The Interfaith Council consists of all campus ministries at FSU, although of course not all of them were represented at the meeting. The leader is a delightful woman named Melanie from Hillel, the Jewish ministry. (I was curious, so I looked it up: Hillel was apparently a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history.) I met many other ministry leaders whose names mostly escape me, but I got to sit next to Rhea, the Chi Alpha International leader who happens to be from Iowa. That's what matters! :) Iowa connections aside, I really enjoyed the council meeting. Since it was September 11th, Melanie began by reading a letter written by a former student who was in class on 9/11. It was chilling, but an appropriate remembrance of that day.
We then moved on to hear from some student government leaders, who told us about a perfectly awful website called FSU ACB. I won't give you the details, but they showed us some screenshots that were... disturbing, to say the least. This website allows you to post anything you want completely anonymously. There are death threats, rape threats -- all specific, naming certain people -- and the police can do nothing, because the website deletes the poster's IP address a few seconds after the post goes up. Apparently most universities have similar websites. The student government leaders asked for our support to help pass a law requiring websites to retain IP addresses.
I bet you're wondering, "Why did you enjoy this meeting? That sounds awful!" The enjoyable part came after that discussion, when our speaker, Michelle, began telling us about Greek life on campus. She described it in detail, which was very beneficial for me, given that Greek life at Concordia consisted of frantic pre-seminary students studying for exams. I was fascinated to hear all about this campus culture, and Michelle was an engaging speaker.
After the Interfaith Council meeting ended, I went downstairs, sent a few last-minute e-mails, and then headed off to the airport to pick up my dear friend Jessie. When we got out of the airport, she made an observation: "It is HOT in Florida!" It was wonderful to have someone who understands my longing for Midwestern fall sweatshirt weather!
We had a wonderful weekend in Tallahassee. Thursday, we mostly just hung out at my apartment, watching Once Upon a Time and eating the last of my mother's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I also gave her a tour of campus, and we spent time playing the game she got me for my birthday: "Castle: the Detective Card Game." So much fun!
Friday, we slept in, took a trip to the Capitol building, and then went to Wakulla Springs, where I had my first Florida alligator sighting. We also enjoyed what we called "statue birds." I can't remember their actual name, but these birds have to dry out their wings after swimming before they can fly. They just sit there on rocks or logs with their wings extended for as long as 45 minutes. When we first saw them, we were convinced they were statues, they were so still!
We also went to the Melting Pot (they were donating $5 to the Children's Home Society for everyone who ordered their 35th Anniversary meal). Oh my goodness, the Melting Pot. I'm officially obsessed. Cheese fondue, salads, hotpot-style main course, and yin-yang (white and dark chocolate) fondue for dessert... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
On Saturday, we slept in once again, and then went out to explore the beautiful canopy roads. We intended to go to one of the state parks, but after venturing outside, we mutually decided it was far too hot for such excursions. We stopped by Target for old time's sake and may have also spent several hours watching the show "Too Cute" on Animal Planet. If you like cute animals, don't start watching that show... you may never stop.
Sunday morning, I sadly took Jessie back to the airport. It was so great to be able to reconnect with my best friend and show her around my home for the year, but I won't deny that I am a bit homesick now, both for my friend and for the Midwest. I'm told back home it's beginning to get that autumn chill in the air, and I miss it. Fall has always been my favorite season, and here it's just not the same.
I got back to church for worship with just minutes to spare, and then went out to lunch with Evan, Justin, and Anna, which was delightful (even if we did have to cut it short). Sunday afternoon, Katie and the students returned from their service retreat in Mobile, Alabama. I'm told it was a great weekend, with much worship, service, and friendship! They did service projects at Camp Dixie and were able to have Bible study on the beach.
After Katie's return, we met up with Pastor Jay to debrief the week. It was a relief to be able to meet with all three of us! On Monday, my day off, I slept in, went grocery shopping, volunteered at CHS, and attended TrueLife. Caroline led this week, talking about time management in college. Definitely a worthwhile topic, and she did an admirable job! This was my last week of attending TrueLife, given that Mondays are my day off, but I'm not at all worried about them managing without me. They don't need me! ;)
On Tuesday, I spent some time being present on campus in the morning, and then met up with grad student Danielle for lunch. She's a fellow Midwesterner, so we found much to talk about! After walking back from Chili's, I went to pick up Pastor Jay from the airport. I'm so glad he now has a break from traveling! I'm sure he's exhausted, and we are blessed to have him around. After bringing him back to church, I watched a lot of Castle on DVD before going to bed.
Today, we began with campus ministry prayer at 9:30 and then had a brief staff meeting. I went out to lunch with student Noelle at Mr. Roboto, where she had sushi and I tried not to cringe. :P At 2:00 we had our weekly staff meeting. Much of our time was spent discussing Matt's unfortunate experience on Monday, when our church computer died a sad death. Luckily, PJ and Matt were able to go out and get a new computer this afternoon.
After our meeting, I met up with Zoe and we went to Brooklyn Water Bagels for an afternoon snack of muffins and milk. It was very enjoyable! When we got back to church, I spent some time with Matt admiring the new computer and then relaxed a bit before Vespers. Katie was our leader tonight, teaching us about "Kairos moments" -- what some people might call "God moments" or, in Katie's terms, "God lightbulbs." These are moments that cause us to take a step back and reflect on what this means in our life in God's terms. We talked about how this relates to confession and absolution and then confessed to our brothers and sisters (at my table, I only had brothers) and they absolved us.
After Vespers, we had some great bonding time discussing those valuable topics such as "Orange is the New Black" and "Gilmore Girls." When everyone headed out, I came downstairs and started to write this blog, and NOW we are to the present moment! Isn't it great?
You get the picture jackpot today! (Get excited, Melissa!) All of these pictures are from my adventures with Jessie this weekend. The first is in front of the Capitol; the next four are various wildlife we saw at Wakulla Springs; and the last is of me in front of the University Lutheran sign.
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