homegroup3

Gracepoint College Six Flags Magic Mountain Trip

2009-05-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Exciting News: This summer our entire college department is going to go on a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain! On June 8th, we're going to get together with A2f and Kairos, head over to sunny Valencia, CA and dream EXTREME!!! (apology for blatant Glive reference).

No need to hype this up any more!

So here's the plan:
We've gotten an AWESOME deal through Steve Suh (not yet finalized, around $18-22 for admission). Also we might get the private picnic area, complete with buffet lunch and costumed characters for some kind of entertainment. Anywho, we need you to say if you probably will be going, for more or less accurate headcount.

Date: June 8 (NorCal ppl can come too! We'll all drive down or something!)
Cost: Awesome
Signup even if you're not 100% sure: here.

Koinonia Year-End Video and Graduations

2009-05-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is the video we saw last Friday, at the Koinonia Year-End party!

Ok, now that you're all being sentimental, come out and cheer on our graduates at their graduation ceremonies! It's a once-in-a-lifetime event for them, let's join them at this very special occasion! Let's be the loudest group out there!

(Graduation schedules were passed out this past Sunday--if you didn't get one, I can send it to you, just email me at parkben@gmail)

This Friday's Gracepoint College Bible Study: @ 8pm @ 1st Pres

2009-05-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Quick! If you have 6 oranges in one hand, and 2 watermelons in the other, what do you have? (Guesses welcome via comments)

That was just to give your brain a break from all the studying you've been doing! Anyways, study hard and finish the semester strong!

This week's schedule:
- Fri Bible Study @ 1st Pres @ 8pm (it's pushed back for you who have 5-8pm finals)
- Sat North Loop cleaning for THRIVE and RED-HD (ONLY if you're done w/ finals)

Announcements/Signups:
- DT Journals - if you pre-ordered for the summer and will be leaving for home before 5/24, please let me know.
- 30-hr Famine, Worldview Camp, Summer Discipleship Retreats, signups are here!
- Graduations start tomorrow, so join us if you can (will write more later)!

See you soon!
Ben

Join the 2009 30-Hour Famine with Gracepoint in Berkeley!

2009-05-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

World Vision, one of the largest Christian relief agencies in the world, has been running the 30-Hour Famine as a fundraiser for many years now. It's an opportunity for people like us to get just a very small taste of what it means to be hungry, and to raise awareness in our community. In my memory, 2009 will be the third time our church has participated in this event, and last year we raised over $100,000 to be the 2nd highest contributor in the nation!

Sign up today to join the effort this year. You don't have to be in Berkeley to participate, so all you going home can sign up too!

Once you've signed on, you can pick up your packet at your respective bible studies on Friday night and start asking around for donations from your classmates, professors, co-workers, family or long lost relatives! (It's always easier to ask for donations upfront rather than going back to collect).

The actual fasting will be from Saturday, 6/27, 12am to Sunday, 6/28, 6am.

Also, we need your help to come up with fundraising ideas! Please reply to this post w/ ideas for what we could do, whether it's within our church or on the campus or in the community! Last year our group went to the St. Vincent de Paul and volunteered in the Dining Room, visited the "Step into Africa" exhibit, and sold baked goods and homemade jewelery-things at the Berkeley Bowl market. Unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of pictures but what we have are here.

2009 Worldview Camp

2009-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dates: Wed, June 17 (Breakfast) - Sat, June 20 (Lunch)
Early Bird Deadline ($10 off normal cost of $60): This Fri, May 15.
Signup!

Some topics planned for this WV Camp: The Case for Pro-life, Shattering the Myths of Evolution, The Case for a Creator, Playing the Atheist, What's the Big Deal with
Pornography, Truth or Tragedy, Worldview in Movies, Virtual Life, Miracles

Hi all, I know we've been announcing this at various meetings, but I'd like to plug the 2009 Worldview Camp once again. We recently did devotions through Colossians 2, in which Apostle Paul reminds us to take care not to be taken captive through "hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." I'm afraid there's a lot of different philosophies out there that aren't dependent on Christ, and Christians need to know how to articulate the truth of their faith (both to ourselves and to others) in the face of the growing secularism in our world.

Furthermore, many of you have seen Mr. Sean McDowell in action--not only is he extremely knowledgable, he's also dynamic, engaging, and even cooler than me! So what a wonderful opportunity to come and be trained!

Congratulations, Seniors!

2009-05-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the class of 2009! This past Sunday, along with Mother's Day, we celebrated Senior Sunday. Six seniors gave testimony of how God helped them grow in their faith over the past four years, and it was a very impactful time.

Also, we had a great time of remembering the past 4 years on Saturday at the senior potluck, where they also showed this little masterpiece. Wow, how'd they do that?

Thanks to all the seniors for wonderful times together, and may God bless you wherever you find yourself in a few months, and may your fire for God not die! Congrats again!

And for the rest of us, let's go out and cheer them on at their graduations! I know its finals and all, but for those who can, let's take quick breaks and celebrate this important occasion with them!

Multiply Your Talents 2009

2009-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hi,

The signups for Multiply Your Talents (MYT) are now up! For those who don't know, MYT is a set of classes/courses designed to teach you some skill. They're not like those summer programs put on by the local Parks & Recreations dept that your mom sent you to (trust me, I took a lot of those- Basic Kilning, Cartooning, Oil Painting, Intermmediate Tennis). More than anything, you can use these skills not just for personal fulfillment, which of course is a big part of it, but also to help/serve/love other people, to be trained up in way that allows you more avenues to worship God. So this year we have the following classes available:

Advanced Course 101
Apologetics In-Depth
Audio Systems
Filming
Photography
Beginning Photoshop
Advanced Photoshop
ProPresenter
Script Writing
Video Editing
and 4 Music classes: Vocals, Int El. Guitar, Int. Ac. Guitar, Int. Bass

That's a lot of options! So after you've seen this trailer, go and sign up! Classes begin on June 5, and run on Fridays during the summer. More info on the signup page.

Announcements for Week of May 6

2009-05-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not really the "Week of May 6," I just happened to post on May 6 for the week of May 3. Whatever. :)

- LifeGroups on Wed night: This will be our last week of LifeGroup for the semester!

Bros: 6-9pm (meet @ 6pm sharp @ Hillegass/Parker)
Sis: 9:30pm @ Hillegass

- Seniors: Song practice on Thurs night @ 9pm @ the Y.
- GTS on Fri @ 7pm @ 1st Pres: Last week for GTS as well... Starting next week we'll have large group Bible studies again.
- Last Pre-Finals Happy time together as Koinonia after GTS this Friday.
- Senior Sunday is this Sunday!

PS: don't forget (not that any of you would have forgotten), it's Mother's Day this Sunday!

Some summer opportunities for those who are interested:
- You can get more information and sign up for these at gracepointonline.org/signups.

SummerFest/Impact/Joyland
Multiply Your Talents
Worldview Camp
30-hr Famine
Discipleship Retreats

Coming out of Retirement

2009-05-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this blog was never retired. But in a way, if it's May, and the last post was "Happy New Year," you've been in retirement whether you intended to or not.

But given that summer's fast approaching and our home church schedule will be starting soon, I wanted to start putting announcements back up here so that we can all be on the same page, and allow this to be some kind of forum to connect as people will be in different places over the break.

That's it for now, but stay tuned for more to come!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really be over a month since the last post? My apologies-- with school out, I think the part of my brain that said "write to the blog, ben!" also went on holiday.

Anyways, Happy New Year, everybody! Wanted to share with you our church's key verse for the year, 1 John 1:3-4. A detailed explanation can be found on Kelly's blog. We had a wonderful time of practicing "coming into the light" at our New Years' Eve Watchnight service, through a time of reflection and prayer, and I hope that this year we can all be found walking in the light, in greater and deeper fellowship with God the father and his son Jesus Christ! It would be wonderful if you can listen to the podcast of it, once it's up. That way all of us can start the new year on the same page.

As you travel back, do give me or Helen a call. Chances are we're hanging out at home replacing lightbulbs, making beef stew and entertaining a constant stream of friends. We can hang out before school starts!

Recap: Thanksgiving Celebration!

2008-12-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone’s Thanksgiving break went well! Flashback to last week, Thanksgiving Celebration. For those of you who don't know, Thanksgiving Celebration is a time for our church to collectively reflect on and give thanks for all that God has done in the past year. This year’s TC was amazing-- epic, even. History was made. I’m talking about stuff like this video recently posted on the Dis-Gracepoint blog.

