Past Events – 2020/21

Joint event with Graduate Catholic Student Association: Building Houses and Home with Joseph (in place of Large Group 4)

When: Friday, March 19, 7-8:30pm PDT
Where: Zoom (signup link below)
Join IVGrad and GCSA to celebrate the feast day of Joseph: stepfather, carpenter, and home-builder. We will be decorating bird houses, to either keep or donate to your choice of Common Roots Farm (https://commonrootsfarm.org) or the Jesuit Retreat Center (https://www.jrclosaltos.org). For those who are unable to get a birdhouse kit in time (or who just want to do something extra), there will also be an alternative craft option (origami). See the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/855170235044394/
This will be a fun and low-key opportunity to get to connect with members of another religious organization on campus, and to hear each other’s thoughts on what the person of Joseph means to us. We acknowledge that right now is a time where it’s hard to make a lot of connections, and hard to make deep connections; with this event, we are hopeful that there may be an opportunity to establish the formwork of relationships that may be able to be built upon with more depth down the road.
RSVP here to get the Zoom link & get a free birdhouse kit: https://forms.gle/6Wq2YDXc6s3ic7nd7

Grad Winter Conference: The Gospel in a Changing World

When: Fri, 2/5- Sun, 2/7
Where: Register at bit.ly/gfmpacwinter20
The global pandemic has shaken many complacent expectations for what is normal. On one hand it challenges us to grapple with a reality that things do change. But the other side of the coin is the opportunity of viewing this through the hopeful refrain that things can change. We invite you to come consider with us how, as Christians, called to be salt and light in the world, we can be among the agents of change through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The GFM Pacific Area’s Grad Winter Conference will spend time diving into the topic led by four esteemed speakers while facilitating fun opportunities to have community virtually! Graduate students and postdocs are welcome to join. Register by January 21, 2021 in order to receive mailed materials in time for the conference. Registration fee is $40. There are a limited amount of scholarships available for this conference, so if you would like to inquire about this, contact Michele Turek at michele.turek@intervarsity.org.

Winter Large Group I

When: Friday, January 22, 7:00-8:30pm PST
Where: TBA
Our first Large Group will be an interactive study of a passage from the book of Mark. Through this passage, we will introduce and discuss some of the themes that we will be exploring this quarter at future Large Groups and at Winter Conference. The study will be done in the classic InterVarsity “manuscript style” technique, which we’ll be introducing from scratch; so regardless of how much experience you have with reading the Bible, you should be able to contribute to and learn from this session. Stay tuned for the Zoom link!

Community Game Night

When: Friday, January 15, 6:30pm PST
Where: Online (Registration form: https://forms.gle/9Pp2x6rwEjYyJRVBA)
Since our official Large Groups don’t start until next week, we’re kicking off winter quarter with a virtual game night this Friday!  Join us for fan favorites like Skribblio/Fishbowl/Jackbox, try your hand at a virtual scavenger hunt, or suggest some new games for us to try.
Bonus: if you bring a friend who hasn’t come to an IVGrad event before, you’ll get a free treat!

Stanford IVGrad Advent Service

When: Friday, December 18, 6pm PST
Where: Online (Registration form: https://forms.gle/UjV57wghwu7Cbven6)
 
Join us on Friday, Dec. 18th at 6-7:30pm PST for a (virtual) night of worship, prayer, scriptural reading, and sharing, followed by some fun social activities.

“In Search of Shalom: Race, Justice, and Mass Incarceration”

When: Sunday, December 13, 4pm PST (7pm EST)
Where: Online (Registration form: https://tinyurl.com/isos-session-4)
 
“In Search of Shalom” is a book discussion series held on Zoom. Every month, we will read, watch, and listen to materials on Health, Education, Incarceration, Economic Inequality, and Immigration, then meet to discuss them. This is a space for honest, open education and discussion of injustice, allowing Christians to view social justice in light of the Gospel and to investigate the role God wants us to play in social justice movements. All are welcome to engage in this conversation.  Sponsored by InterVarsity’s Black Scholars and Professionals Ministry (BSAP) and Graduate and Faculty Ministries of the Pacific Area (GFM Pacific).

First Year Fellowship hangout

When: TBD
Where: TBD
We are hoping to hang out as a first-year group, where we could support each other, keep each other accountable in faith, and have fun (in a COVID-safe way). Please fill out this form so we can brainstorm ideas and gauge interest in meeting together (virtually and/or in-person)!

