An organic prayer gathering will take place on December 1st in Washington Square Park at 7:14pm, where folk from all different churches and ministries in NYC will gather and claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our amazing city:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This prayer gathering will be mirrored in 20+ other cities around the world.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/714/233575236702971
Download flyer: 714-Prayer-New-York-Dec-1st-2011.jpg (right-click, save as…)

agape, n. [ah-gah-pey] the sacrificial, unconditional love of Christ.
agape week, n. an annual celebration of the sacrificial, unconditional love of Christ at NYU.

To express the boundary-breaking nature of God and his explosive grace, “Love Without Borders” was the theme of Agape Week 2010! April 5th-12th was a week of diverse and campus-engaging events ranging from a hip-hop concert to a Q&A about doubt. It was a time for all who wanted to experience the Lord of Heaven and Earth in His fullness —after all, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world”—no borders attached.

Q. Which servant of God was the most obvious lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses — because he “broke” all 10 commandments at once.

Q. What was William Shakespeare’s favorite book of the Bible?
A. The book of Acts.

Q: Who designed Noah’s ark?
A: An ark-itect.

Q. Who was the only man in the Bible who didn’t have a father?
A: Joshua, the son of Nun.

Q: Who is the fastest runner in history?
A: Adam! Because he was the first in the human race.

Q: Who was the Bible’s greatest baby sitter?
A: David — cuz he rocked Goliath to sleep.

Q. What animal could Noah not trust?
A. The cheetah

Q. What do angels say when they greet each other?
A. “Halo!” 0

Q: How many Amish does it take to change a light bulb?
A: “What’s a light bulb?”

Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds

He was standing right in front of me, the only other one in the room, but he wasn’t the one I wanted to see. I looked to the window, hoping to glimpse the person I was looking for, but he wasn’t there.

The one in front of me said, “I’m right here.” But I just furrowed my brow. He wasn’t the one I was looking for.

I looked around toward the door, wishing it, willing it to open. I wanted to see him walk through. But the door never opened.

“I’m right here,” the voice in front of me echoed again. But he wasn’t the one I was looking for.

I distracted myself from my disappointment by looking around the room. There were so many things to do. Listen to music. Read books. Watch TV. Go online. Exercise.

Once again, the one in front of me said, “I’m right here.” But you’re not what I want — you’re not what I need, I screamed in my head.

As if he heard me, the one in front of me desperately pleaded, “I’m right here. Won’t you dance with me?”

The music already was playing, so I begrudgingly obliged. Formally, I took his hand in mine, and we began an awkward waltz.

But I still looked over his shoulder at the door and glanced at the window. Maybe the one I was looking for would show up. But the song kept playing.

I began a list of all the things I could do, distracting myself from my loneliness. But the song kept playing.

As the dance dragged on, my hands became warmer to his touch. I took a deep breath, and the stress vacated my body. Relaxing, I leaned in closer to him, closing my eyes and resting my head on his chest.

Suddenly, I realized that the one in front of me was the only one I was looking for.

I placed my feet on top of his, like a little girl and her Father. Instantly, we were twirling around the room as if we were one. Pirouettes and dips, even some leaps.

A giggle escaped my smiling lips. I hadn’t heard that sound in a long time.

God of Wonders beyond imagination,

Beyond thoughts or ponderings,

Beyond moments or memories;

You’re interwoven meticulously into gorgeous occurrences.

You outshine worldliness; Outdo Yourself on people who continuously condemn Your Holy.

O Holy, Most Holy!

Your wisdom unlocks doors,

allows those without hope to open virtuous perfection;

allows those without hope to observe honest intention;

allows those without hope to conquer tribulations.

O Holy, Most Holy!

Comfort those without hope; Perforate our souls;

Beckon our Love

to something more of

You… Love develops for You,

only You.

O Holy, Most Holy!

Forever Your Love for everyone, Forever You love everyone, Everyone loving Your forever

O Holy, Most Holy!

Complete our forever with your Love Most Holy.