It started off with a message given by Pastor Ed, based on Psalm 73. He reminded us that God does not owe any of us a good life -- that bitterness and discontent really have no place in our lives, but only cloud our understanding of the mission God intended for us. Harboring bitterness and ingratitude in our hearts leaves us senseless and ignorant as we lose sight of the truth: that we're here because of God. Whether we're Christian or not, despite our wayward struggles and misplaced desires, God still wants to hold onto us like He held onto the psalmist in Psalm 73, so that we can ultimately connect with Him in a meaningful way.

After the message, as we watched re-cap of the year videos from all our different ministry groups, I couldn't help but be amazed by all of the ways God has blessed our church in the past year alone - from providing all the logistical needs for our church plant in Austin to each of the salvation decisions right here on the Berkeley campus. We can see that God has truly been at work in our midst when we count all the ways He has been faithful in multiplying our efforts and answering our prayers.

Needless to say, after watching all those videos, we were all in a celebratory mood and ready to revel in the ensuing awesomeness. Praxis started us off with a visual bang in their glowing stick-men costumes. Afterwards, we watched everything from Gracepoint renditions of Broadway classics, to grown men in Veggie Tales costumes, to modern-day interpretive Bible narratives, complete with a Pharaoh vs. Moses dance-off. We laughed, we cheered for our friends on stage, some of us got on stage ourselves, we probably all got goosebumps at some point. And after the last act, we joined HG4 (Dan and Hannah) and HG6 (Mike and Joanna) at Ben and Helen's house for full-blown Thanksgiving feast! We ate to our hearts content and then some, bonding with old and new friends alike over turkey, ham, and all the fixings. Words probably cannot do the performances or the food much justice. Hence, I leave you with some more pictures, courtesy of Robin from HG6:

Stay tuned for more holiday festivities coming soon to a homegroup near you!

Not-Nasty Turkey

2008-11-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

What do you think about when you hear "turkey"? For me: Dry, overcooked, bland, there's-not-enough-gravy-to-make-this-moist-enough-for-me-to-want-to-eat-it white meat, and not-that-much-better dark meat.

Well, over at Dish-Gracepoint Tom and Tim are trying to change that viewpoint. If you plan to cook a turkey this year, perhaps for our TC or just for family, you might give this recipe a try. Even if you're not cooking a turkey, check it out: you've never see a recipe written like this (e.g.. "fattage")!

http://dishgracepoint.blogspot.com/2008/11/turkey.html

Ben

Thanksgiving Retreat is this Saturday!

2008-11-13T11:33:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to link to HG4's blog, where they have the Thanksgiving Retreat video trailer.

If you want to come but haven't signed up, please let Ben know @ parkben@gmail.

Recap: Gone!

2008-11-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, Koinonia, Acts2Fellowship, and Kairos jointly hosted an event at First Presbyterian Church. In case you missed it, it's Gone (*rimshot*).

The event shares its name with the eponymous Switchfoot song. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Gone, like yesterday is gone
Like history is gone
Just try and prove me wrong and
Pretend like you're immortal.

It's no secret that time is limited; what's mysterious is how we often act contrary to that. To start talking about this, we got into groups to discuss these questions:

Is there was a season of your life that's gone now that you miss? What do you miss about that time?
If you had to live today over again, what would you do differently?

Five students shared their testimonies of how they used to spend their time, and I think we could all relate to certain parts of their stories about gaming addiction, the relentless pursuit of academic success, Hollywood obsession, and partying. While these stories all had disparate beginnings, they all closed with how each of their lives was changed by an encounter with Christ and his claims.

After that, Pastor Ed offered a challenge to live as if life is worth more than the time we fritter away. We're going to be learning more about this at the Friday Night Bible studies, so come check them out! Information on the location will be coming soon, but till then, check out these photos, courtesy Kevan Ho of HG1.

On Billy Graham's 90th

2008-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Today CNN posted an article on a 90-year old Billy Graham. If you don't know who he is, Billy Graham was the foremost Christian evangelist of the 20th century, and leaves behind an incredible legacy of zeal and passion for preaching the gospel to the world. He has preached to over 200 million live audiences in various settings, and many hundreds of millions more through media broadcasts. He was regarded with such high regard in the international community that he was allowed access to places usually not afforded to Westerners: behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, in South Africa denouncing apartheid, North Korea and China. Furthermore, he has been noted for keeping on the moral straight and narrow, refusing to fall to the temptations that many public figures succumb to. Even if we're not Christian, we can at least be challenged and impacted by the long-lasting faithfulness he's demonstrated through 90 years. Truly this is a life well lived.

I was particularly moved by a quote in the CNN article:

I have discovered that just because we grow weaker physically as we age, it doesn't mean that we must grow weaker spiritually... In fact, we ought to be growing stronger spiritually, because our eyes ought to be on eternity and Heaven -- on the things that really matter.

I pray that we could all strive for this kind of clarity about our lives, that we may set our eyes "on eternity and Heaven--on the things that really matter." Reminds me of our church's key verse for this year, and the text that surrounds it (Philippians 3:8, 13, 14):

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ... Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Recap: Saturday's "DRY"ve to SF

2008-11-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, a number of HG3ers set out for SF with three activities in mind: dim sum, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli Square.

Dim Sum
We started out with dim sum at Yet Wah. Don't be fooled by the restaurant's radioactive taro-colored exterior -- the food here is pretty good. We ate all the must-have items, like har gow, steamed radish cake, and well, the love-it-or-leave-it chicken feet! Pictured below is Dennis, right before his first taste. (This picture has real caption potential. What's yours?)

Pier 39
Though it was wet, our spirits weren't dampened. We headed into a hat store (lame joke count now: 2), and took our turns trying on different funky caps. After that, we went to a candy store so full of candy, the air smelled of it. Mmm, hyperglycemia ...

Ghirardelli Square
The last sweet stop was the beloved Ghirardelli Square. Still full from dim sum, no one dared to order the famed $30 Earthquake (the Earthquake is an ice cream dish the size of a small city-state). But we had sundaes, which hit the spot. I personally opted for the gourmet cupcake at Kara's Cupcakes, but that experience merits a post of its own, so I'll just end it here ...

Gracepoint Fellowship's Annual Tradition: Thanksgiving Celebration

2008-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, this event was simply called "Singing Contest," with a couple of folks coming on stage to sing one nice song and one song with silly dancing. Then something happened, and Thanksgiving Celebration was born. Over the years we've seen a lot of, ahem, different acts, some of which have been duly showcased on Disgracepoint. You might recognize some people in here, here, here, and here.

Annually, this event is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We have a special Thanksgiving Service, then have the Celebration, then split up to have a full-on Thanksgiving meal, complete all the way from the turkey to the mint leaves on the cranberry sauce.

This year our homegroup is joining forces with HG4 (Dan & Hannah) and HG6 (Mike & Joanna) to have, as I like to think of it, the most awesomist skit. Think DT. Think the heartbreak of a lost sheep. Think the intensity of a prophet of God. (No, I can't give you all the details here, in case one of the other groups might be reading this!) But come and participate with us (of course, everyone is to Thanksgiving service even if you're not participating), here are the details:

Fri, 11/7 | Practice @ the YWCA @ 5:30pm
Fri, 11/14 | Practice @ TBA after Koinonia Bible Study
Fri, 11/21 | Koinonia Thanksgiving Celebration presentations after Bible Study
Sun, 11/23 | Thanksgiving Service @ Kaufman Auditorium, Alameda @ 1:30pm
| Thanksgiving Celebration (Best of the Best - 1 from Koinonia)
| Thanksgiving Dinner

Koinonia Hoodies: Pre-Order by this Friday!

2008-11-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

New Koinonia zip-up hoodies will be ready in a month, but you've got to pre-order them. Don't know if the price is available yet but imagine it will be around $20-25. Will update when I find out.

It'll look something like this:

Upcoming Event: Gone

2008-10-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

A2F, Koinonia, and Kairos are hosting a college wide event "Gone". You don't want to miss this one, invite your friends!

Where: 1st Presbyterian Church (on Channing and Dana)
When: Thursday, Nov 6th @ 7pm

H3 'DRY've: DIm Sum & other SF Destinations

2008-10-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

You see those green rain clouds on the weather map? It doesn't matter! This Saturday, we're going to go see San Francisco in the rain. But we'll be driving, of course.

The potential plan:

Meet at Underhill parking lot @ 10AM. [If off-limits due to game day parking, we'll relocate nearby. call Ben @ 510-846-1279 that day]
Dim Sum in SF Chinatown
[insert some SF destination here - Lombard, Legion of Honor, Twin Peaks... will play it by ear]
Pier 39 [potential for: clam chowder in a bread bowl, viewing the sea lions, hat store, Ghiradelli's ice cream]
Come home @ 4pm.