Large Group 4 (“Bridging Beyond Barriers: God’s Love in Christian Unity”)

When: Friday, November 6, 7-8:30pm PST
Where: Online (Registration form: https://forms.gle/VXrn3rmfSmkibZvb9)
 
In our Large Group gatherings this quarter so far, we’ve aimed to explore how following Jesus could look different in specific contexts: depending on one’s field of study (LG1), one’s location in the world (LG2), or one’s political philosophy (LG3). But even among people with a shared faith in Christ, some of these differences may occasionally seem like impenetrable walls (especially as we find ourselves in the middle of a tense and uncertain election week with many significant issues at stake). Is this brokenness inevitable, or is it possible to celebrate the diversity of our experiences without them causing harm and alienation? This Friday, Paul Taylor (Teaching Pastor at Peninsula Bible Church) will guide us through a time of teaching, silent reflection, and discussion on the topic of experiencing God’s love through Christian unity.

“In Search of Shalom: Race, Justice, and Education”

When: Sunday, November 15, 7pm EST
Where: Online (Registration form: https://tinyurl.com/isos-session-3)
 
“In Search of Shalom” is a book discussion series held on Zoom. Every month, we will read, watch, and listen to materials on Health, Education, Incarceration, Economic Inequality, and Immigration, then meet to discuss them. This is a space for honest, open education and discussion of injustice, allowing Christians to view social justice in light of the Gospel and to investigate the role God wants us to play in social justice movements. All are welcome to engage in this conversation.  Sponsored by InterVarsity’s Black Scholars and Professionals Ministry (BSAP) and Graduate and Faculty Ministries of the Pacific Area (GFM Pacific).

Large Group 3: Christianity and Politics: An Uneasy Partnership

When: Friday, October 23, 6:30-8pm PDT
Where: Online (RSVP here to get the Zoom link: https://forms.gle/NSyivfCaxjL51uVm9)
 
Speaker: Ron Sider, Founder & President Emeritus, Christians for Social Action
With the imminence of a US election that is being regarded as one of the most divisive and most important in recent memory, it can be challenging to understand where we fit into the conversation as Christians and as academics. Dr. Ron Sider, who has decades of experience in connecting biblical faith and social policy, will speak to this as he helps us explore the kind of voice Christian academics can have within the realm of politics while also addressing the need for Christian unity among the polarization and dehumanization that infiltrates the broader political climate.

The Amazing (G)Race: Scavenger Hunt

When: Saturday, October 24, at 2:30pm PDT (until ~6pm)
Where: Stanford campus (RSVP here by Sunday, Oct. 18th: https://forms.gle/7oMY7T9Bjvwx4PnA7)
 

Are you tired of Zoom events and missing the real world? Are you getting bored of seeing the same few parts of campus going back and forth to lab every day, and wish you had an excuse to see the rest of campus? Are you in the mood for some socially-distanced socializing, and maybe even a little friendly competition?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should sign up for this event! Similar to the show The Amazing Race, you will follow clues and solve puzzles at various outdoor locations around Stanford’s campus (many of them the more “hidden gems” that are off the beaten path), and the winning team will be the one which finishes first (or which reaches the most locations in the designated amount of time). In order to cover more of campus without making travel time between locations too long, we’ve broken up the campus into four “zones” (different from the officially designated campus zones), and will be sending one or multiple people from each team to each zone. In order to avoid participants from multiple teams all crowding around a single location, we will be having each participant/team start at a different location in the sequence.  Once people have signed up, we will finalize teams and then email participants with more details. Hope to see many of you there!

Contacts: Kristel Tjandra (ktjandra@stanford.edu), Katie Antilla (kantilla@stanford.edu), Katie Ferrick (kferrick@stanford.edu)

Large Group 2: IVGrad in/and the World

When: Friday, October 9 at 7:00pm
Where: Online (RSVP here to get the Zoom link: https://forms.gle/n2991MEp9PLhqSbN6)
 

Speakers: Denise-Margaret Thompson and Andre Cooper.  In this large group, we are going to learn and reflect on the place of IVGrad within the student movements across the globe. IVGrad is a graduate ministry within InterVarsity/USA & International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) North America, which constitutes one major regional student movement (https://ifesworld.org/en/). In this session, Denise and Andre will share their experiences with IFES. Come ready to hear about different movements around the world and to share about your own experiences. We will also be praying for some other movements.

