We’ve Moved!  Our last week to meet at St. James Church was April 27.

Our new space is the Montreal YWCA.

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is at René-Lévesque and Crescent. The official address is 1355 Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest,Montréal, QC H3G 1T3, Canada. Click this link for map: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/9-rabbiPej .  It is not far past Hurley’s if you’re walking.

Our Worship Service Gathering Time is still 4PM.

Directions By Metro (Subway)

• Lucien-L’Allier (Orange Line)
• Exit Lucien L’Allier metro station and walk North up the hill
• When you reach René-Lévesque Blvd. the Hôtel Y de Montréal will be in front of you

• Guy-Concordia (Green Line)
• Exit Guy metro station
• Walk south 2 blocks to René-Lévesque Blvd.
• Turn left and walk east for 3 blocks.  L’Hôtel Y de Montréal is located on the corner of Crescent Street and René-Lévesque Blvd.

Directions By Car

• Follow the signs “Centre-ville” (Downtown) via the Ville Marie highway (720 East)
• Take the Guy exit and turn right on René-Lévesque Blvd.
• L’Hôtel Y de Montréal will be immediately on your left when you cross Crescent Street.

 Friday Night, March 21 (Good Friday): Potluck at Kristina’s apartment   

§         Where: Kristina’s House,  4336 Bannantyne Apt 3,

§         When: 6pm

§         What: Potluck, followed by reading and discussion of the crucifixion. Come with any questions you may have! (But I’m not guaranteeing any answers)

·         Questions: What effect does the crucifixion have on my life today? Why did it have to happen? Why would Judas betray Jesus?

§         Food/Furniture: It’s a potluck, so bring food. And I don’t have much furniture, so perhaps bring a pillow for comfort.  Email Kristina@impactchurch.ca to RSVP concerning potluck, or other info.  

The task:  To raise money for missions.  Two Jars.  One for ladies, one for men.  Put change in your respective jar for positive points, put bills in the other jar to steal points back from the other group. The reward:  Losers will bedeck themselves in quality attire and serve the winners on April 13.  Furthermore, they will have to write out(and read) a letter explaining how great the winning group is.  The final day for money to be raised will be Sunday April 6. 

BCNE Spring Retreat April 4-6 

• Who: Students from Quebec and the NE US
• What:  Baptist Convention of New England/Canada Spring Retreat
• When: April 4-6
• Where: Cody
  Outdoor
  Retreat
  Center, Freedom,
  New Hampshire (on web at  (http://www.findthedivine.com/retreatcenter/cody/home.html)
• Why: Spiritual and Physical Renewal. Retreat Theme is “Come and Rest….soak in the presence of God” (from Matthew 28-30)
• How: $70 all inclusive, except transportation to and from. 
• More info on the retreat: www.springretreat2008.blogspot.com

Because of the timing of the retreat with finals for many people, we are not taking an official contingent to the retreat; however, if you are interested in attending, please contact lon@impactchurch.ca and he will put you together with others who are interested in going.   

Expelled!

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

I am going to see this movie by Ben Stein, and am recommending other truth seekers do so as well. The situation will shock you. See the movie trailer at the link above.   

TRAVELER’S NOTES

from Pastor Lon  

Last time I said that I would tackle some frequent questions about bearing fruit.  With this week’s schedule, I am not able to get to that.  But if you’d like to see some of my previous blogs, including some that have not appeared in the Impact news, visit my blog site at http://blogs.impactchurch.ca/lon.    I hope that you all have a meaningful Holy Week, contemplating the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  On the journey with you,  Lon

February 29, 2008

  This week’s exciting issue contains…

1)   Impact Announcements

2)   Other Montreal Happenings

3)   Traveler’s Notes from Pastor Lon: “Can God Swim?”

4)   BONUS: Ivy Jungle Update

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Games Night! March 7th

Where?  The Vinings (1500 rue Champigny).

We have a LOT of games. We will have a LOT of fun!  We will have some GOOD
FOOD!  

Please RSVP to l…@impactchurch.ca.  

For directions to the Vinings, email Lon. 

OTHER MONTREAL HAPPENINGS

Release at Calvary Chapel

Saturday, Mar 1 at 7pm
1200 Atwater (at the Atwater Library), just south of Atwater and St.
Catherine.
www.calvarymontreal.com

From their website: “Release is an opportunity to get together and give all
of our daily burdens to Jesus.  A time to be open and to experience the
regenerative power of the Holy Spirit through worship, prayer and
encouragement. As we come together we will: Have a time of extended worship
lead by local singer-songwriter, Dave Martel and a group of great musicians
gathered from around the city.  
Create a time of worship where the music will be as intelligent and
meaningful and beautiful as God can make it.   Have a short encouragement
from the Word of God that speaks to us where we are…. today!  Given by
Pastor Sebastien Frappier.  Have a time of small-group prayer, where men and
women will separate in the hopes of creating a non-threatening environment.”

TRAVELER’S NOTES

from Pastor Lon

Traveler’s notes are now all in Pastor Lon’s blog.  Click here to go to his blog.   

BONUS:

[NOTE: The BONUS section is a format to feature different writings, facts,
trends or perspectives on matters of faith. BONUS is provided in order to
stimulate thoughts and conversation on important matters of faith. Each and
every point in the writings that appear in BONUS are not necessarily that of
Impact Church, though often they do represent our theological or
methodological stand. This includes the content of other websites that we
may link to.]

Ivy Jungle Update

Trends in Student Ministry, Culture and Higher Education:

Back to Class at NIU:  Students at Northern Illinois University have
returned to classes.  The university held a memorial service to mark the
return.  Our prayers are with the community of Northern Illinois University
in the wake of this month’s campus shooting.