Wanna come? Need you to sign up for organizational sanity. Do wear some warm clothes and bring an umbrella.

Special Prayer Meeting Tonight

2008-10-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Join us tonight for a special prayer meeting, where we'll hear from John and Tina Woods, who are missionaries to Honduras with BMDMI, a medical and dental mission organization through which some of our church members went on missions this past summer. Come and be challenged and inspired by their testimonies.

We are actually starting earlier to also have a time of small group prayer at 6:30pm. Please tell your friends who may not know!

Today's Breakpoint Commentary: "Earn, Save, Give"

2008-10-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

I thought today's Breakpoint commentary was quite pertinent given the issue of money that Andy preached on a couple of weeks ago.

today's Breakpoint

If you are a Christian (and even if you're not), I encourage you to subscribe to Breakpoint or something like it, to learn to look at the world through the eyes of God.

H3 Committees

2008-10-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 11/4:
Here are the volunteers (parentheses indicates how many more we ideally would have)
Thanks!

Rides - Brian (1 sister?)
Reporter - Paulina (1)
Webmaster - Will, Brian
Photographer - Sunny, Tiffany
Chef - Yanhui (1 or 2 more?)
Gamesmaster - (anyone?)
Birthday Czar - Tiffany

To keep things at our Homegroup running, we're starting HG3 Committees! Here are the different roles

Rides Czar - Given all that we do together every week, we've gotta be a mobile, and that means rides! From hanging out in Alameda to after Bible Study bowling, from retreats to sierra lodge trips, the crucial task of getting people from here to there is no trivial one. So, we need people to be in charge of coordinating rides

Reporter - Was there something thought provoking about Friday Bible Study? Amazed at how Ben achieved his lifetime high score in bowling? Are there interesting developments about life on campus or life in our Homegroup? Post it! We need a regular blogger to share news and recent happenings on our blog.

Webmaster - For those techies who enjoy web work, we need people to help with the technical side of our blog, to develop and maintain it.

Photographer - All of the priceless times that we share and memories that we build together need to be captured somehow. Whether it be through pictures or video, we need somebody to both be in charge of taking these pictures and videos and also managing them, uploading them, etc. Enjoy taking pictures and videos or editing them, or wanna learn? this one's for you!

Chef - this job is crucial! What's fellowship without food? We need people to be in charge of food for get-togethers. This includes deciding everything from what we're going to eat, to shopping or appointing people to do the shopping, to finally cooking it.

Gamesmaster - When we get together we often do icebreakers, games, and different activities. It really makes a big difference when these are well planned and thought out! We need people to take the lead in brainstorming for activities and games, planning them, and leading those times.

Birthday Czar - We don't want to forget any birthdays! And we've got alot of them in our homegroup...that's why we need someone to know when birthdays are coming up and give the rest of us a heads up, as well as help plan how we'll celebrate it.

We need your help, so sign up! And don't worry, you won't be by yourself. One of the staff will guide and train you.

Ramming Speed

2008-10-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

So a long long time ago in a land far far away (I was about 10 and visiting China) my dad took me and some of my cousins to this one park. There they had a goat carriage ride for kids, where a trained goat would pull a small carriage (about the size of those bike carriages that adults pull kids around with in the US) around a loop. We all thought that this would be a blast, so we got in line for the ride. Well it so happens that there were two goats that were on a rotation, and the goat on break was hanging out by a grassy patch tied to a pole getting fed all sorts of grass and plants by eager, good-natured kids. As I observe this fascinating scene, I noticed that the goat seemed to be chomping away at anything and everything the kids gave it, whether it be grass, leaves, or flowers. "What a dumb goat!" I thought to myself, "it doesn't even know what it's eating!" So, in order to punish this goat for its foolishness I decided I would try to feed it something it would most definitely not appreciate--dirt. Smiling to myself as I pulled up a patch of grass by the roots with a good chunk of dark brown soil attached to the end, I approached the goat with a sinister confidence, sure of the fact that I was about to make it look like a fool in front of all of its new friends. I extended my arm to feed it the roots with the clump of dirt. But as it came around to mine, the totally unexpected happened. It took a split second, examined what I was giving it, then it looked deep into my eyes as if to say "Who do you think you are, kid??" It then proceeded to charge me directly and rammed me in the chest...needeless to say, I survived that wild and dangerous encounter and it taught me two things:

1. goats are not as dumb as they look
2. it's never a good idea to ruin somebody's meal for fun

How Helen Turns in an Assignment

2008-10-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a few of us were sitting around a living room at Grand Central, trying to brainstorm for a funny, yet informative act for our friend Kenny's (a2f gold) wedding reception. Fast forward to today, and we've seen the genre of "Normal Vs." videos present at almost every wedding, even at the ordination service last year! Well, here's part of the "Normal vs." shown at me and Helen's wedding. (Isn't it ironic that it was first done for Kenny, but now it seems Kenny's in practically every other Normal vs out there).

Recap: Berkeley Good Eats and Bowling

2008-10-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

The inspiration for this semester's Berkeley Good Eats was an event the group formerly known as K1H1 did last year, called "Tour de Berkeley." Koinonia actually tried it again during Welcome Week but we soon found that the name was somewhat of a misnomer. People thought it was, well, a tour of Berkeley campus. So a grand total of 2 (yes, two: dos, два, dwa, اثنين, 二, dalawa, hai) folks showed up. They had a great time nonetheless, but we decided to change the name around a little (I personally liked, "Berkeley's Gastronomical Extravaganza" but got voted down). We wanted to run through a series of restaurants, play some frisbee, get some dessert, then have a get-to-know time back at Unit 2. Well, as time would have it, we ended up just going to the restaurants, going straight to dessert, and then going home. What does that say about us? Dunno.

But we made up for it by going bowling on Friday night. Some folks hadn't gone bowling since kindergarten. Basically, never without bumpers. :) Well people did amazingly well. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the company that put people at ease. But we had a great time. Here are some photos. Which one is your favorite team pose?

Team 1 :: Team 2 :: Team 3

Team 4 :: Team 5

A Phone Conversation

2008-10-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

[Ben is sitting at home, and an unknown number flashes on caller id as his phone rings]

Ben: Hello?
Female voice: Hi, I'm going to come over now. To pick up the plant and the plant food.
Ben: Uh, who's this?
Female voice: [curtly] It's Suzanne.
Ben: Oh ok. [Suzanne Hyun? I’ve never talked to her in my life. She’s exhibiting a level of familiarity that’s kind of strange...]
Suzanne: Is the plant and plant food in the living room? I'm supposed to be picking it up for tomorrow's A2F Bible Study.
Ben: I see a plant, but I don't see plant food. [What in the world is she talking about?]
Suzanne: Hey, are you sick? You sound kind of... different.
Ben: [light bulb] No, not sick. Wait.. who are you supposed to be calling?
Suzanne: What? Hello? Is this Azusa?

La Fete Francaise -- 2e Partie (Part 2!)

2008-10-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

For fun, a French food feast follow-up:

This past Saturday, a group of us got together for some good eats at Jenny's home.

My favorite part was the kitchen entropy: diced scallions were flying above cutting boards, mushrooms swooshed their way around a hot skillet, tears streaked across the face of a certain person (whose name will not be mentioned on this public blog but can be divulged if you ask in person) who could not even stand the vapor of sliced onions she herself did not cut.

Then, about an hour in, all chaos tended towards order as our French meal made its steady way towards completion. Eyes widened and mouths went agape as before us was -- brace yourself! -- salade lyonnaise, ratatouille, mushroom-shallot quiche, pasta (thanks to the senior sisters!), and a sweet baguette accompanied with brie.

I know. We wish you had been there, too.

Actually, my favorite moments were doing personality tests around the dinner table. I had no idea you could glean some really funny things from animal associations, blocks, flowers, and horses.

Maybe that takes a close second to the post-meal banter with strawberry and banana crepes with nutella and lemon-infused fresh cream. Or maybe the King Kong Shower lightning rounds was the best part. I'm not sure. It was all pretty good.

If you salivated while reading any part of this post, I am pleased to tell you that there will be another cooking night in the near future, most likely involving Thai cuisine (!). If you've got any suggestions or comments (on Thai food or otherwise), feel free to field them in the comments section.

La Fete Francaise (a.k.a. French Food Fest!)

