers hypothesize that Christian Study Centers are uniquely well-positioned to form students in the areas of moral identity and virtue.

Each of these grants naturally aligns with the Study Center’s mission, “to cultivate Christian life and thought at UNC.” We deeply appreciate the John Templeton Foundation’s support in enhancing our ability to pursue this mission, and are excited to see what happens next.

Carolina Way Camp 2021

After a year of online school and limited gathering opportunities, we are delighted by the return of our flagship welcome event, Carolina Way Camp!

We were unable to host camp last year due to the pandemic, so this year presents a unique opportunity to facilitate connections between students of all ages. First-year campers will be joined by Soph Serve (a team of sophomores) and Student Staff (our junior and senior leaders) for a weekend of shenanigans and memory-making, paired with real-life discussions about what it looks like to follow Jesus in college.

We have booked Camp Oak Hill for August 13th-15th. This year’s venue is only an hour away, making it feasible for students to attend camp and still be back in Chapel Hill in time to visit local churches and participate in UNC’s welcome events on Sunday, August 15th. Our staff has been hard at work this summer training student staff, coordinating with campus ministry partners, recruiting first-year students, and organizing the camp schedule.

If you know any incoming students who might be interested in attending, please have them email andrew@ncstudycenter.org!

NCSC Israel trip with students is still on

PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD T. NOWITZ, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

The Study Center is excited for the opportunity to take 17 students to Israel this summer from July 11th - July 21st. Andrew Borror from our staff, along with his wife, Kellan, will be leading the trip and offering biblical reflections at each of the holy sites.

The 10-day itinerary will take students to over 20 significant biblical sites including the Mt. of Beatitudes, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Andrew has been diligently at work preparing devotionals and consistently communicating with the tour group and students this summer.

Our staff has been busy monitoring current events, the rate of COVID cases + vaccination rates, and praying that the trip will be able to proceed as planned!

March Renovation Update + Campaign News

We are thrilled to report that our capital campaign has exceeded its goal, receiving $3,893,176 in commitments, with $3,128,926 fulfilled to date. Thank you for your generosity and specifically for your prayers over the past years. What a blessing to see the Lord at work in the life of the Study Center!

The campaign will close on Wednesday, March 31. If there are any friends, colleagues, or alums who would still enjoy learning about the campaign or desire to help us reach $4M, reach out to them or let us know — we'll gladly share the details and plans.

Any additional funds over our $3.5M goal will help us cover rising building costs due to the pandemic, additional landscaping to beautify the property, furnishings once the renovation is complete, as well as design, architectural, and administrative costs related to the project.

We entered into the campaign with Psalm 78:4 on our minds and hearts: We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done.

We are exceedingly grateful for His praiseworthy deeds and faithfulness through this entire campaign and always.

Capital Campaign: Renovations have started!

During our unpredictable and often tragic times, the Lord has seen fit to bless our mission of offering a home for scripture, community, and education in Chapel Hill. Thanks to community support, the dream of drastically upfitting 203 Battle Lane for that purpose is under way!

Watch the video above to hear from our builders and designers about what to expect, as well as their visions for the space and its place in the Chapel Hill community.

Explore the photo album, with additional behind-the-scenes videos, for a more in-depth look at the renovation progress so far.

We celebrate all this as the work of the Lord and as an outward display of his never-ending goodness. Our campaign ends on March 31, so if you have not yet given or made a commitment toward the campaign, you still have the chance to make this once-in-a-generation effort part of your legacy. We would deeply appreciate your participation in this project, and are still in need of funding for landscaping in particular.

David French on Christian Leadership: Problems, Possibilities and the Call of Christ

What is the current state of Christian leadership in America? What qualities should Christians insist on in their leaders? To what extent should Christians try to change the world?

The questions that confront the American church have never felt more pressing, while the examples of public leadership failures have never felt more plentiful.

So yesterday, in seeking to find our footing through this time, Madison Perry (Executive Director) had a conversation with David French, Senior Editor of The Dispatch.

Before the event, Madison offered this note:

David has attempted to think honestly and as a Christian about our current moment. His concerns run the gamut and he doesn't fall neatly into a partisan position. We'll be talking about questions like "How do healthy organizations foster a culture of accountability for people in the highest positions of leadership?", "How do you separate truth from ideology or conspiracy?", and "How should the church understand changes in culture and engage with them?"

We hope this is an opportunity for students and our extended community to think constructively together at a time when it is easier to shout than to reason. We expect that everyone who listens will find themselves at times agreeing and at times disagreeing with what is said. Above all, we hope that this conversation will help you to think clearly and live faithfully wherever you find yourself.

January Director's Letter

Dear Friends,

Below you will find good news about our capital campaign, the start of this semester, and information about exciting opportunities for students, alumni, and community members in coming weeks.

I'm excited to begin by announcing to you that we met the end-of-year match in 2020. Many of you made extraordinarily generous gifts and commitments, helping us receive a $200,000 match! Thanks to all the commitments and gifts received, we have now met our primary campaign goal of $3.5M. The campaign will remain open for additional gifts and commitments until March 31, 2021 to help us cover increased costs for building materials, landscaping, and to meet extended legal expenses from an unpredictable permitting process last year. Thankfully, we are now well-positioned to begin the renovation of the Study Center, with demolition scheduled to start during the week of Feb. 1, 2021. The construction process is expected to take approximately a year.

Since we began, I have often remembered Psalm 127:1 — "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." This has certainly been true in every aspect of our work, from seminars to speakers to relationships and community building, only the Lord can have the impact that we pray for. And the same will certainly be true of this construction process. We hope that the Study Center will be a home for community, education, and spiritual growth in Chapel Hill, and only the Lord can accomplish this.

As construction is beginning soon, we are in the process of considering alternative sites for casual and responsible hospitality for the coming semester. Please pray that the Lord will help us provide for students this semester the way we were able to last semester.

Finally, our undergraduate and graduate student groups started meeting last week, and our seminars have mostly begun. Any student with questions should email andrew@ncstudycenter.org — it's not too late to join!

For all members of the community, we had a wonderful evening with Dr. Kavin Rowe on the lessons the early church has to teach us in our current moment (Jan. 13). We have two additional events coming up, one with The Common Rule's Justin Whitmel Earley (Feb. 1), and the other with political commentator David French on Christian leadership (Feb. 18).

May the Lord guide us all into the joyful work ahead this year,

Madison Perry
Executive Director