IFES World Student Day

When: Friday, October 16
Where: Online
 

World Student Day is an annual day that unites our global movement to celebrate all that God is doing through the International Fellowship of Evangelical students (IFES) and to pray for one another and the needs and opportunities for the coming year. Each year, we take an offering for our sister movements. Would you consider making a gift this year? And on 16 October, join us in praying for students adapting to education in the pandemic, and for students and staff sharing Christ in these rapidly shifting circumstances. Visit https://ifesworld.org/en/wsd/ to find out how you can participate.

First Large Group (Square Inch Story Exchange, Part 2)

When: Friday, September 25 at 7:00pm
Where: Online (Zoom link to be sent out closer to the date)
 
We are excited for you to join us as we kick off the new academic year by hearing from grad students at Stanford about how they see God working in every “square inch” of their lives and how their faith and work interact. The name draws inspiration from the declaration of Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920): “No single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” This will be a joint event with other GFM (Graduate and Faculty Ministries) chapters at schools around the Bay Area, so come meet new folks from both Stanford and beyond!

NSO Hangouts 2020

The Zoom links for all New Grad Student Orientation (NGSO) Welcome Events can be found in this Google Doc: https://tinyurl.com/ivgradnso2020  (Note that you will need to be signed into your Stanford account to access the Doc. If you’re not able to access it, email the Steering committee at ivgrad-steering@lists.stanford.edu.)

Zoom Lunch Hour
Buy or heat up your own lunch and then join us as we eat and chat together!
When: Thursday, September 17 at 12-1pm
Where: Online (see Google Doc for Zoom link)
Hosted by: Andrea (achaikov@stanford.edu)
Virtual Tea Time
Hit up your nearby Coupa or other cafe for some coffee/tea/beverage of choice, then join for a casual chat and get to know new and old faces at Stanford!
When: Friday, September 18 at 3-4pm
Where: Online (see Google Doc for Zoom link)
Hosted by: Kristel (ktjandra@stanford.edu)
Virtual Worship Night
Join us as we sing/play worship songs from different cultures around the world!
When: Friday, September 18 at 6:30pm
Where: Online (see Google Doc for Zoom link)
Hosted by: Evan (elaksono@stanford.edu)
Zoom Chat
If you’re an incoming student (or any student, really) wondering about life as a Christian in grad school, come chat!
When: Wednesday, September 23 at 6:30pm
Where: Online (see Google Doc for Zoom link)
Hosted by: Nathan (njwei@stanford.edu)
Virtual Game Night
Drop by at any point during this time to play a short round of Skribbl.io, Jackbox Fibbage, or any other game people might be interested in, or stay for the whole time!
When: Saturday, September 26 at 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Online (see Google Doc for Zoom link)
Hosted by: Katie (kantilla@stanford.edu)

PAST EVENTS – 2016/17

Our theme this summer is Building & Planting, which we’ll be exploring through studies of passages in the Old Testament.
When/where: Thursdays at 7pm starting July 13 through end of August in the GCC Nairobi room (2nd floor):

You’re welcome to join these small groups at any time over the summer months in 2017:

  • C3:16 worship small group on Mondays at 7 p.m., contact Kat Gonzales (kgonzal[at]stanford.edu)
  • Faith and Science discussion group on Wednesdays at 6:15pm starting July 26. Contact Andreas (krischok[at]stanford.edu).

We hope you can join us soon!

Wed July 5th 7-9:30pm
Lake Lag BBQ Area

Join us for the IVGrad Summer Kick-off BBQ!  Continuing and new students, summer visitors, etc. are all welcome!

Wednesday, July 5th 7-9:30pm at the Lake Lagunita BBQ area.

Sign up to bring a side dish, drinks or dessert.

Small Groups 2016-17

For reference, these were the IVGrad small groups that met throughout the academic year 2016-17.  During the summer time, new groups form for discussion and fellowship – we’ll announce details about our summer small groups at the kick off BBQ on July 5th!

Walking with Jesus in Grad School – Mondays, 6:30pm
What does it mean to be a grad student and follow Jesus? We especially welcome first year students to join us in a community where together we are learning to navigate grad school with Jesus. Email Joel (joelschn).