2008-10-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how they make that scrumptious ratatouille you saw in the Pixar Movie? Love to try new foods? Or just getting tired of Crossroads and late-night ramen? Give your culinary skills and taste buds a boost at La Fete Francaise! The sisters of our homegroup will be learning how to cook delicious French food, and then maybe watching the "little chef" on Ratatouille while we sample our gourmet creations. Here's the scoop:

What: La Fete Francaise - cooking & eating French food
When: this Saturday, 6pm
Where: Jenny's house in Alameda

If you'd like to come, shoot me an email and let me know! Jenny Yen jenny.yen@gpmail.org

Bon Appetit!

Special Talk on Campus: Michael Ramsden & Os Guinness

2008-10-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

This Thursday, there will be a talk at Wheeler Auditorium given by two Christian apologists, Michael Ramsden and Os Guinness. This is open to the public, and the topics addressed will be: "Is Faith Delusional?" and "The Journey: A Thinker's Quest for Meaning." Here's a look at the flyer:

The bios provided on the back of the flyer read:

Michael Ramsden has been the European Director of RZIM Zacharias Trust since its foundation in 1997. He grew up in the Middle East, returning to the UK to work investing money for the Lord Chancellor's Department and to study. While at Sheffield University doing research in Law and Economics, he taught Moral Philosophy and lectured for the International Seminar on Jurisprudence and Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Michael is a passionate evangelist and apologist for RZIM Zacharias Trust, and is also Lecturer in Christian Apologetics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, where his main involvement is with the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Michael travels widely speaking in universities, churches and at conferences.

Dr. Os Guinness is a writer and speaker living in Northern Virginia. He was born in China but educated in England where he did undergraduate studies at the University of London and postgraduate studies at University of Oxford, where he graduated with a D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College. Os directed the first seven Trinity Forum seminar curricula and was a regular Moderator at Forums in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

He was a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and then a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. From 1986-1989 he was the Executive Director of the Williamsburg Charter Foundation. He is the co-founder of the Trinity Forum and served as Senior Fellow and Vice Chairman of the Board from its inception in 1991 until 2004. He has written or edited more than twenty books and has a passion to bridge the chasm between academic knowledge and popular knowledge, especially as they concern matters of public policy.

The event is at 7pm, but doors open at 6:30. From what we've seen w/ guest speakers in the past, probably a good thing to get there a little early. There is also a promise of live Q&A with the speakers following the event. Sponsored by the Central Pacific District of the C&MA and UiC.

Survey: Creations-Go or No Go?

2008-10-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

So this past Friday we went to Creations, a Chinese dessert house in SF. What did you think? Is this a place you'd like to go agin this week? Or is this pretty much forever off the list of things to do after a Bible Study on Friday night? These responses and everything in between, please comment below and let us know.

Pants for the Protanope (aka, my Pink Pants Story)

2008-10-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you already know this about me, but I often use it as my "one interesting thing" during group introductions. In 2nd grade, I took a test, something similar to the one on the right, which determined that I was red-green color blind. What did that mean to me in 2nd grade? Very little... But ask me what it meant to me in 11th grade...

In 11th grade I had a pair of khakis that I wore to school almost every other day. Well, it got a dark stain that wouldn't come out. To make a long (and kind of boring) story short: Mom dyes it black, next wash makes dye bleed out and become splotchy, mom bleaches and somehow stain is now gone. Mom gives to me to wear again.

What I didn't know was that the dye's base was a red primer, which the bleach did not actually get out. So I go to school the next day with on a pretty shade of peachish-pink (probably with my olive green polo to match) and attributed the laughter and snickers to how awesome it was that black dye took out a dark stain! So excited was I that wore it again the next day! If I had kept a journal back then, it might have looked something like this that second day...

9AM. Today the laughter seems more uproarious than ever before. I didn't know I could bring so much joy to people. Almost feel popular. I have a good set of friends.
10AM. I hate my friends. Except Leila: "Um, Ben, do you know that your pants are *snicker* pink? You didn't? Oh, we thought you knew!" Thanks Leila. Kind of.
11AM. So embarrassed. I think my face is the same color as my pants. But how do I know? Where can I borrow some pants?!
12PM. So embarrassed. Maybe I can spill some KoolAid on myself. It'd be a better excuse.
1PM. So embarrassed. I didn't realize bourgeoisie was in red in the text, meaning I needed to define it for my history exam. I think my school is discriminatory.
2PM. So embarrassed. Can't believe I was assigned the word rosado in Spanish class.
3PM. Almost done with school. I wonder what color my car really is. So embarrassed.

What did I learn from this? Well, one thing is that when Helen buys me a shirt, I ask her what color it is. But also, I think it made me a bigger person. One that could laugh at himself (besides, there are plenty more stories, I just don't remember them all.. and don't ask me about my shoulders), be a little less concerned about my image and be freer. "Hi, my name is Ben Park. Something interesting about me is that I'm color-blind." So if there are any of you who feel a little too uptight, or your friends keep telling you not to take yourself so seriously, and you'd like to learn to just be yourself, shoot me an email. I have a pair of pants you might want to try on.

(a disclaimer for those who get in my car on a regular basis - I'm only partially color blind, which means I can see stop signs, stop signals, and brake lights just fine. No, really, I do.)

Photo Recap: Last Weekend in Pictures

2008-09-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

After a week of many different activities, I thought I'd recap in pictures...

We'll start with the trailer for our Mission Night on Friday.

Afterwards we hiked up to the Big C! First time there for almost half of us. Now we can call ourselves Cal fans.

While we were waiting in the parking lot for everyone to arrive... I think I'll call this one "Pau-Lena".

I'm still working on my photography skills. So I'm only including this photo to show you something far less than what you might have seen had you come up with us.

Go Bears! (that yellow swath below us is the lower part of the "C")

Don't know why we take pictures like these...

On Saturday there was a big picnic for the Freshmen and Seniors. (Photos courtesy John Ko)

They played some normal sports...

And then some not-so-normal sports...

On Sunday we had a baptism service for the 3 Koinonia Kims (and a2f's Anne Songdej). Followed by an Open House, where each ministry group had a booth, Sierra Lodge had a nail-hammering contest, there was a lot of great food! (Photos courtesy Kevan Ho)

Albert, Kim, and Mike as they declare that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior!

Congratulations!

Apple Man and Magnet Man (H1's John and Nick) make a cameo appearance at the Gracepoint Open House. (Don't feel sorry for them. I think they're really loving it).

Course Presents on Intellectual Arguments for Christianity

2008-09-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who might be new around here, our fellowship has been offering an 8-week course on Christianity called "Course 101." This semester we're actually going to be offering it on Wednesday nights, 7-8:30pm. If you are interested, some more information can be found here, and sign up here.

Food, Fun and Friends for the Freshmen!! (and seniors too)

2008-09-23T22:56:00.001-07:00

Do you enjoy hot food off of a sizzling grill? How about sports out in the open field? Or meeting new faces and getting to know new friends? Then don't miss the Freshman Picnic this Saturday 9/27!! (this is replacing the Angel Island trip) The reality is that school is now in full gear as midterms have already started. But take a study break already (your brain will be grateful!) and enjoy a beautiful Saturday in the park. This will be an awesome opportunity to not only consume some delicious food, but also to meet and bond with fellow freshman who are also going through the same academic storm. It's also a chance to meet and talk to some seniors who are more than willing to impart some wisdom that they have accumulated in their day.

We'll be meeting at Anna Head West parking lot @10am for rides up to the park. It will end by early afternoon before the Cal game so you guys can go back and watch the game or study.

Where: Anna Head West Parking Lot (the parking lot across from Crossroads)
When: Saturday, 9/27 @10am
Bring: sunblock, a light jacket, comfortable shoes, clothes you can play sports in
Sign Up Here! (you don't have to sign up if you already signed up for the Angel Island trip)

Koinonia Kims Baptized this Sunday (9/28) @ Gracepoint!

2008-09-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Wanted to let you know that 3 of our juniors in Koinonia will be getting baptized this Sunday, 9/28 during the Sunday Worship Service- Mike Kim (HG1), Albert Kim (HG7), and Kim Do (HG7)!

Several times each year, our church celebrates with those who have decided to commemorate their salvation decisions through baptism. Testimonies and stories stir both memories and joy as each person recounts their spiritual journey, giving us all, as a community, an opportunity to express our gratitude to God.

Find out more about Baptism...

Come hear their stories of how God worked in their lives, and celebrate together this Sunday! And be sure to congratulate them when you see them!