A Vision of Students Today:  A collaborative effort by Michael Wesch and 200
Kansas State students from his Anthropology course offers a video
description of students today.  From classroom involvement to Facebook
friends, the video provides a number of statistical facts about college
students today, their habits, interests and involvement.  Check it out at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

A Textbook on Hooking Up:  Kathleen Bogle has published her book, Hooking Up
as an analysis of research into the dating and sexual behaviors of college
students today.  Conducting in depth interviews with students at two unnamed
universities - one large public school and one smaller Roman Catholic
school, she describes the casual hook up as the “center for college social
life.”  Her research shows that students overestimate the frequency of hook
ups among their peers as well as “how far” those encounters go (kissing,
intercourse, etc.).   She is quick to point out that such behavior is not
new to campus life, but technology and informality have turned it into what
she calls “the dominant script for forming sexual and romantic relationships
on campus.”  She also points out the damage of a hook up culture on women.
First, women are much more likely to receive a bad reputation for hooking
up.  Secondly, her research shows that women do not get what they want (i.e.
a relationship) from the casual sex of a hook up - but believe it is the
only way to meet men.  The culture is also affecting young adults after
graduation.  When these young adults enter more formal dating environments,
many say they do not know how to go on dates and establish relationships
outside of “hanging out” and “hooking up.”  A full interview with the author
is available at www.insidehighered.com <http://www.insidehighered.com/>
(Inside Higher Ed January 29, 2008)

More Partners Equals Lower Grades:  A survey by the student paper at the
University of Cambridge indicates that students with more sexual partners
typically report lower grades.  Students who are virgins or have fewer
partners demonstrated higher grades across the institutions colleges.
(Inside Higher Ed January 28, 2008)

Social Networking Slow Down?  Tagged the next big thing on the internet,
social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have attracted millions of
users and promised to be a goldmine for advertising dollars.  However,
recent studies of the sites show a slow down in new users and current users
are spending less time on them than in previous months.  According to market
researcher ComScore, the amount of time spent on social networking sites has
fallen 14% over the last four months.    MySpace actually saw a decline in
users during that time and overall growth has slowed considerably.   Social
networking sites have ad response rates of fewer than 4 in 10,000 viewers
who will click on an ad - among the lowest rates on the internet where the
average is 20 in 10,000.  Facebook and MySpace are both trying to boost ad
hits by offering more targeted ads based on user’s profile.   Initiatives
that segment users into more than 300 categories improved ad rates by more
than 300%, MySpace has reported.  Some users have complained about an
application on Facebook  called Beacon that tells Facebook friends when
their peers make purchases online.    (Business Week February 7, 2008)

Cross-Cultural Ambitions:  A survey of teenagers and young adults shows that
more than half of all 13-21 year olds hope to some day travel the world
(66%) and speak another language (59%).  More than 40% hope to see a
rainforest (42%) and live in another country (42%).  These ambitions
outweigh such exciting things as running marathons (19%); climbing a
mountain (29%) bungee jumping (30%) or being in the Guinness Book of World
Records (20%).  (Harris Interactive Trends and Tudes vol. 7 issue 1 Feb.
2008)

Civic Engagement to Boost Retention:   Over the past few years, schools have
seen an increase in student civic engagement.  From the environment to
racial reconciliation, students want to get involved.  By comparing first
year involvement with freshman retention rates, some schools have seen
enough correlation to warrant intentional programs to help students get
involved during their first year.  From general appeals to major focused
opportunities, by encouraging students to shape their involvement they hope
to see both personal growth and a greater connection to the school in those
first two semesters.  (Inside Higher Ed January 28, 2008)

Parental Involvement Wanted:  Helicopter parents may be dreaded by residence
life staff, but most college students think parents have had “the right
amount” of involvement in their lives.   This year’s incoming freshman
survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA shows more than
70% of freshmen believe their parents had the “right amount” of involvement
in deciding to go to college, applying to colleges, choosing the school,
dealing with officials at the school, choosing courses and choosing
activities.   The study also showed some differences among racial and ethnic
groups.  White students were the least likely to want more parental
involvement, while Latino students were most likely to want more.  (Inside
Higher Ed January 24, 2008)

How Students Manage Time:  The popular perception of students glued to their
Facebook and MySpace pages has not come without some merit.  However, the
UCLA Higher Education Research Institute shows that incoming freshmen ranked
time spent on social networks below homework and studying.  Most students
say they spent 1-5 hours a week on homework, but nearly a third spent less
than an hour a week on social networking.  Among the top activities taking
up student time were jobs, sports and exercise, homework, TV, student clubs,
and social networking.  Of course socializing with friends was the most
common activity for these teenagers.  (Inside Higher Ed January 24, 2008)

First Year Overseas Programs:  While most students are trying to adjust to
college life and the perils of washing darks and lights, a growing number of
first year collegians are deciding to take advantage of overseas programs
offered to them.   By offering study abroad programs to older first year
students, some schools find this an advantage in recruiting. However, they
have also found some challenges as most study-abroad programs offer less
structure and supervision than on-campus programs.   (Wall Street Journal
January 22, 2008 D1)

Engaging Sophomores:   A number of schools are looking to require two years
of on campus housing as an effort to keep sophomores more engaged with
university life.  At schools where large numbers of students move off campus
in their second year, they find those who do typically perform worse in the
classroom and are less involved in extra-curricular activities than those
who remain the dorms.  The trend has caused a number of schools to implement
programs targeting the “lost year” by keeping sophomores engaged in ways
more like freshmen.  (Inside Higher Ed January 31, 2008)

Schools Receive More Money:  Last year US colleges and universities received
nearly $30 billion, with the wealthiest universities reaping the greatest
benefits.  The top 2% of schools receive more than 25% of all money.
Stanford led the way with over $832 million last year.   The last five years
have seen steady increases as more than 75 schools now have endowments of at
least $1 billion.  Analysts expect giving to go down next year due to
economic slowdown.  (AP February 20, 2008)

Dress Code on Campus:  Most schools are long past the days of allowing jeans
in the lecture hall, but at the University of West Alabama, the dress code
is making a come back.  Concerned over the state of student dress,
university President Richard Holland has mandated “neat and modest casual or
dressy attire” and outlawed a number of items including sagging and low rise
pants.  The administration hopes that the move will help develop a more
professional outlook on campus.  (Inside Higher Ed January 29, 2008)

New Name for UNC Group:  The Campus Crusade group at University of North
Carolina Chapel Hill has changed its name in an effort to break down
barriers on campus.  When founded in the 1950’s “crusade” was a term that
indicated forward momentum (i.e. Martin Luther King crusading for human
rights).   Now the term more readily conjures a dark time in Christian
history.  The UNC group has renamed itself Cornerstone as a humble apology
“for all who have defamed the name of Jesus and perhaps remove barriers to
others considering his message of life.”  (Daily Tar Heel, Feb. 18 2008)