Adventures in Corinthians – Tuesdays, 7:00pm

Conflict, money, power, and sex – as well as fellowship, grace, and love – are major themes of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. We’ll be going through 1 and 2 Corinthians chapter by chapter, following a study guide by NT Wright, one of the world’s most prominent Christian thinkers. Join us to see how Paul’s messages to the early church still impact us today. Email Jeremy (jwitmer) or Peter (pattia).

The Psmall Group – Wednesdays, 7:00pm
We believe God speaks to us through His word and through others. Each week we’ll choose a passage (often a psalm), and spend time with it individually during the week. We’ll share with one another about how we encountered God in the passage, and in our lives more generally, and take time to pray for each other in response. Contact Daniel (dheywood).

International Bible Study – Thursdays, 6:30pm
We aim to be a “home away from home” for international students—a place to find community, encouragement, and nourishment from God’s Word. You don’t need to be international to join us! Email Yang (zhiyangw) or Vivian (vkchen).

End of Year Banquet
Friday May 26, 2017 6:30pm

Our last official event of the 2016-17 academic year will be our End of Year Banquet celebration on Friday, May 26 at 6:30 in the Old Union Clubhouse Ballroom.  This is a chance to celebrate the year we’ve had together, honor those who are graduating, and look forward to next year.  There will be delicious dinner, friends, worship, and festivities.  Wear semi-formal attire for the occasion!

And note the location – The Clubhouse is between Old Union and Tresidder:
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Our last large group of winter quarter will be a worship night!
Friday, March 17, 7-8:30pm in the Old Union SANCTUARY (3rd floor).
Join us for a night of musical praise, reflection, and prayer led by the worship team.

Integral Large Group

Friday, March 3rd at 7PM – 3rd Floor Old Union Common Room

Reducing Systemic Injustice by Humans and AI

J. Nathan Matias, MIT Media Lab
 
Advocates of digital media argue that it has broadened access to diverse voices and opportunities. Yet platform design and AI systems combine with human behavior to create systematic discrimination against women online in many cultures. At the MIT Media Lab and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Nathan Matias conducts large-scale studies on discrimination online, testing social and design interventions for helping people and AI systems change their behavior. He also designs technologies that communities of millions of people use to carry out their own audits and interventions to pro-socially influence human and AI behavior online.
Nathan’s work on citizen participation in human and algorithmic accountability is inspired by the history and theology of discrimination and equality in early Christianity. In this talk, hear about Nathan’s research and how conflicts over equality in early Christianity produced some of the most beautiful and influential visions of spiritual flourishing in communities.   We’ll spend some time brainstorming how our own academic work and faith might productively interact.

Bio

J. Nathan Matias is a Guatemalan-American Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Media Lab Center for Civic Media, an affiliate at the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard, and founder of CivilServant. He conducts independent, public interest research on flourishing, fair, and safe participation online. His recent work includes research on pro-social influence of AI systemsonline harassment preventionharassment reportingvolunteer moderation online (PDF), behavior change toward equality (PDF), and online social movements (PDF).
An evangelical Christian and Harvey fellow, Nathan writes about Christianity and technology for Intervarsity’s Emerging Scholars Network and on the MIT Center for Civic Media blogHe has extensive experience in tech startups, nonprofits, and corporate research, including SwiftKey, Microsoft Research, and the Ministry of Stories. Nathan’s creative work and research have been covered extensively by international press, and he has published data journalism and intellectual history in the Atlantic, Guardian, PBS, and Boston Magazine.

NorCal Winter Conference: Feb 3-5, 2017

with Charles Yu – The Meaning of the Death of Jesus

Camp Redwood Glen  –  Scotts Valley

When: Fri Feb 3 – Sun Feb 5.

The conference starts with dinner on Friday night and finishes at noon on Sunday (2 nights).   

Where: Redwood Glen Conference Center, Scotts Valley CA

(same place as Fall retreat)

WhatMeaning of the Death of Jesus with Dr Charles Yu

Dr. Yu is a theologian and currently the Pastor of Multicultural Ministry and Theology at Blackhawk Church in Madison, WI.  He will be speaking to us about the meaning of the cross, specifically the New Testament understanding of the cross, and how it gives a more complete understanding of Jesus’ death.  Full speaker details below.

Who: 

You!  And IVGrad students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz.

