Graduate Students
You will find many graduate students, researchers and visiting scholars sprinkled throughout our campus ministry. We are grateful for the many ways you enrich so much of what we do and who we are. The demands, schedules, needs and life styles of graduate students are quite unique and we seek to find ways to fully embrace you in our ministry.
In addition to our standard programs, Wesley also provides activities designed by and for graduate students. These include targeted study, fellowship and service opportunities. We are also proud of a strong working relationship with the Graduate Employees Organization.
Our graduate ministries include spouses, young professionals and others. Some of our graduate students also have family and children. Make sure to sign up for our Graduate Email list.
Recent Updates
Care Package Midweek – April 25th
On Wednesday, April 25th at 9pm, the students of Wesley Foundation will be reaching out to other students by making care packages to distribute before finals week. All materials will be provided for the packages, we just need students to stuff them.
Before Midweek (at 8pm), we will be having a hot dog roast out in the Lamb Courtyard. There will be vegetarian options as well. Marshmallows will also be available to roast over the fire.
Bring your friends!!!
Spark12
Do you know a young adult with an innovative idea that could transform our community or world?
Spark12 invests in young entrepreneurs to launch innovative ideas that will transform the world. They are a faith-based catalyst that provides funding, coaching, and resourcing to bring these ideas to life.
Spark12 is designed to help to support the most promising ideas and individuals as they strive to bring innovative solutions to a world in need of transformation. Those selected as Spark12 fellows will receive funding. They will also have their ideas vetted by mentors with expertise in a related field and by peers eager to perfect the work of the team. Spiritual coaches will help them to remain grounded and oriented toward doing the most good. Our fellows will be challenged to refine their vision, learn how to express their goals, and be networked with people/organizations that might be inclined to support an idea like theirs.
If you or someone you know would like to apply for Spark12 funding, more information can be found at http://www.spark12.org/.
Interfaith Conference April 20-22
College campuses are dynamic places rich in diversity; they bring the world to you in a way that few experiences can. But, along with these varying perspectives can come strong differences in opinion, and in turn these can quickly lead to tension and strife. Religious difference stands as a potent catalyst for possible discord.
But it doesn’t have to.
The Illinois Conference on Interfaith Collaboration (ICIC) seeks to address the specific concerns raised when navigating religious differences in the specific context of a college campus. It offers an opportunity to come together with other students from all across the country to learn from other students who face interfaith challenges on their own campus, and to hear from some of the top voices for interfaith cooperation working today.
More information on this interfaith conference can be found on their website: http://illinoisinterfaithservice.org/
Lenten Daily Devotionals
Free printed daily devotionals are available in Wesley’s front office starting Ash Wednesday. This year we are using Henri Nouwen’s “From Fear to Love–Lenten Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.”
Alternatively, you can sign up for our daily emails that follow the same biblical verses as the print devotions with an image to reflect on. To sign up for the emails please click here, enter your email, click the box for Daily Lenten Devotional and click join.
Relay for Life
Wesley Foundation is putting a team together for Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Relay this year will be from 7pm on Saturday, April 14th to 7am on Sunday, April 15th. If you are interested in joining the team, either to just raise money or to also participate in the event, you can sign up here. If you have any questions, contact our team captain, Hannah, at nelson10@illinois.edu.
Ash Wednesday
The students of the Wesley Foundation are putting on an Ash Wednesday service at 6:30pm on Wednesday, February 22nd.
Come and start your journey to the cross with us in an experimental worship experience.
Readings for Tuesday, February 14: Mark 3.7-4.34
The Grad Study will gather Tuesday at 8:15 pm to discuss these texts and the analysis offered by each of our commentaries.
Note: All texts are from the Common English Bible translation
Mark 3.7-3.12
Jesus left with his disciples and went to the lake. A large crowd followed him because they had heard what he was doing. They were from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the area surrounding Tyre and Sidon. Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him so the crowd wouldn’t crush him. He had healed so many people that everyone who was sick pushed forward so that they could touch him. Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down at his feet and shouted, “You are God’s Son!” But he strictly ordered them not to reveal who he was.