Mormonism Making It to Religion Departments:  Perhaps it is the Romney
factory, but Mormonism is becoming more interesting to religion departments.
Harvard Divinity School has long boasted a diversified curriculum, but will
offer its first course devoted to the Mormon faith this year.  Claremont
University and Utah State College have each established endowed chairs in
Mormon studies.   The American Academy of Religion has also established a
new group for specialists in Mormon studies.  (Boston Globe February 19,
2008)

Cyber Gossip Generates Backlash:  The website, Juicy Campus.com  has
generated outrage as it hosts “anonymous” gossip on everything from the
hottest couple on a given campus to a number of salacious comments on the
reputations of men and women on campus.    However with many posts
containing names, the website has come under fire for bringing playground
bullying to cyberspace.   The site promises it will not reveal IP addresses
and offers help on masking them.  Call someone a name after last night’s
party and they will protect the poster - but threaten violence and they
promise to turn you over to the police (cnn.com February 19, 2008)

Tech Use Lags Behind Asian Peers:  US teenagers and young adults may be tech
savvy when compared with old Americans, but they lag behind their peers in
Shanghai and Hong Kong.  Only 59% of US 13-21 year olds say they spent time
daily instant messaging, compared with greater than 90% of those in Hong
Kong and Shanghai.  They also lagged behind in text messaging (88% in
Shanghai; 66% in Hong Kong; only 51% in US); posting to social networking
websites (more than 70% in the Chinese cities compared with only 61% in the
US); and playing multi-player online games (MMO’s).  US students were more
likely however to want to be a millionaire, be a famous athlete, win a Nobel
prize or cure a disease.  (Harris Interactive Trends and Tudes vol. 7 issue
1 Feb. 2008)

Measuring Green:  The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in
Education has launched a rating system to track the green efforts of more
than 90 US colleges.  From facilities to curriculum, the system will provide
a metric for assessing and comparing the “green” initiatives of the schools.
In a pilot phase now, the system will make scores public in 2009.  (Inside
Higher Ed February 5, 2008)

Making College Affordable:  Yale made the latest big splash free tuition for
families who make less than $200,000.  As Ivy League schools have followed
Harvard’s lead in making their price tags more affordable, hundreds of other
private schools are feeling the crunch.  Without multi-billion dollar
endowments, they do not have the ability to make the same tuition promises
to middle-class families.  While Harvard and Yale have made headlines, the
real number of students helped is very small.  The schools, which regularly
receive tens of thousands of applications, have not increased class sizes in
years and only a small fraction of incoming students will qualify for the
free tuition programs.  Other private schools are making modest adjustments
to help the middle class.  With the economy slowing down, even state
schools, which educate 65% of all students fear that state governments may
cut budgets and force even greater tuition hikes. (USA Today February 5,
2008)

Dorm Room Energy Use:  Yale has made bold steps in its student housing as
part of a broad initiative reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  New windows and
high efficiency heating and cooling systems have been installed.  In
addition, students have made strides with new light bulbs, unplugging
appliances, and energy efficient computer screens.  However, one move - low
flow shower heads met with student resistance.   Stanford has proposed a new
green dorm that would monitor energy use by room, allowing for students to
monitor and adjust energy consumption based on the findings.   Students seem
eager to embrace changes that are technologically driven and that don’t
infringe too much on their ongoing lifestyles.   (Inside Higher Ed January
25, 2008)

Endowed Bathroom:   A venture capitalist has given $25,000 to the University
of Colorado to endow a bathroom.  The lavatory in the business school will
have a sign outside it featuring the inspiring quote:   “The best ideas
often come at inconvenient times.  Don’t ever close your mind to them.”
(Inside Higher Ed January 29, 2008)

*** Events, Resources and Jobs ***

Paradise 08:  The vision is for thousands of Christian young people to
gather in an open field near Kansas City on Sunday, May 25, to pray, worship
and seek God’s face for revival in the Church and spiritual awakening.  

This Generation of Students
  To Begin a Sacred Pilgrimage
   In Order to Stand Before Him
    Without Human Distractions or Agendas
     To Awake to All Christ Is as Lord
      To Adore Him as God’s Son Supreme
       To Arise and Serve at His Command

For more information on Paradise, please go to the following websites:

www.paradise08.com <http://www.paradise08.com/>    www.paradisethoughts.com
<http://www.paradisethoughts.com/>

 Impact Church info:

Services:          4pm each Sunday at St. James Anglican Church at corner of
St. Catherine & Bishop

Address:          1439 rue St-Catherine Ouest, Montreal, Quebec  H3G1S6,
Canada (Metro: Guy-Concordia)
On the web:     www.impactchurch.ca

Email:               i…@impactchurch.ca

February 7, 2008    This week’s exciting issue contains… 1)   This Week’s Service2)   Impact Announcements 3)   Other Montreal Spiritual Opportunities 4)   Traveler’s Notes from Pastor Lon: “I Made a Grandmother Cry Today” 5)   BONUS: Thoughts on Lent by Sacha

THIS WEEK’S SERVICE

Sundays passage: Matthew 4:1-11

After a busy weekend of bowling and baptisms, Sunday, we will come together to worship God and encourage one another. In our sermon time, we will look at temptation.  Sounds tempting, aye? Specifically, the Devil’s temptation of Jesus. To get ready for our discussion, I’d like you to think about four questions: 1.      What role does the Bible play in our ability to withstand temptation?  2.      Could Jesus, being fully God, yet fully man, have been tempted? Why or why not?  3.      Have you ever had a “wilderness” experience? What did God teach you through this experience? 4.      Have you ever fasted?  What value was it to you spiritually? What was the hardest thing about it?

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SPARE ME! 

Couples Night This Friday (Feb

Who: Any couple at all
What: Bowling Night!
Where: Rose Bowl in NDG (6510 St Jacques, 514-482-7200)
When: Friday, Feb 8th at 7:30pm
Please RSVP to matthew.harms@gmail.com if you’d like to come…

SLAM DUNK! – Baptism Celebration This Saturday (Feb 9)We will have a baptism celebration Saturday for Sarah Gray and Kimberley Langelaar. This will be a powerful time to see other believers follow Christ in obedience and to publicly proclaim their faith in Christ in a public way. It is a great time to bring a friend, too!  It will be at 9am at the McGill pool on Feb. 9.  Please attend this important event to support your fellow Impacter’s being baptized and to join in the celebration. 