Recap: Homegroup GeToKnoYa

2008-09-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Friday night we went to Alameda to hang out as a homegroup. (What is a homegroup, you ask? Check it out here .) It was the first time Homegroup3 got together, so over some cream of mushroom soup, dinner rolls and watermelon, we learned that there are a lot of things you miss when you skip 7th grade, younger folks were generally less dependent on caffeine than older folks (is it less drive? more capacity?), and that two people can be thinking of the same word but come up with very different descriptions ("sensible..." "unmanly..."). What came of all this ridiculousness? Not a whole lot in terms of the GDP, but the shared memories and laughs were priceless.

Sophomores Stun Juniors, Seniors Grind out Overall Win

2008-09-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

It was a storyline we'd seen before. On a chilly September evening, against the backdrop of a waxing harvest moon, the Senior Class, though oft outnumbered, grind out a victory at the first Koinonia sports night of the semester. What no one was ready for was the utter thrashing the juniors received at the hands of the sophomores. In a game of handball, yellow balls whizzed from hand to hand, but primarily in one direction. Referee Christopher Gilling, who officiated that final round of the night, commented, "Yeah, the juniors got worked." Final Score in that round: Sophs 7, Jrs 2. Furthermore, the Juniors failed to place in the top three, conceding spots two and three to the two halves of the sophomore class. Now what is left to be seen is how this is going to affect future Koinonia sports nights for this Junior class. Will they have the emotional capacity to bounce back from such a loss? Let's hope so. One thing we know, however, is that everyone involved had a really really fun time. Reporting live from Maxwell Field in Berkeley. Back to you in the studio.

The Fellowship of Disgrace(point)

2008-09-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.

The quote above, made by the witty Oscar Wilde, gives me an opening to introduce a favorite site of many of us here at homegroup3. Disgracepoint, a humor blog run by a2f Gold's Daniel Kim, is a long-overdue collection of funny-isms that happened in and around Gracepoint Fellowship Church. It's been around for a few months now, but I wanted to showcase it here, so that if you are new to our group, you can get a flavor of the things that bring us joy. (ok, some of them are not as funny as others. just keep reading.)

Though many of our laughs come at the expense of others, I think there is a certain humble joy that comes in being known (even those ego-busting faux pas you committed) and yet loved. So in a way, perhaps Sister G, Sister J, Sister E, Brother Y, and Daniel Kim do experience a little more joy in their lives than the rest of us who live unexposed by Disgracepoint? :D

Redesign sends Announcements to the Right ---->

2008-09-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

As you probably have noticed by now, I've done a little bit of work redesigning this page. I personally think it's a little better than the standard Google Blogger template, and am currently working to get everything back up. The goal is to make information a little easier to find. So the most current announcements will always be on the right Sidebar, and this main section will mainly be used to tell stories and share, you know, like it was originally meant to be.

If you have any other suggestions for our blog, or have stories to share, I'm all ears. Or eyes. (after all, being color blind doesn't necessarily boost my confidence on things that involve colors--more on that in a soon-to-come-post).

Announcements, annnouncements!

2008-09-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Alright, there's a bunch happening this week, so get ready!

Wednesday, Sept 10.

@ 6:30, Freshmen guys, we're having small group meetings tonight, a time of free food (woohoo!) and meeting new friends. Come join us! Will be located at a house we fondly dubbed "Dana House": 2440 Dana St. Contact: John - johncai86@gmail.

Thursday, Sept 11.

@ 6:30, The women get together for weekly small group, at 2715 Dwight. Contact: Jenny - jyen83@gmail.
@ 6:30, We're having a dinner: juniors guys only! Food will of course be provided, and we'll spend some time just hanging out. It will be at an apartment on Southside: 2519 Parker, #102. RSVP with Ben - parkben@gmail.

Friday, Sept 12.

@ 7:30, we have our weekly Koinonia Bible Study. Our series this semester is entitled "This is Your Life," where we explore various topics that address relevant issues of life. You can join us at 2050 VLSB. Here's a map:

After Bible Study we will have Koinonia Sports/Games Night!! So bring a change of clothes and some shoes you can run in. For those of you who haven't been to one, it's an awesome time of sports and fellowship. (Don't worry...you don't have to be athletic or skilled) It will be at Maxwell Field on campus.

Sunday, Sept 14.

@ 11:30 This Sunday we'll also be starting our (G)racepoint (T)raining (S)chool classes. We're offering "Christian Foundations," "Survival Kit 1," and "Church 101." You'll need to sign up quick! You can get more information on them and sign up here.
@ 1:15 Gracepoint's Sunday Worship Service at Willard Jr High. If you're living in the dorms, you can catch a ride at the pickup locations between 12:45pm and 1pm.

UPCOMING:

On Saturday, 9/27 we'll be having our annual Freshman Angel Island Outing!!! Not only do you get an amazing 360 view of the Bay, but you also get to meet all of your fellow freshman and play sports, bike, and bbq. You definitely don't want to miss this one!! Stay tuned for more info!

Welcome to Koinonia!

2008-09-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, some of you are like, huh? I've been here for 3 years! Well, just wanted to welcome those who are kind of checking out our group for the first time. For those of you who are just getting into Koinonia or want to know what it's about, this blog is kind of a snapshot of who we are. We've tried (somewhat) to keep it updated with some of the stuff we do, so that you can flip through it and see a little of who we are, what we're made of. Of course, the best way to do that would just be to come out and talk, meet, chat, connect, touch base, face off, or whatever it is that humans do. So without further ado, here's some info for our meetings this week:

Tonight @ 630pm, Small Group Kickoff!
- Guys @ Kip's/Sun Hong Kong (on Durant, around Unit 3 & Yogurt Park) - contact parkben@gmail
- Gals @ an apt on Hillegass Ave (southside, near Unit 2) - contact jyen83@gmail
UPDATE: This is for those who are not currently in a small group.

Friday @ 730pm, Koinonia Bible Study!
- 2050 Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB).
- We'll be going out and doing stuff by classes afterwards (Jrs, Sophs, etc)

Sat @ 1030am, Homegroup3 Oakland Chinatown Dim Sum Brunch!
- Meet at Anna Head Parking lot for rides UPDATE: Sorry, have to cancel, but we'll do this at a later date!

Sun @ 115pm, Gracepoint's Sunday Service
- Dorm rides available from 12:45pm. Check here for locations

Small Groups! It's for people...

2008-09-03T15:38:00.001-07:00

This week marks the beginning of small groups for our homegroups. You should have received an email by now if you have expressed interest, but if you haven't feel free to contact Ben (parkben@gmail) or Jenny (jyen83@gmail) and show up at the small group kickoff!

Guys: Thursday 9/4, 6:30pm @ Sun Hong Kong (Kip's) Restaurant on Durant.
Gals: Thursday 9/4, 6:30pm @ an apt on Hillegass Ave. Contact Jenny for directions

Still on the fence? See if our small group video will give you a little bit of insight into it... (we're really proud of it. :) )

A Quickie: NSWN1, Smoothies, NSWN2

2008-08-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

NSWN1 was a smashing success. I wouldn't be able to tell you about whether the skit, video, praise, message, was any good (although that's definitely what was reported back to me) since I was among hundreds of people milling around outside because there wasn't enough space. I heard over a 1000 newcomers came. If you were one of them, I hope you enjoyed your time! I want to extend a heeeyuuge THANK YOU to all those who helped out, from Registration to Setup to Food Services to Trash. It was not possible without you!

If you didn't get to come, please be sure to come to NSWN2 (different program, similar format- praise, skit, video, message), which will be Friday at 7pm, again at Pauley Ballroom. A note for those who plan to come to NSWN2: Come early. Come by 6:30 to get a decent seat. Or a seat at all.

If you're still feeling like you have some gas in the tank for a little more fun before schoolwork hits harder, join our homegroup for smoothies and some hanging out tonight (Thurs), at 8pm @ "Dana House," a house on--you guessed it--Dana street (2440 Dana: near Dana & Dwight). We'll be there till about 9:30/10pm, so swing by. Shoot me (parkben@gmail) or Jenny (jyen83@gmail) an email.

Come one, Come all! NSWN1 is Tonight!

2008-08-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of school everyone,

Just a reminder that we have our New Student Welcome Night I (NSWN1) TONIGHT, at Pauley Ballroom at 6pm. BBQ dinner will be provided after the program. Last year we ran out of space in the auditorium (Wheeler), so come early (5:30) to grab yourself a seat! See the trailer for the event at newstudentwelcomenight.com!

