Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this Lord’s day may you find encouragement in Santa Ono’s presentation on Christian Engagement in the Renewing of Higher Education (1:48:45). May you be inspired as the President of the U. of Cincinnati[1] gives testimony to how his life has been and continues to be shaped by his relationship with God and the people of God (including members of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) in relationship to the wider culture — even in the “small city” of the university and the intricacies of family dynamics.
What a joy to once again hear Santa Ono’s ongoing testimony of his transformation of head, heart, and hands — so much so that last night after returning from the Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA) site of “The End of the University?’ Symposium, I shared the opening minutes of this presentation with my wife Theresa. And yes, we found it an encouragement to what we have come to embrace as a call to campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, one which journeys with Emerging Scholars and future health care professionals (in partnership with the Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA at Penn State Hershey Medical Center). To God be the glory!
In Christ, Tom
PS. Q&A and overall responses to (including application of what was learned at) the symposium coming. So good to see that Bob Trube has already shared some of his initial reflections (Privileged, Persecuted, or Participating?). Please join the conversation across platforms/blogs.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. — Romans 12:1-5 (NIV)
Update: 3/2/2014, 9:10 pm, 6/14/2016, 4:30 pm.
Notes
- Dr. Ono also serves as Professor of Pediatrics within UC’s College of Medicine and Professor of Biology in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Ono’s principal research interests focus on transcriptional regulation in the human immune system, mechanisms of mast cell dependent inflammation on the ocular surface and the immune component of age-related macular degeneration. To learn more about Dr. Ono, swing by his page. In August 2016, he will begin a five year term as President of the University of British Columbia.↩
Tom enjoys daily conversations regarding living out the Biblical Story with his wife Theresa and their four girls, around the block, at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (where he teaches adult electives and co-leads a small group), among healthcare professionals as the Northeast Regional Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and in higher ed as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). For a number of years, the Christian Medical Society / CMDA at Penn State College of Medicine was the hub of his ministry with CMDA. Note: Tom served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA for 20+ years, including 6+ years as the Associate Director of ESN. He has written for the ESN blog from its launch in August 2008. He has studied Biology (B.S.), Higher Education (M.A.), Spiritual Direction (Certificate), Spiritual Formation (M.A.R.), Ministry to Emerging Generations (D.Min.). To God be the glory!
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