JUSTICE DO IT – Social Ministry Outreach Meeting Feb 10

Fired up about Social Justice? Join us for a practical planning and vision meeting Sunday, Feb 10 to move the Impact community into social action within our city.  Stay back at church after the worship service and we’ll get started at 6.30pm.  Small Group leaders are asked to please attend and to bring a representative interested in social justice from your group. Other persons are also welcome to attend.  Contact esther@impactchurch.ca to indicate interest.  LAST CHANCE!!  Baggage & Bondage Winter Retreat- Feb 15-17James 5:16 says, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” Find freedom from baggage and be liberated from the bondage that it creates in your life at the B&B Winter Retreat FEBRUARY 15-17 at Capenwray Retreat Center 1 hr north of Montreal. Cost is $99 and includes transport, food and all retreat expenses. Space is limited to the first 25 people. REPLY TO THIS EMAIL NOW IF INTERESTED or contact katie@impactchurch.ca (this link was wrong previously, so try again if it didn’t work for you).  

OTHER MONTREAL HAPPENINGS

Emerge Red Hippo Fundraiser Feb 14^TH Emerge Church is running a fundraiser on February 14 at La Sala Rossa called the Red Hippo going to Uganda –  at 4848 Boul. St-Laurent. Doors open about 8:30pm.  Flotilla (Benoit Moniere’s band) will be headlining.  From their website: “Emerge’s Red Hippo Arts Project has as its goal, bringing the arts into the lives of impoverished children who don’t have an outlet to explore their creativity and emotions in a healthy way. We believe that the arts are a therapeutic release from the pressures of the world, and bringing the arts to children who contend with the daily struggles of poverty will not only help their mental state of mind, but also help to bring healing to their souls and a renewed spirit in their lives. The Red Hippo Arts Project will be partnering with the In Need Home Foundation in Kampala, Uganda, working with the children and youth that cared for by the In Need Home. All of these children are orphans, either living in the refugee camp known as Namuwongo, or a slum housing location known as Nsambya. The In Need Home Foundation is a registered non-profit organization in Uganda, providing services to the needy within Kampala. The focus of In Need Home is primarily on the women and children of Namuwongo and the youth of Nsambya.” 

TRAVELER’S NOTES from Pastor Lon “I Made a Grandmother Cry Today”  A made a woman cry today.  Not the bad kind, the good kind. It made me cry, too.  Five days ago she had the joy of seeing her first grandson born to her 23-year-old daughter and her son-in-law inNorthern California.  When her grandson was born he looked normal and healthy, and all seemed well.  It was a joyous occasion. Then the doctors noticed something not quite right with his leg, and they took some x-rays.  They discovered two fractures and determined they had occurred before he was born. But even more ominously for this family, they soon were given a diagnosis of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), or “Brittle Bones Disorder.”     The scene that this couple went through this week was extraordinarily similar to our own experience. As some of you know, our son Isaiah, who will be five in April, also has OI. All told, he has suffered 42 fractures to nearly every part of his body, and has undergone eight corrective surgeries. OI is very rare, with as few as 20,000 cases in the US.  Isaiah too was born with fractures that had occurred in the womb, and he also sustained several during delivery.   And that is why I was on the phone.  A friend of ours who lives in Oklahoma knows one of this family’s relatives, and heard about the baby through him.  She called us and told us that a baby had been born with OI, and asked if we would be willing to call and offer some information and support.  I called the relative in Oklahoma and told him to pass on my number to his family in

I am not telling you this story to brag, because I am certainly no “angel.”   Certainly, what I did is not extraordinary.  I wanted to tell this story because it was a huge reminder to me of the balance we must walk between the intentional and the natural when it comes to meeting people’s needs.  It also made me wonder how many opportunities to minister like this I probably miss.  You see, the opportunity to minister to this family was in many ways very natural. I was called about a need that I could uniquely help meet. I did not seek it. The opportunity just found me. Then it was up to me to decide how I would respond to this need that had been made known to me.  In this case, meeting that need took some initiative (intentionality).  First, my friend saw the need and gave me the relative’s phone number. I had to call the relative “out of the blue,” which is a bit intimidating and awkward. You can imagine – “Who are you? How did you get my name and number? OK, your child has OI, but why are you calling exactly?” Then I had to call the family directly when they were reluctant to call me, a stranger (another awkward, slightly intimidating introduction). But I knew I had something they needed, even if they didn’t know it yet!  In order to meet their needs, I had to be willing not to be asked by the person in need. I had to know that they needed what I offered even if they didn’t know it (or even resisted it) themselves.  In the end, it felt so worth it. I feel like I have helped this family, and will be able to help them more in the future. In reality, it cost me very little except some awkwardness, and an hour of my time, but the information I gave this family could literally mean the difference between their child walking some day, or being wheelchair bound forever. Making a difference feels good! It made me want to do more good for more people.  I like that good feeling!   As I thought about this experience, I wondered to myself how many opportunities like this arise in my life every day that I simply miss because I am not seeing with spiritual eyes. I also wonder about the opportunities that I miss because I am not willing to do something slightly “awkward” or intentional in order to meet someone’s need.  The neighbor stuck in the snow, the Mom with three kids who spills her groceries in the store, the friend who is making a very unwise decision, a non-Christian colleague who could really use prayer.  I see these kinds of things every day, and most of them I pass up for no good reason.  Why!? It is so worth it!  I don’t want to miss the opportunity to make a difference, to do good, to feel good.  With so much hurt in this world, there are plenty of tears of despair and hopelessness being shed every day, that I don’t want to miss the opportunity to make someone cry tears of reassurance and hope ever again.  Those tears are the good kind.   On the journey with you,  Lon BONUS: 

[NOTE: The BONUS section is a format to feature different writings, facts, trends or perspectives on matters of faith. BONUS is provided in order to stimulate thoughts and conversation on important matters of faith. Each and every point in the writings that appear in BONUS are not necessarily that of Impact Church, though often they do represent our theological or methodological stand. This includes the content of other websites that we may link to.]