In the run up to the NSWN, we've been busy having a lot of fun! On Monday a bunch of us went to the YWCA where the future-oriented, kind of anxious-types went upstairs for an "Inside Scoop to Cal," talking with upperclassmen and alums about their majors and wondering if double-majoring in MCB and BioChemistry would really be a good idea. The not-so-anxious types went downstairs and ate Kakigori (yes, it's Japanese for "Shaved Ice", aka "Sno-Cones with oomph") and played games like Group Charades (if you've never done this, you've gotta play. it's awesome). To top it all off in college-student style, about 150+ people descended on Memorial Glade to play Ultimate Frisbee in the dark. Why, you ask? Because we can.

Tuesday some people went to play more Ultimate, and then a whole 'nother group of folks piled into cars and drove into SF to get their In-n-Out fix (it's only been 2 days, people! :D ), followed by some Ghirardelli's ice cream. I figure some people will be buying warmer clothes after that experience. Then there was more Frisbee in the dark.

All in all, it's been an incredibly fun two days for us, and I hope it's been the same for you. Now that classes have started, I guess it's time to turn on our brains again--come to New Student Welcome Night, a program which will have a live (pretty awesome if I say so myself) band, pretty-dang-funny skit, homemade video, an inspring, relevant talk given by our pastor, a lot of people to meet and chat with and get to know, and undoubtedly the biggest free Korean BBQ on campus this week*!

Alright, that's it for now. Hope to see you all tonight!

(* granted, that's an unsubstantiated claim, but if it's not, it's pretty close!)

Tearful farewells, Hopeful beginnings

2008-08-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we said goodbye to David, Joyce, and Maurice who are off to be a part of our Austin Church. During the farewell, the moving sharing, videos, and performances by their leaders, peers, and those whose lives they have impacted vividly reflected the rich community that God has blessed us with.

Though we're sad to see them go and we'll miss them dearly we know that they're going for the sake of the Gospel, the only thing worthy of such a painful parting. As they depart, let's commit to praying for them as they work to recreate the community that they knew here in order to draw those who are lost to the love of God.

As we say goodbye to our friends, we find ourselves saying hello to a brand new freshman class! Yes folks, it has begun. Welcome week is here and the freshies have arrived! Excited and anxious about their new beginning, many of these new freshman are open and look forward to meeting people and building relationships. Take advantage of this week and get to know them! As ones who have a few years of wisdom and experience in this sometimes intimidating place called college, you have an amazing opportunity to be a blessing in their lives.

Invite your friends to our Koinonia events happening all this week! And especially the two New Student Welcome Nights. They're two completely different programs, so encourage them to go to both. You can pick up flyers for NSWN and Koinonia Welcome Week events(above) at the Y.

This Saturday, 8/30, from 9am-6pm at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary: Gracepoint Monthly Extended for those who are planning on attending. If you haven't signed up yet, here's the link to do so

The End has Come!

2008-08-20T12:51:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Welcome to the end of summer! This weekend Berkeley gears up all over again for a new batch of freshmen, and we're excited to see the new friends we will meet and get to know over the next year. Here's information for the last week of summer:

Friday, 8/21. Koinonia in Alameda. Starts with BBQ and sports @ Leydecker Park @ 5pm, then we'll join together with homegroup4 to do some bonding and Dt sharing. Let's meet at Anna Head West at 4:45 for rides to Alameda.

Afterwards the guys are invited to attend the farewell for Maurice, who's headed to Austin on Saturday morning. The sisters will go out and do something fun, like signspotting or turkey hunting. :)

Next Week:
We have a full schedule planned for welcome week! See the full schedule w/ more info on the Koinonia homepage.

Of greatest import, of course, is the New Student Welcome Nights I & II. That's on Wednesday and Friday. Which means we have Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to participate in: Koinonia Kakigori, Inside Scoop, Ultimate Pizza, Tour de Berkeley, various games of Ultimate Frisbee, even a trip to SF to grab In-N-Out and Ghiradelli's ice cream. It's all packed in, so pay attention and join us for as many as you can!!

Finally, for those of you who attend Gracepoint Fellowship Church, we will be having an extended "Gracepoint Monthly" on Saturday at GGBTS. Sign up if you plan to come!

Peace,
Ben

Ryan Pics

2008-08-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hi, just a quick note to let you know that I finally resurrected my Flickr account, and hope to be using it for posting our homegroup pictures soon, (incorporated into this blog better too)! In the meanwhile I started with my most recent album, which is Ryan's first week. If you care not for baby pics, don't worry about it. But if you're interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/parkben/ More Homegroup photos to come!

Week of Aug. 13 announcements

2008-08-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

A lot of things coming our way:

Dinner, Bible Study, and Fun! Hopefully, this will be a good chance to unwind after finals this Friday (8/15). Let's meet at Anna Head West at 5:30pm. We'll head over to North Loop in Alameda and start with dinner there. Later we'll be watching the Olympics, possibly seeing Michael Phelps win his 7th gold!
Sunday Service time and location change: As we announced, there is a permanent starting time change to 1:15pm and a temporary change of location for these next two Sundays (8/17 and 8/24). Gracepoint Fellowship Church will be at Pauley Ballroom on the UC Berkeley campus for these two weeks.

UCB Campus Prayer Walks will be on Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 20-22 from 7-8am. Also, there will be a church-wide prayer walk on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 8:30am. Please meet at the Doe Library steps.

NSWN 1 and 2! If you haven't noticed the excitement in the air, thousands of new students will be descending upon Berkeley in just a few weeks. Check out the NSWN trailer here. What are you looking forward to most about this year's NSWN? Leave a comment below.
Also, if you would like to help out by acting in the skits, check out Jenny's email for how you can volunteer.

Gracepoint Monthly - Extended: Saturday, August 30 starting at 9am at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. We'll have a time for us to recount and share all that's happened this summer. Please sign up here. By the way, there is a $10 cost for food/facility rental.

Ryan's here!

2008-08-11T17:29:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Ben and Helen!

Thank you for praying for a safe delivery; both mother and baby are doing well. Please continue to pray that Helen would recover quickly and that Ryan can grow to be a faithful man of God!

Week of Aug. 6 announcements

2008-08-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Wow, I can't believe it's August already. It's been (and will be) pretty busy at Gracepoint Berkeley: discipleship retreats are over, Element had an awesome outreach event called Centrifuge, our last mission trip is going on (Taiwan English camp), Welcome Week is just around the corner, and New Student Welcome Night preparations are happening in full force!

Here's a recap of what went on this past week:

BBQ @ Willard on Saturday. We invited some friends we've met to have a great time of playing Ultimate Frisbee, eating delicious shish-kabobs, and playing basketball at Willard Junior High.

Steve Suh ran the marathon! Check out this, news from other groups, sharing from DT, insights on the Christian faith, ideas for food, and more on the blogroll on the right ("our blog list").

Upcoming news:

Summer IM's, dinner, and DT will be at the usual times and places. Let's meet at 5:45pm at Anna Head West for a ride.

What should we do for our post-Bible study activity? Our options are: go to Ghirardelli square for ice cream, or watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. Vote in the poll on the right and leave a comment!
UPDATE 8/7: Instead of at Ben/Helen's house, all Koinonia sisters will be going to Steve/Suzanne's house, and all Koinonia brothers will meet together at North Loop. Which also renders the poll on the right moot... Well, it was a nice exercise anyway! :)

Bible Teacher's Training @ Gracepoint Fellowship Church

2008-08-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is about my experience at the Bible Teacher's Training that the college staff interns went to a couple weeks ago. Check it out also at our Life at Gracepoint section on the Gracepoint website.
--
The tension in the room was palpable, filled with the sound of erratic tapping as fingers hammered furiously across the keyboards. Some were thoughtfully perusing their Bibles. Some were intently gazing at their screen. A few were lost deep in thought. Others were…well, just lost. This was the one of the scenes of BTT – Bible Teacher Training, an opportunity for various staff and staff interns at Gracepoint to get trained up in teaching the Bible, as well as to enjoy some down time with Pastor Ed, Kelly and their family. I was a part of BTT 3 – 27 staff interns gathered together in our very own Sierra Lodge. Our 2-day stay was marked by periods of intense, often nerve-racking moments as we prepared and gave messages based on passages in the Bible; by Pastor Ed's invaluable lessons and tips on message-giving strategy; by good hard work as we helped put in the finishing touches on the house (like the lovely spiral staircase leading up to the loft); hearty meals and late-night snacks; a refreshing time of DT sharing; vigorous kayaking/boating on a glassy lake; and finally, we ended with an all-out raucous game of sisters-versus-brothers King Kong Shower.