Mark 3.13-3.19
Jesus went up on a mountain and called those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve and called them apostles. He appointed them to be with him, to be sent out to preach, and to have authority to throw out demons. He appointed twelve: Peter, a name he gave Simon; James and John, Zebedee’s sons, whom he nicknamed Boanerges, which means “sons of Thunder”; and Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, Alphaeus’ son; Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
Analysis: Jesus Database (Disciples Chosen)
Mark 3.20-3.35
Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!”
The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”
When Jesus called them together he spoke to them in a parable: “How can Satan throw Satan out? A kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. And a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for. No one gets into the house of a strong person and steals anything without first tying up the strong person. Only then can the house be burglarized. I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind. But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” He said this because the legal experts were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.”
He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”
Analysis: Jesus Database (True Family)
Mark 4.1-4.9
Jesus began to teach beside the lake again. Such a large crowd gathered that he climbed into a boat there on the lake. He sat in the boat while the whole crowd was nearby on the shore. He said many things to them in parables. While teaching them, he said, “Listen to this! A farmer went out to scatter seed. As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path; and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. When the sun came up, it scorched the plants; and they dried up because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked the seeds, and they produced nothing. Other seed fell into good soil and bore fruit. Upon growing and increasing, the seed produced in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of one hundred to one.” He said, “Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!”
Analysis: Jesus Database
Mark 4.10-4.20
When they were alone, the people around Jesus, along with the Twelve, asked him about the parables. He said to them, “The secret of God’s kingdom has been given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables. This is so that they can look and see but have no insight, and they can hear but not understand. Otherwise, they might turn their lives around and be forgiven.
“Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The farmer scatters the word. This is the meaning of the seed that fell on the path: When the word is scattered and people hear it, right away Satan comes and steals the word that was planted in them. Here’s the meaning of the seed that fell on rocky ground: When people hear the word, they immediately receive it joyfully. Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. Others are like the seed scattered among the thorny plants. These are the ones who have heard the word; but the worries of this life, the false appeal of wealth, and the desire for more things break in and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. The seed scattered on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace it. They bear fruit, in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case sixty to one, and in another case one hundred to one.”
Mark 4.21-25
Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp in order to put it under a basket or a bed? Shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? Everything hidden will be revealed, and everything secret will come out into the open. Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!”
He said to them, “Listen carefully! God will evaluate you with the same standard you use to evaluate others. Indeed, you will receive even more. 25 Those who have will receive more, but as for those who don’t have, even what they don’t have will be taken away from them.”
Mark 4.26-4.34
Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvesttime.”
He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; 32 but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.”
With many such parables he continued to give them the word, as much as they were able to hear. 34 He spoke to them only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.
Commentaries and Analysis: Progressive Involvement, Jesus Database (Harvest Time), Jesus Database (Mustard Seed),
A Reading for Today: Mark 2.23-28
Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. As the disciples made their way, they were picking the heads of wheat. The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! Why are they breaking the Sabbath law?”
He said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was in need, when he and those with him were hungry? During the time when Abiathar was high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. He also gave bread to those who were with him.” Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath. This is why the Human One d is Lord even over the Sabbath.” (Source: Common English Bible)
Commentary and Analysis:
A Reading for Today: Mark 2.18-22
John’s disciples and the Pharisees had a habit of fasting. Some people asked Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but yours don’t?”
Jesus said, “The wedding guests can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
“No one sews a piece of new, unshrunk cloth on old clothes; otherwise, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and makes a worse tear. No one pours new wine into old leather wineskins; otherwise, the wine would burst the wineskins and the wine would be lost and the wineskins destroyed. But new wine is for new wineskins.” (Source: Common English Bible)
Commentary and Analysis:
- Brian Stoffregen’s Exegetical Notes (Crossmarks)
- Process & Faith Lectionary Commentary (Feb 27, 2000)
A Reading for Today: Mark 2.13-17
Jesus went out beside the lake again. The whole crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he continued along, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed him.
Jesus sat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?”
When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.” (Source: Common English Bible)
Commentary and Analysis:
- Brian Stoffregen’s Exegetical Notes (Crossmarks)
- Process & Faith Lectionary Commentary (Feb 27, 2000)