The Season of LENT

By Sacha Bailey, 

Impact

Church

Montreal

“Lent is a time when we bring our questions to the mystery of the cross, when we bring ourselves to the mystery of the cross and when we allow God to put us back together again…Lent asks profound questions about how serious we are and whether we believe that God can actually meet with us. The power of Lent is when a whole group of people do something together, because if you can keep going, than I can keep going.” -Rob Bell

I know that it might be a little early to start thinking of Easter…we are so used to Easter being the four day long weekend when we celebrate Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection and maybe eat some chocolate bunny’s. But this time of year, called Lent, “originated in the early days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock.”

Last year, a small group of us set up “Lent triads” involving fasting (there are different ways to fast), sacrifice and daily time with God. We each chose a meal to fast from once a week, we each sacrificed something, and we each devoted daily time to prayer and reading God’s Word in preparation for Easter. This can be a powerful exercise as we come together as the body of Christ.

Please pray about this and let God lead you in preparation for it and in how you decide to live this out. Remember, it’s not about rules and being legalistic about it. This is your thing. It’s between you and God and it should be done with the right motives in mind. At the same time, this is also a great opportunity to come along side a brother or sister in Christ to encourage and be accountable to each other. So make sure you examine those carefully and seek His guidance about it.

If you would like some more information on Lent, prayer, fasting, Ash Wednesday and for some daily readings you can check out this website: http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm

You can also visit the Mars Hill website (an awesome church in Michigan with an awesome pastor, Rob Bell) and you can download their sermon series on Lent. There are lots of good Lent resources on this website too; daily readings, and a section about preparing individually for Lent:
http://www.marshill.org/lent07/index.phpPreparing Individually for LentIn order for you to make the most of your Lent experience, here are three ways that I have found to be helpful in preparing for this season.  

1. BEGIN ASKING YOURSELF A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS EVERYDAY. Lent is a season to look at how you’ve been living and to commit to being a healthier, more loving person. Maybe these questions are a good place to start:·         What unhealthy patterns do I see in my life during the past year?·         What relationships need reconciliation or my new or renewed investment?·         How can I improve my relationship with God?·         In what ways can I join God in healing and restoring the world?If it is helpful, try processing these questions by journaling or having conversations with someone close to you. 

2. CONSIDER SOME KIND OF FAST DURING LENT. It’s been helpful for many throughout history to remove a practice or food from their life during Lent. This has been one way of identifying with Jesus on a deeper level and hopefully helping a person focus on God more intently. The fast doesn’t necessarily need to be from food, though that can be helpful for many. Instead, you might want to identify something that takes a lot of time or money and fast from that. Maybe it’s television, the computer, your cell phone or video games. Maybe it’s purchasing books, music or clothes. Or maybe it’s eating out or ordering in. Whatever would be most helpful for you, a main reason for fasting is to help raise our awareness of God. Whenever you feel an impulse for the thing you’re fasting from, take some time to acknowledge God and ask for His strength and grace. 

3. COMMIT TO READING THE BIBLE EVERYDAY.  A daily reading schedule is common during Lent (there’s one on the website). This schedule can help you develop the habit of stopping everyday to read the Scriptures. The schedule recommends small passages from the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament and Epistles. Read as much as you would like. And remember many other people are following the same reading schedule, literally hundreds of thousands of followers around the world.  It’s my prayer that your personal experience of Lent is meaningful and transformative. May God meet you in deeply authentic and undeniable ways as you draw near to Him.http://www.marshill.org/lent07/index.php 

On the web:     www.impactchurch.ca

Email:               info@impactchurch.ca

January 17, 2008 This issue contains…

1)  Impact Announcements2)   Traveler’s Notes from Pastor Lon 3)   BONUS: EPIC Worship Gatherings

ANNOUNCEMENTS Hold on, we’ve got several important announcements this week…  TOMORROW NIGHT!!! JUSTICE JAM ’08 ROCKS MONTREAL (JAN 18)DO NOT MISS this opportunity to serve God, help the oppressed, and witness for Christ in

  PRE-VALENTINES COUPLES STRIKE (FEB Who: Any couple at all
What: Bowling Night!
Where: Rose Bowl in NDG (6510 St Jacques, 514-482-7200)
When: Friday, Feb 8th at 7:30pm
Please RSVP to matthew.harms@gmail.com if you’d like to come…
FULL IMMERSION EVENT (FEB 9)We will have a baptism celebration for a few members of Impact who are following the Lord in believer’s baptism.  It will be at 9am at the McGill pool on Feb. 9. If you are interested in being baptized, please contact Pastor Lon immediately at lon@impactchurch.ca.   JAMBO!  TANZANIA MISSION TRIP OPPORTUNITY APRIL 29-MAY 14 Pastor Lon has been invited to come back to Tanzania to conduct storying clinics with

 BAGGAGE & BONDAGE WINTER RETREATCarrying around any baggage from your past?  We all are.  But in Jesus Christ, we can find freedom from the baggage and be liberated from the bondage that it creates in our lives.  This exciting spiritual weekend will take place in February at a nearby retreat location.  Time and place and cost will be announced at church this Sunday night.   Get ready to throw out the Samsonite and break out of the manacles!    SMALL GROUPSIf you’re not involved with a small group, start your year out right and get plugged in right now!  Here you can be a part of a supportive faith “family,” grow spiritually together, and serve others. If you want help getting plugged in, our small groups coordinator Sacha Bailey will help you do just that.  Contact her at sacha@impactchurch.ca.  WELCOME! WELCOME! WELCOME! That’s how people should feel when they visit our Impact Worship Services.  Every one of us need to be more aware of welcoming new people every week.  And having people there to open the door, give them a word of welcome or help them find a seat helps newcomers break the ice the when they come. Heck, whether we’re new- or old-comers we all love a smiling face and a handshake or hug, right?  It’s a simple ministry to do, and we need YOU to do it.  If you are willing to fill one of these roles, will you contact Esther this Sunday at Worship Service, or email her at esther@impactchurch.ca.  TRAVELER’S NOTESfrom Pastor Lon “An EPIC discussion” Wow, as expected, Sunday’s Baptism talk created quite a vigorous discussion!  We had so much discussion I didn’t get to answer several of the questions that I posed at the beginning of my talk!  (In the future, I plan to lay all this out in a paper).  If you come from a church background, all that discussion in church may have made you a bit nervous!  You should’ve been in my shoes! But the overwhelmingly majority of you told me that you enjoyed it and think it is cool that our church setting includes a lot of discussion and participation.  It keeps you interested, it helps you learn, and it builds community.   