Not only was it a memorable getaway full of good food, outdoor fun, and views of the breathtaking beauty of the Sierras, but through BTT I was able to glimpse just even a little sliver of Pastor Ed and Kelly's heart for us, and how seriously the leaders at our church take our spiritual training and growth. During our time there, I kept thinking, "they don't have to spend their summers like this, they could just get away by themselves, and take a nice family vacation." Yet they opened up their lives to welcome us, poured out their energy and time just so they could hear bad Bible studies (ahem, I mean so they could train us up in Bible teaching), and spend time with us. Even as we were leaving, they were preparing for yet another BTT group, and the sophomore discipleship retreat—it just seemed non-stop! (and I still haven't mentioned BTT 5 and 6, as well as the junior and senior discipleship retreats). I'm just really thankful to have leaders who truly give it their all, who have such zeal to see us be stretched and trained up so that we can make greater impact in doing God's work.

Announcements for today

2008-08-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Time's a little tight today so I'll keep it short...

- Today, Friday, we will continue IM's/Dinner/DT. Starts at 6:30pm. Meet at Anna Head West at 5:45pm for rides.
- Tomorrow, the guys will be getting together to play sports @ 5pm, followed by a BBQ. If you want to join us, please email Ben: parkben@gmail.

Please pray for...
... the Sr. Discipleship retreat. Last week I was with the Juniors up at Sierra Lodge and it was an awesome time. More to come on that in another post.
... Element's Centrifuge, happening tomorrow (Sat) night! It's a cross between NSWN and GLive, check it out on the Element blog...

On Things Above

2008-07-29T11:45:00.001-07:00

Hi, Ben here.. I got back this morning from sending my friend Isaac off to Austin on Southwest Airlines flight 632, departing Oakland at 630AM. (which explains why some of us look pretty dingy in the picture..) Though thankfully less tearful than the initial team's departure a few weeks ago, the reality that we will be spending the foreseeable future 1500 miles apart is something that weighs on me a lot. As I was reading through Colossians 3 yesterday, I thought of what it meant to set my mind and my heart "on things above, not on earthly things." In this case, the earthly thing might be, let's not separate, let's not deal with the pain of farewells. Yet to set my heart on things above is to recognize that the importance of the gospel demands that we as a church continue to set out and bring it to people who haven't had a chance to hear it yet, despite the pain of separation. So to Isaac and Henry and the rest of our Austin team (and even the people yet to go), I will pray for you!
(Pastor Ed also recently posted on the topic of of tearful farewells..)

Beautiful Tuolumne

2008-07-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we joined up w/ Homegroup3 (Joe & Annie) for a 2-night, 3-day trip to Yosemite. We climbed Lembert Dome for the view of the meadows and hung out by the Lyle Fork of the Tuolumne River. Well, half just hung out nice and dry and the other half found themselves soaked from head to toe... At night we played hilarious games, full of knee-slapping (literally), tai-chi mimicking, lung-cavity-collapsing fun. 6 eggs bought from a man with a double-pointed goatee, resulting in some delicious brownie biscotti. Yes, on top of all this, we reflected on Isaiah 40: the majesty of God seen through his creation, and the wonder of his humility, being a personal shepherd to those who will follow him. Wow, all that in 3 days. Awesomeness... (remember, there is no charge for it) What was your favorite moment? Share it via comments below!

Announcements for today (July 25)!

2008-07-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the late post, but here's a heads up on what's going on today:

1. Junior Discipleship Retreat (Fri - Sun). If you're signed up to go and don't know where to meet, let Ben (parkben@gmail.com) know.
2. Gracepoint Fellowship Church Intramurals: 6:30pm, Wood Middle School in Alameda. For those not going on the retreat, let's meet at Anna Head West again at 5:40pm to .
3. After Summer IMs, the sisters will be heading to Ben/Helen's place for dinner, DT sharing, and hanging out (contact Jenny, jyen3@gmail.com, for more details). Brothers will be joining with Homegroup 2 (let Allen, allwchen@gmail.com, know) for physical and scriptural food, fellowship, and fun.

Go Longhorns! The Beginning of Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Austin...

2008-07-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

January, 2005: University of Texas' trip to, no, their win-by-a-sliver in the Rose Bowl to end the 2004 season was the final blow to a general apathy I'd had towards that 50,000-person campus, the first punch being Cal's painful loss to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl days before. I must say, I thought it would be a long while before I felt reconciled with UT Austin... ;)

July, 2008: Fast forward 2.5 years, and now the term "UT" brings about a feeling that seems to say something like, "That's a familiar place. Haven't been there yet but know a lot of people there. A lot of good people." This because, of course, we sent off the first wave of our Austin Team this past week. We gathered at First Pres to watch a variation on a theme, the theme being, "We'll miss you!", set to the tunes of "Achy Breaky Heart" and "The Great Adventure." Then there was sharing, people in digitized format and live, saying their goodbyes, their farewells, their I'm-so-inspired-bys and Thank-you-fors. What else could we do? We'll miss them. We'll miss them for more than just the person that they are, we'll miss them for the inspiration and hardworking attitudes they brought into our midst. We'll miss them for what they mean to our group, for the memories and time together learning the Word of God, trying to do God's will in our community.

Well, they're in Austin now, fully unpacked and, since it's Tuesday night, getting ready for SET and prayer meeting, I suppose. Here's a picture they sent back to us from the Austin airport (along w/ the helpers that went to help them move in). Let's keep praying for them!

Gracepoint Summer IM's Have Started!

2008-07-15T17:14:00.001-07:00

Get announcements and keep a tally of how your team is doing by visiting Jammy's Gracepoint Intramurals blog. All I know is, our soccer team is going all the way! (just exactly where it's going, I'm not sure, but we're going all the way...)

Our Contribution to the 30-hr Famine

2008-07-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 28th, we showed up at the gates of St. Vincent de Paul to help serve that day's lunch to the crowd that would come to the free dining hall. We served baked salmon w/ a slice of bread, salad, and dessert to (by our estimate) about 500 men, women, and children who came through those doors. (You won't see any of them in the pictures because we weren't allowed to take pictures of them). It was a small act, a small gesture, but nonetheless gave us insight into the neediness in the local community around us. We'll see what we can do to go back there soon enough.

After the meal time was over, we went down to the World Vision "Step into Africa" exhibit. It was an awesome experience--to be led (via iPod Shuffle) through the steps of a child living in the poorest parts of Africa, many having to survive without their parents, many contracting diseases like AIDS... I only followed 1 of the 4 "experiences" but that was enough to have my heart broken... We found ourselves outside the doors of the exhibit, praying for Africa and its children... Some of us even picked up packets to become monthly sponsors.

Further, we did some solicitation on behalf of World Vision at Berkeley Bowl, and we made over $200 dollars there within an hour and a half! A couple of our sisters made little hand-made bead keychains and baked goods as thank you gifts for those who donated, and we all had a rewarding (though tiring) time!

Finally, it had come time to break our 30-hr fast. Some guys woke to the smell of eggs and sausages coming from their kitchen, only to find out that it wasn't for them, but rather a different homegroup... They resisted the temptation to eat just one bite--just one bite--and joined homegroup3 and A2F2 at Dana House to feast on Unimix (a cornmeal porrige) and breakfast burritos.

All in all, as a homegroup, we raised over $2000, and as a church, we raised almost $108,000 to support World Vision! You can see church-wide results and stories at the Gracepoint 30HourFamine site.
Good job everyone!!

Hiatus Over!! (as they say, never a dull moment at Gracepoint Fellowship Church)

2008-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Not that it was an intentional hiatus, mind you. But after my last posting on June 25th, there've been so many things going on that I've not even had the time to update ya'll on it... Here are some of the things that have happened since:

30-hour famine, SVdP volunteering, WV's Step into Africa, Berkeley Bowl, and UniMix
Summer IMs
Allen's return from Hsinchu
Austin Team farewell

Not to mention the wedding of my friend Jin (of homegroup8)... which I guess you weren't stressed out for. :) We'll have some updates on how all these things went and more, so stay tuned..

Week of June 23rd Announcements

2008-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Apparently today is the first day of summer, the summer solstice. On Mars, that is... Thought I'd share. :) Well, anyway, here are the announcements for this weekend.

Signups (I'll try to make this as painless as possible. :) But you'll never know when something will pique your interest, so read carefully!)

30-hr Famine Saturday Activity. See below post for more info. Sign me up!
Tech & Arts - (Starts in July). Photoshop. Sound. Stage & Lighting. Filming. and more. Wanna learn the skills? Sign me up!
College Operations- (Starts in July). Be a part of the team that makes sound, video, publications happen for our college groups. Training will be provided. Sign me up!