This pain that’s resounding
In my heart it’s drowning
A thorn of redemption
caught in high tension,
with the woman I am and the woman I know I should be.

Why when your love is cascading
I feel like I’m fading?
Far from the shore that I thought promised more
This seed of doubt’s growing
It’s knowing and blowing
but hell if I’m going
to the place I just mentioned
and despite all the failure
The part where I wail here
I’ll toss it off lightly, embrace and despite me
Because I…I know the truth.

In this coldness is boldness,
a river flowing down
Feel the petals of Grace
it’s more than profound.
For when I doubt you I bow to
the enemy himself
It’s childish I’ve lied to this
broken creed of hate
Because I know you’re the way
I know you’re my fate

Your beauty is soothing as it wraps around my core
It’s romancing I’m glancing back to that shore
Because the warmth of your light is blinding my eyes
As it severs and vanishes these cheap petty lies

But Lord catch me, Lord bet me
You’ll know I’ll return
Your roots make me strong
You whisper to learn

It’s the crossroads I’m caught in
The enemy I’ve bought in
Damn his seduction, his tempting corruption
How far can I go
before I realize, before I paint skies of darkness and low
and behold your strength pouring out.
Like water, I feel taller, and down with the doubt.

Romance and entrance me
break free and perchance see
that you love me you want me
In my simplest form
you knit me with Grace yet still I’m not sure

The ground underneath me is quaking it’s frail,
this rock is a pebble, this rain turned to hail

Your melodies are fluidity
The devil’s just cheap humidity
but you’re the summer heat serenity
with Grace you’ve more than lent to me

I take you for granted
I curse and despise you
but your love’s firmly planted
I’m pissed, why can’t mine too?

I break free from the path I know I must walk
It comes down to courage not simply cheap talk
to trust in the beauty you’ve painted for me
to see objectively that you really died FOR ME

So as I’m doused in cold water
the world generously supplies
as I tread into darkness and honey dipped lies

I think of your face and I can only bow
to the breathtaking light that comes to me now

So forgive me permit me to walk in that light
To plant such a firmness to take such delight
In the freedom, His kingdom
I run to your arms
Though I’m cold far from bold
I absorb all your warmth.

What words will I put on today? A glimmer-
gray accessory of cheap hellos, or white-angelic lights
strung like teeth across my neck so pearly white,
to complement the color of sophistication?
Perhaps an eye-blue satin jacket, tailored well
to hug the form of me, and hold me when I twist
and turn. I could dig up, dust off
old glass-gold slippers, in which I used to wobble
up and down the bedroom floor—practicing,
you know. But those don’t fit me anymore.
I touch my tongue to my lips, and my face blooms
pink as I wonder my selection.
I have sunflower hats from the springtime
and moon-orange skirts from the sky. I have rings
of flawed philosophies—and brighter things too,
like fingerpaint faces on the sleeves of my blouses,
the footprints of children’s caresses, before they forgot
how to love with their hands. I slip them on and off,
and off and on again, again, mood shifting, anxiety
sharp and thin, and filling like warm blood my toes.

What words will I put on today?—which,
weary and worn, must come off
from a bruise-heavy body tonight, to be washed.
Why wear again these bright-cloth masks?
Can a girl be itself without colorful wings? and still be
beautiful, without all these mind-crafted things? My Lord,
how I long for the night now already,
when your Word is the kiss of sweet lips on pure silence.

Jonathan Walton, Columbia grad and modern-day abolitionist, spoke about debt bondage, sexual exploitation and labor slavery to open this year’s Agape Week event. As students and consumers, attendees were counseled to leave a mark on the system that supports the 32-billion dollar and 27-million victim industry of human trafficking. Things we can do to help:

• Investigate the labor practices of the manufacturers and business we patronize
• Support Restore NYC (the only rehabilitation center for sexually exploited women in NYC)
• Push our favorite companies to go slave-free
• Visit slaverymap.org to learn more about this important issue

By Bianca vanderMeulen