I believe that participation is a real key to learning. It certainly is for an ADD riddled soul like me.  I heard renowned post-modern church author Leonard Sweet speak a few years ago on the four keys to authentic ministry/worship gatherings for young adults and students, and he, too, named participation as one of the real keys to post-modern ministry.  Dr. Sweet uses the acronym EPIC to describe these four keys.  EPIC stands for Experiential, Participatory, Image-Rich and Connected.  I’d like to know what you think about this?  Below, in the “Bonus” section, I have included an article on Sweet’s “EPIC” paradigm.  Perhaps we should think about some of these things as we go about the business of being Christ’s church.  If you’d like to participate in that discussion, let me know what you think.  I am all ears.   In Him,Pastor Lon BONUSEPIC Worship GatheringsCreating Worship Gatherings for the Emerging Church
by Josh ReichOne of the advantages of doing student ministry in a postmodern world is in the arena of worship. Never before has there been such a profound desire among students to experience the presence of God. Our difficulty lies in creating environments for that encounter to most likely to occur.I’ve been leading worship for student ministries for five years, and I believe this is the easiest time ever for leading worship in the church. Students are excited and searching for something that nothing else in their lives has filled. I’ve been involved in leading two high school ministries and one college ministry. All three used the same program format. Instead of the seeker service model of the modern church, the program was simple. The gathering started with 30-60 minutes of worship, followed by 30-60 minutes of teaching, followed by another 20 minutes of worship. All three of those ministries experienced incredible growth—one grew from 20 high school students to over 300 in a little over a year. The college ministry grew from 10 students to close to 2000 in three years.Differences between Modern and Emerging Worship GatheringsTo understand what worship gatherings need to be, we must understand what they used to be. When I was in high school, our high school ministry was a typical seeker-targeted service. We used secular songs, lots of dramas, a short talk that didn’t use the Bible or mention God (because we wanted to appeal to seekers and not make them uncomfortable), and a slim portion of worship. We’d use loud music when students arrived; sometimes each element of the service was connected, and other times it was haphazardly thrown together.Our services focused on the here and now, emphasized the individual, and used objective reason for all of the teaching. If we could set a list of facts in front of somebody and convince them that we have the truth, we felt we’d done everything in our power to convince students that we were correct and they needed to believe what we did.Over the years something happened. The landscape of student ministry has changed. Students are now more open to spirituality than previous generations. Some of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions, global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism and spirituality.EPIC Worship GatheringsThis past year I read a book called Postmodern Pilgrims by Leonard Sweet. In this book, he uses the acronym EPIC, to describe worship that is Experiential, Participatory, Image Rich, and Connected.Church Should Be Like a Dance Club
While writing this I am on vacation in

It was participatory, because of what we did. There were people dancing, and you could sing along with the music played by the DJ and cover band.It was image rich, because of the sights of the bay and pier and video screens around the room with images of the band and people surfing and dancing.It was connected, because there were opportunities to sit and talk with other people and build community. You also felt connected to the people shown dancing on the screen. There was even a feeling of connection when everyone was singing as loud as we could with the band and the DJ.EPIC in Worship GatheringsExperiential
Experiential says “We’ve talked enough. Stop talking and just do it.” Bill Carroll defines experiential worship as “interactive, bringing ideas to life, and taking people to a place they’ve never been.” People need to feel something different when they walk into our gatherings and when they walk out. Louie Giglio said, “God is moving in fresh ways throughout the world. It’s the ‘wind of the Spirit’ Jesus refers to in John 3. The student culture seems more primed to be blown by that spiritual wind because they are not tied to forms, but more open to full-on mind, body, and spirit connection with Christ. There’s a hunger and a driving thirst for an experiential faith—one based in truth yet experienced on all levels of life.”At our gatherings, we use candles to set an atmosphere, and we use music to our advantage. The music we play when students are coming in helps to set a mood for the rest of the evening. Worship is a big part of our gatherings, and it’s not limited to music and corporate singing. Scripture and spiritual practices play a major role in our gatherings.We’ll do Scripture meditations quite often. Once we did a reading of the entire chapter of Genesis 1. I had all the students close their eyes, and before I started reading, I told them, “Imagine that you’re at the dawning of creation and how it might smell, what it may feel like, what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what are some tastes that you may experience.” Then I proceed to read Genesis 1.Scripture meditation can be done by reading the same Scripture repeatedly. It’s an incredible experience to have Scripture read over and over for you. Another way to bring varied types of worship into your gathering is to pray through the Psalms. I’ll read a line from a Psalm and tell students to pray silently whatever comes to their minds. After a time of silence I’ll read the next line, and they repeat the same activity.Or in the middle of a worship set we’ll have students complete a sentence out loud, such as “I love God because…” or “I want to thank God because….”As we first started experimenting with different strands of worship, we learned that Christian and non-Christian students are open to trying these things. Henry Blackaby said, “The common factor among many unrelated contemporary movements is people’s hunger ‘not to know more about God, but to experience God. Not to know more information, but to have a transformational personal encounter with God.’”One thing to keep in mind as you bring different experiential aspects into your worship gatherings is that it must be guided. Too often in churches, we just expect that people will know what to do. Pastors and other worship leaders will say things like, “We’re going to take a minute to pray,” and then just let people try to figure out what to pray. I try to err on the side of guiding too much; people shouldn’t feel lost at our gatherings.Participatory
Participatory says, “Count me in. I want to do this.” Leonard Sweet said, “Unless post-moderns can complete the sentence for themselves, or at least have the opportunity to hold the microphone themselves, worship will insufficiently help them create new realities for their lives.”Spiritual practices are especially good. Students are participating in our gatherings when we lead them through these practices.Likewise, students can participate when we speak. We encourage interaction during our talks. I’ll ask questions and have students turn to the person next to them and talk through the answers. Then I’ll ask for some feedback or ask a question and let students call out what they think. This can become tricky as your ministry grows, but it’s still possible to do with several hundred or even several thousand students. Teens have a desire to feel like they’re part of something, that they’re making a difference by being at our gatherings. They want to be a part of the discovery that we’re trying to bring them to by the end of our gatherings.Image-Rich
Image-rich says “You have to draw the picture for me. Let me see it for myself.”I can still remember the face of the first girl I had a crush on when I was in 6th grade. I can remember the smell of the grass at the first soccer game I played as a freshman in college. I remember the