What else: 

Worship, good food, old friends, new friends, rest, Jesus!

Registration is $115, and scholarships are available so contact Wendy (wendy.quay@gmail.com) if you need assistance to attend. And feel free to contact our lovely registrars with any other questions: Florence (fadewale@stanford.edu) & Marcus (mpanj@stanford.edu).

Series Overview:

The cross sits at the center of Christian theology; yet, there is still quite a bit of controversy about the precise meaning of the cross.  The reason for this is that the Bible itself is not clear about the meaning of the cross.  The Bible uses multiple metaphors to discuss the cross, metaphors that we find difficult to appreciate.  To communicate the cross, we adopt more contemporary metaphors, but they introduce nuances that are not part of the Bible.   
Going back to the texts means confronting the New Testament understanding of the cross: covenant initiation sacrifice, passover sacrifice, day of atonement sacrifice, sin offering, redemption fee in the slave market, destruction of the temple, etc.  Wrestling with these various metaphors provide a more complete and profound understanding of the death of Jesus.

About Dr. Charles Yu

Charles is the Pastor of Multicultural Ministry and Theology at Blackhawk Church in Madison, WI.
He spent his early childhood in Taiwan and immigrated with his family to Southern California when he was ten. At UC Berkeley, he met his wife Serena and received a B.S. in electrical engineering (1990). As they sojourned in Vancouver, British Columbia, Charles got his Master of Divinity at Regent College (1997) and worked as a minister to Chinese-Canadian college students. After moving to Madison in 1997, Charles received his PhD in Hebrew and Semitics (Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) at UW-Madison (2011).
Before coming on staff with Blackhawk Church, Charles enjoyed a teaching ministry with InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries as a Campus Theologian. Serena currently teaches English in the Madison public schools. They have two daughters, Kirstin and Nikki. In his spare time, Charles enjoys reading books on military history and barbecuing in his backyard.

Express your gratitude.

The Corinthians small group will lead us in a encouragement/gratitude night for this week’s large group.  We will spend the evening together writing letters & cards to send to people we are grateful for in our lives.  God calls us to encourage one other, and this is an easy but meaningful way to do that. We’ll provide all the supplies, but do come with some addresses in mind!  Also, please bring a few $$ to contribute towards stamps.

Join us Friday, January 27th from 7-8:30pm at the usual place: CIRCLE Common Room, 3rd floor of Old Union.

Christian writer and political activist Jim Wallis on Engaging Our World 

7pm Sunday, January 29
CIRCLE Common Room, 3rd Floor, Old Union

[To get to the CIRCLE room: take the elevator from the Old Union to the third floor, turn left, and follow the hallway to the end, where the room is on the left]

Hosted by: Progressive Christians at Stanford, Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry, and InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship

How should Christians engage on issues of justice that permeate our society today? Navigating the apparent paradox of the command to be in the world but not of it can be hard, especially as students with busy schedules and many demands on our time who also want to live out our faith.

Join InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship, Progressive Christians at Stanford, and the Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry as we host Christian writer and political activist Jim Wallis for an evening of discussion on this topic with Pastor Kaloma Smith of University AME Zion Church, and Annanda Barclay, Pastoral Intern of First Presbyterian Church.

Jim Wallis is the President and Founder of Sojourners, a magazine at the intersection of faith, politics, and culture with the goal of exposing injustice and transforming the world.

Invite your friends!

Fall Retreat 2016:

Meeting with God in Grad School

Join us Saturday Oct 29 – Sunday Oct 30 at Redwood Glen in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains.  The theme will be Meeting With God in Grad School, and we have some great speakers (Diane Lee, Sacramento State and IVGrad alumna; Steve Lee, UC Davis) who will share their personal stories and offer both encouragement and challenges for us.  Fall retreat is a wonderful time to really connect with IVGrad and to have a night away from Stanford and work.  Plus, it’s just one night (returning Sunday afternoon) so there is plenty of time to do homework afterwards.

Registration is closed

Josh Hill and David Mackanic are our registrars this year (thanks!) so contact them directly if you have any questions or concerns about registration or arrival to the retreat.  An email will be sent to attendees on Thursday 10/27 with ride-sharing info and other details for the weekend. 

Though final numbers have been submitted to Camp Redwood Glen, contact Wendy Quay to see if there are any openings to attend.

See you at Camp Redwood Glen!