Upcoming Schedule

Friday (6/27) @ 6:30pm: Summer IMs @ Wood Middle School, in Alameda, followed by dinner/DT sharing/hangout at Shaner (Ben/Helen's house). Contact your small group leader if you can't find a ride. By the way, check out the Summer IM blog!
Saturday (6/28) @ 9am: 30-hour Famine Activity, see previous post for details.
Sunday (6/29) @ 9:30am: 30-hour Famine breakfast @ Dana House.
Tuesday, (7/1) @ 6:30pm: SET/PM @ 1st Presbyterian Church.

30-Hour Famine!

2008-06-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

(If you're here just because you want to go to the Saturday activity, sign up here.)

Some background: If you've been following the news at all, you know that there's a food shortage in the world right now. Just google "food crisis" for more info. According to some reports, the cost of wheat has doubled in the past year, the cost of rice tripled in a shorter span of time than that. So as a response not just to this year's problems in particular, but to the ongoing global world hunger issue, or church will be participating in World Vision's 30-hour Famine. Many of us have already signed up, I know, but if you still want to join us in any of the below activities, please feel free to email me. Here's what we as a homegroup are doing:

1. Fundraising efforts: ongoing...

Soliciting donations from your friends, family, classmates, barber, owner of your favorite restaurant at asian ghetto.
Think about other ways to earn some money: Pair up with a friend or go it alone! Bake and sell brownies to classmates/coworkers/neighbors, sell old clothes/CDs/textbooks...
Don't forget to donate yourself!

2. The Famine: Sat 12AM - Sun 6AM. Breakfast celebration @ Dana House, Sun 9:30AM.

They don't call it the 30-hour Famine for nothing. We'll go without food for 30 hours, and then break our fast together (did you know that's why it's called "breakfast"?) on Sunday morning at Dana House (2440 Dana).

3. Saturday Activity: Sat 9AM - 3PM. Please sign up so we can arrange rides.

First, we will go to the local St. Vincent de Paul to help serve lunch for the needy. This location serves 1000 meals a day, and offers a number of other services to the community. You can see the list of things they do on the bottom right of their website.
Afterwards, we'll go to see the World Vision Experience, which is a 30-minute exhibit that highlights the difficulty of living the life of a child in AIDS-stricken Africa.

If you've got any good ideas for fundraising and such, please comment below! We want to know what worked, maybe what didn't work, or what was just fun doing!

Shaner BBQ!

2008-06-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us kicked off the summer season with a homegroup dinner at my place... It featured gourmet hamburgers, complete with real cheddar cheese, guacamole, bacon, mushrooms, grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles... It featured a smoke-filled dining room because of the orientation of the grill and the wind blowing in from the bay... It also featured a game of Guesstures where words like Tambourine, Sleeping Pill and Blister came alive as never before. Here's a game: Guess which word Kevin is trying to act out here? A high-five for the first caller with the correct answer!

Summer IMs @ Gracepoint: Now Introducing Volleyball!

2008-06-20T16:28:00.001-07:00

Hi,
received this email from Jammy Yang, our Summer IMs coordinator:
----
We are excited to announce that we will be offering Volleyball. It will be 6 on 6 and we have 3 courts available. This means we have about 45 spots open for volleyball. If you would like to change your preference to volleyball, please sign up. More announcements about IM's will be coming your way this weekend.
---

Now if you still want to play the other sports, we've got basketball, ultimate frisbee, and soccer. More information here. For more information on how good some guys were at soccer this past week, see below post.

How Not to Play Soccer

2008-06-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

It was perfect. The stage was set.

The new, state-of-the-art astroturf field at Underhill. The red, over-inflated, "Euro 2008" replica soccer ball emblazoned with "ENGLAND" (even though England didn't make the cut into the Euro 2008 competition... must be a consolation design). Two eight-packs of Gatorade G2, a low-calorie thirst-quencher. The pristine grey Rubbermaid trashcans positioned as goals (although one was one of those brown cardboard "For Outdoor Use Only" trash boxes).

Like I said, it was perfect (except for the fact that there were 5 of us...how can you get a game going with 5 people? It's not even divisible by 2). What else do you need, we thought, to enjoy a nice afternoon of summer soccer?

Just one thing: Skills. From soccer balls that flew everywhere to soccer balls that flew nowhere, our five H1/H3 guys soon found out that a perfect stage does not the perfect actor make. Even cleats, which usually give you traction to run faster, didn't seem to help since once they quickly ran "there", the "there" seemed to pose more problems than they'd originally anticipated, and so then they questioned why it had been so imperative to get "there" so quickly in the first place.

Laugh if you will. But our 5 friends had fun, nonetheless. We might even get together to do that again. So if you happen to be walking by the underhill field and see some guys playing a version of soccer where the goal seems to be how *not* to get the ball to the intended receiver, just smile, call out to them, and throw them a Gatorade G2. William C, Justin T, Dennis P, David H, and me--we'll appreciate it.

Week of June 16th Announcements

2008-06-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of folks are gone to the Worldview camp, which started today, and the session C ppl are coming back soon! I'm so excited for all that's going on. Here's the 411 for this weekend:

Bible Study: Friday (6/20), 6:30pm @ North Loop. Starts with dinner. Please arrange your own rides; if you can't find one, let helen or jenny know!
Homegroup BBQ: Saturday (6/21), 6pm @ Ben & Helen's house. Our first homegroup activity! Come for food and fun. Rides will be provided at around 5. Please email me at if you can come.
Serving the Homeless: Next Sat (6/28). This will be our hg's activity for the 30-hour famine. You're welcome to join us even if you're not participating in the Famine. We will be serving food at the St Vincent de Paul, Alameda Chapter. This is our small way of showing love to those who are much more needy than us. More info to come. We need to know the total count of volunteers, so please email jenny if you wish to participate: .

REMINDER: SET- Read Ch. 2 for tomorrow

2008-06-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hello! For those of you taking SET (Summer Evangelism Training), please be sure to read and prepare Chapter 2 of "The Reason For God" for tomorrow's session. It will be held at First Pres. starting at 7pm, but if you want to come earlier for some snacks, you can come by 6:30pm.

See you tomorrow!

Father's Day is this Sunday, 6/15/08!

2008-06-12T11:00:00.001-07:00

Please remember to say "Happy Father's Day & Thank you!!" to your dads this Sunday. If you are away from home, give him a call! I'm sure he will appreciate you remembering Father's Day... :) Can't do it in time? Take a couple extra days and say you're celebrating Guatemala's Father's Day...

Week of June 9th Announcements

2008-06-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hello folks, Welcome back to those who've been gone to Taiwan! (And hello to those still out there..) There've been a lot of announcements and it could be very confusing. So here is one place that (hopefully) will have everything:

Upcoming Schedule:

Friday (6/13): All-Koinonia Pizza n' Sports (6:30pm @ Tillman Park in Alameda) followed by College Bible Study (8:30pm @ North Loop). If you can find your own ride, great! Otherwise email Jenny at for rides.
Sunday (6/15): Sunday Service time change reminder (1pm @ Willard).
Tuesday (6/17): Snacks (6:30pm @ 1st Pres) precede SET (7pm), followed by College Prayer Meeting (8:40ish)

Signups:

Gracepoint Training School will be on Sundays @ 10:30am @ Willard starting June 22nd. Offering C101, C101x, SK1, Church 101.
Summer Intramurals will be on Fridays @ 6:30pm starting June 27th. Come join the entire church for some fun, organized sports!
30-hour Famine: (6/28) Raising funds for world hunger awareness. This is a particularly keen issue for our world this year, so sign up! We'll most likely do something together that day for community outreach as well.
Worldview Camp (6/18-6/21) still has a couple of open spots if anyone's interested. Email me at .
NSWN video help: If you would like to help brainstorm ideas for the fall Welcome Nights, please email me at .

Whew! That's a lot. Any questions, of course you can email me or Helen or President Bush. I'll bet not all of us will have the correct answers, though. Fyi, Helen and I will be out of town from Thurs night to Sun night, so we might not see you this weekend. But we'll see you soon!

Welcome to the new homegroup3 blog!

2008-06-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Hear ye, Hear ye! This will be the inaugural post of our homegroup3 blog. Let's use it as a place to go to for the latest pertinent news to us, regarding our homegroup, or Koinonia, or Gracepoint Fellowship Church. I look forward to a fun-(and food!)-filled, exciting, challenging, spiritually-maturing year with all of you! As for this week, we.. hm, I suppose I shouldn't clutter this inaugural post with specifics. Well, that's it then, till next time!