Josh Reich is the Pastor of Middle School Ministries at

January 10, 2008 This issue contains…

1)  Impact Announcements 2)   Traveler’s Notes from Pastor Lon

ANNOUNCEMENTS

“IMPACT RETRO” SERVICE THIS WEEK (JAN. 13)Impact is going to have a little fun and get back to our roots a bit this Sunday night as we do our first ever “Retro Impact” service.  Be prepared for a more “coffee house” feel as we gather around small tables, sing some worship songs from years past by candlelight, have some great coffee, and a few other surprises.  This weeks topic is part two of John’s Baptism of Jesus.   JUSTICE JAM ’08 - JAN 18^TH Under the leadership of Jeremy Jackson and in conjunction with McGill Christian Fellowship, Impact Church is putting on Justice Jam ’08 January 18 at Saints Showbar at 30 St-Catherine Ouest. Doors open 8:30pm.  The event is a hip-hop and creative music concert to fight against human sexual trafficking.  Headlining band is Nomadic Mastiff. Tickets are $17 ($20 at the door).  The event will help raise awareness of this human injustice and Christian’s advocacy to end it. Proceeds will go to the International Justice Mission (ijf.ca), an international organization dedicated to fighting for social justice in Jesus name. For more info or tickets, go to justicejam.ca.  

BAGGAGE & BONDAGE WINTER RETREATCarrying around any baggage from your past?  We all are.  But in Jesus Christ, we can find freedom from the baggage and be liberated from the bondage that it creates in our lives.  This exciting spiritual weekend will take place in February at a nearby retreat location.  Time and place and cost will be announced soon.  Get ready to throw out the Samsonite and break out of the manacles!  

PARKINGWe would like to ask our congregation to reserve the parking in the rear of St. James for visitors and our families with children.  Thanks for your help and understanding in this issue.  

TRAVELER’S NOTESfrom Pastor Lon  Last week one thing we talked about in our service was the tendency of modern preaching and witnessing to skip the issue of judgment, sin, and hell.  We noted that it was the hallmark of the prophets, the Apostles, of John the Baptist, and of Jesus.  I came across a quote in an email this week that I wanted to share with you all.  It reminds me that this is not so much an issue with “modern preaching,” because it was written over 100 years ago by Charles Spurgeon, who is considered the greatest preacher of our modern times.  He once wrote: 

“It is absolutely necessary to the preaching of the gospel of Christ
that men be warned as to what will happen if they continue in their sins…
You are too delicate to tell the man that he is ill!  You hope to heal
the sick without their knowing it.  You therefore flatter them;
and what happens?  They laugh at you; they dance upon their
own graves.  At last they die!  Your delicacy is cruelty; your flatteries
are poisons; you are a murderer.  Shall we keep men in a fool’s paradise?
Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in Hell?”
- C.H. Spurgeon, bold mineWhen the “gospel” is presented without a clear presentation of the law, sin, judgment, and hell, the requisite repentance necessary for true conversion is rarely present.  The result then, can be “false converts” who think they are saved, but are not. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only]the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  I don’t want to be any part of someone facing Jesus and hearing these words! Sorry this is heavy, but I am reminded this week that as a follower of Christ, it is not mine to pick and choose which parts of the Gospel that I like or think I should talk about. As a Jesus-disciple, I do what my Master did, and must model what I say on what He said.  That being the case, mentioning sin, judgment, and their solution: repentance and faith in Christ, are my only option.  It’s an issue of obedience to Christ, and also an issue of ethics.  If the dam of judgment is about to burst, I must warn the people in the valley below it!  And, as I said Sunday, we must all do this truth-telling in love, never in a judgmental way, because all of us are saved only by His grace!In Him,Lon 

Welcome back to everyone away for the holidays. This year we are beginning our look at the New Testament. This week: the coming of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

December 22, 2007  This issue contains…

1)     Impact Announcements 2)     Let It Snow!  3) Traveler’s Notes from Pastor Lon 4)     Bonus: Student Ministry Trends

ANNOUNCEMENTSDEC 23^rd AND 30^TH WORSHIP

 Impact’s Dec. 30^th Sunday worship service will be at the home of Lon & Amanda Vining at 1500 rue Champigny in Ville St-Laurent.  Service time will also be at 7:30pm.  The Vining’s would also love to know if you’re coming, and offer to pick you up at the Metro if you’ll arrange it ahead of time. Email lon@impactchurch.ca.  By metro: Take the orange line to Cote Vertu.  Take the right exit. At the top of the escalators, take the doors to the left.  Travel North (left) down Decarie (passing Tim Horton’s) to rue Tasse.  Take Tasse 7 blocks until it dead ends at Champigny.  Take a left on Champigny and their house is about 2 blocks (North).  The Vinings house is on the left, with a carport and a Christmas tree in their window.  You may also catch bus 128 from Cote Vertu. The bus stop is unmarked at this time, but is across the street from the metro station to the right of the entrance to the shopping center parking lot where Provigo is.  128 comes about every 20 minutes, and takes 10 minutes to get to the Vining’s. Get off at Champigny stop, only a 75 meters from the Vining’s house.  By Car: Mapquest it!  NEW YEAR, NEW SERVICE TIME! BEGINNING JAN 6^TH BIG CHANGE!!  Beginning January 6, we will now be starting our worship services 1 hour earlier, at 4pm.  The eldership and leadership teams thought this was a good idea, and when we brought it to the church (that’s you) we got nearly all positive feedback, so 4 it is!  This decision was made for two reasons. First it will give our young families a chance to hang out after the service before running off to put the kids to bed.  Right now, that is a major problem for them. Second, it will give all of us a better opportunity to hang out together, eat out, etc., before too much of the Sunday evening is gone.  This may also open up opportunities for us to have some after-church events. JUSTICE JAM ’08 - JAN 18^TH Under the leadership of Jeremy Jackson and in conjunction with McGill Christian Fellowship, Impact Church is putting on Justice Jam ’08 January 18 at Saints Showbar at 30 St-Catherine Ouest. Doors open 8:30pm.  The event is a hip-hop and creative music concert to fight against human sexual trafficking.  Headlining band is Nomadic Mastiff. Tickets are $17 ($20 at the door).  The event will help raise awareness of this human injustice and Christian’s advocacy to end it. Proceeds will go to the International Justice Mission (ijf.ca), an international organization dedicated to fighting for social justice in Jesus name. For more info or tickets, go to justicejam.ca.  TRAVELER’S NOTESfrom Pastor Lon “Let It Snow! “Unless this weekend’s expected rains wash it all away, we are a shoe-in for a white Christmas.  This is not only the most snow my family has ever seen in our lives, but is the most snow Montrealers have seen at this time of year in 60 years (according to the Gazette). I think I should have given God an expiration date on my requests when I prayed for white Christmas’s all those years as a child back in sunny

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things that we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, “Fall to the earth!”… [This] serves as His signature to all mankind, so that all men may know His work.And in Psalm 148:8:Praise the LORD from the earth…lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding.”And again in Job 38:22-23, God reminds a questioning Job:“Have you entered the place where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail,  which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle?”The answer for us humans is a resounding “No!”  In the snow, we see the hand of God and we see in it His supreme power that only He wields. God’s appearance as He appeared to Daniel and John is so bright and pure that both liken it to snow.  John wrote, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire,” (Rev. 1:18).Yet David reminds us of the other side of our Father that we glimpse in the snow. He says in Psalm 51:7: “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” And in Isaiah 1:18 the prophet records, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”The hymn writer Robert Lowry captured this idea in one of my favorite hymns, “Nothing But the Blood.”  He wrote,What can wash away my sin?Nothing but the blood of JesusWhat can make me whole again?Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh Precious is the FlowThat Makes Me White as SnowNo Other Fount I KnowNothing but the Blood of JesusThough our sins were as scarlet, they were washed in the blood of Jesus, rendering them as white as snow!  Each time I see the beautiful, peaceful, white blanket that covers virtually everything here, I am physically reminded of what Christ did for me, and of the mission that He has put us all here to accomplish.  And it brings new meaning to a line from one of my favorite holiday songs, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”I pray that wherever you are for Christmas – whether it’s white or green or brown -  that you have a very blessed time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.  See you soon.  BONUS!  STUDENT MINISTRY TRENDSFor you students or those interested in student/young adult issues, the following newsletter is very informative.  Some is US-based, but the principles/trends apply broadly.   The Ivy Jungle Network (www.ivyjungle.org)Campus Ministry Update December 2007 Trends in Student Ministry, Culture and Higher Education:Mapping Student Justice Efforts:  Faith in Public Life (faithinpbuliclife.org) has taken notice of the number of college students that are advocating “common good and connecting their faith to social justice.”  Using the same wiki-map technology of their “Mapping Faith” project, they have created a tool for tracking campus groups involved in social justice.  They are now looking for examples of the “best” in campus faith activism as part of their research on this trend.  (Faith in Public Life Impact Report November 30, 2007)Advent Conspiracy:  A group of young, idealistic Christians has started a movement to combat the “scandal” of the commercialization of Christmas.  The Advent Conspiracy calls on Christians to give fewer material gifts, opting instead for more homemade gifts, more experiences together, and more donations of time and money.  First organzied by Pastor Rick MKinley last year, the movement has attracted more than 700 churches from 17 countries.  He has encouraged people to donate the money they save by not buying gifts to international clean water projects.  (

Student Ethics:  Among students who claim they are “confident in their ability to make ethical decisions” 40% indicate that cheating, lying or even violence is sometimes necessary for success.  About one quarter said that cheating on a test  is acceptable at some level, with more than half stating the personal desire to succeed as the reason for such action.  Nearly the same number (23%) state that violence toward another person is acceptable at some level.  (PRNewswire December 5, 2007)Drugged Driving:  A study by Office of National Drug Control Policy shows that teenagers are perhaps more likely to drive high as they are to drive drunk.  14% of high school students indicate they have driven while drunk, nearly identical to the 13% who indicate they have driven while high on marijuana - despite the fact that far more teens report having used alcohol in the last 30 days (17%) than marijuana (7%).  (PRNEwswire December 5, 2007)Millennials Drinking Preferences:  While beer still leads the way among the legal age Millennial generation (ages 21-30), they have shown a greater interest in both wine and spirits in their alcohol consumption.  Beer makes up 47% of spending and 83% of volume.  However, ten years ago, it was nearly 60% of the market share among young drinkers.   Currently wine accounts for 27% of alcohol dollars among Millennials and spirits 26%.  (Nielsen Report November 26, 2007)Alcoholic Energy Drinks:  Packed with the potency of 3 beers and 8 cups of coffee, a 23 ounce can of Joose is one of a half dozen new drinks that have drawn fire from advocacy groups lately.  Energy drinks such as Rockstar and Monster have become quite popular among teenagers.   Many of these same brands now offer a version with 6-9% alcohol as well.  While illegal for purchase by those under 21, the similar packaging has made them easy for underage drinkers to buy - and consume even at school. Young people are attracted to the drinks hoping the caffeine will counter act the drowsiness of the alcohol, better fueling the party feel.  (The Agoura Hills Acorn  November 15, 2007)Do You Think I’m Fat?  In her new book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, Courtney Martin states that in 1995 34% of high school girls considered themselves overweight. Now 90% think they are too heavy.  She states that “colleges are breeding grounds for eating disorders and unhealthy obsession with food.”  Women take multiple trips to the gym, claim veganism as a mode to lose weight, and often take on unhealthy eating and alcohol habits to stay thin.   The average college woman spends 100 minutes a day worrying about her body shape and caloric intake (Reviewed by Lauren Winner in Christianity Today  November/December 2007)All Nighters Not the Answer:  The semester has just ended and quite a few students will head home to recover from one or more “all nighters.”  Yet one more college psychology class has confirmed that students who pull all nighters do not get better grades than their classmates who get their work and studying done in time to grab a couple of hours of sleep.  Studies on college students confirm that lack of sleep affects recall and performance on tests.  (AP December 14, 2007)Life without a Laptop:  A pair of film majors at