Connections Partnering To Build God’s Reign by J. Manny Santiago, Executive Director

Serving the student community at The Crossing is a blessing and a wonderfully

rewarding experience. This past year we welcomed students not only from all over

Wisconsin and other US states, but also from around the world. The Crossing has

come to be one of the most – if not the most – diverse student ministries on campus.

There is a wealth of life experiences, theological understandings, passions and gifts that

make this a wonderful place for students from many backgrounds. Each time, when I approach students

to ask what they like the most about this ministry their answer is unequivocally the same: The Crossing provides them a safe space to explore their faith.

Faith exploration should be the cornerstone of every campus ministry. The Crossing provides for

that spiritual exploration in a way that is seldom found in other contexts. At this place, students are

not only welcomed with their questions and concerns; they are also encouraged to ask the hard

question. The staff and student leaders understand that we do not have the final answers. The most we

can do is to search together for the best possible answer to those questions. Together we build a

community of inquiry in which, through communal exploration of faith and life, we grow on our

understanding of God, the world, each other and ourselves.

Our partnership with local congregations as well as with other community groups is an integral part

of this. Without your support through prayers, volunteer time and financial contributions, we would

not be able to provide a safe space for students to explore their faith and to share their life

experiences. These partnerships are not unidirectional. On the contrary,

we treasure your support because that shows us that there are other safe

spaces outside of The Crossing where we can direct our students once

they graduate and are looking for faith communities to welcome them or

for community groups with which they can partner.

You will read more about the great things that our student community

has done in the past semester as well as new programs and opportunities

for the upcoming academic year. On this issue of CONNECTIONS, you

will read about what our students are doing, the dreams they have for the

future of our ministry and get to have a snapshot of our life as a

community. I invite you to continue partnering with us as and invite others

to join you as we, together, build the Reign of God through action.

Together in faith,

A PUBLICATION OF THE CROSSING Summer—Fall 2016

Students’ reflections

2

From the Campus Minister

3

Spring Gala 4

Graduates 5

Quest Nicaragua 6

Quest Badlands 7

Our Life in Pictures 8

Guests, Lecturers and Visitors

9

From the Board 10

Slow Food-UW 11

INSIDE

Meeting our students’ parents is always a blessing!

Left: Mrs. Bhatia; right, Mr. & Mrs. Wang

After thirteen years of Catholic school, I have

attended my fair share of religious observances. At a

young age I was accustomed with going through the

motions of mass, conscious only of the need to stand,

the times to speak, and when to kneel. Afterwards, I

would shuffle down the stairs into the parking lot with

no recollection of the readings and continue on with

my day. My first semester in Madison continued in a

similar fashion. I attended mass most weeks, but had

little connection to the community at the church that

I found.

Following winter break, I needed to find a new

church due to ongoing construction work. At the

time, I did not know anyone at The Crossing, so I was

pleasantly surprised at my first Vespers to be so

warmly welcomed into the group. The members were

A Freshman’s Reflections on Finding The Crossing By Collin McFadden, freshman

Page 2 Connections

comfortable with talking about their

pasts, their future aspirations, and

went out of their way to make me

feel at home. The discussions continued during the

meal, and we shared many laughs together as the night

went on. The service was engaging and distant from

the rigid, solemn structure which I associated with

religion. It was much more human, striving less for

perfection and more towards connection, because

these bonds that are shared through life and in faith

give meaning to all that we do on Earth.

As I made my way down the stairs that night into

the icy winter air, I realized this place was different. It

made me feel happy and I am extremely grateful for

that.

Earlier this spring, Karla came to me with the idea of running

an interfaith discussion course. She told me about a theologian

named Eboo Patel, an Indian Muslim based out of Chicago, and

his interfaith work. We thought his DVD lectures would be great

for The Crossing community and indeed they were!

For five weeks our diverse group converged to discuss topics on what inter-

faith cooperation truly meant. We shared our favorite aspects of other religions,

where we were similar, and where we differed. We were able to learn a lot

from each other and I know I wasn't the only one to leave feeling inspired.

With all the turmoil going on in the world right now and the rise of hate

crimes seen on campus, some of us felt encouraged to continue promoting inter-

faith cooperation. Jasmine, Karla, and I explored the idea of having a yearlong

interfaith program at The Crossing. I found it very suiting as the Lubar Institute

for Abrahamic Faiths (a program of the Humanities Department at the UW-Madison) that currently runs interfaith

programs on campus, is on a hiatus.

We are looking for our program to include an interfaith dinner and discussion to kick things off in the fall,

followed by visits to houses of worship, discussions, joint service projects, and our biggest goal, a spring service

learning retreat. We brought our ideas to the Muslim Student Association and Hillel and several of their members

have signed on to help us plan. In fact, we have two students from each faith going to Eboo Patel's Interfaith Youth

Core conference in Chicago this August to help train our interfaith team on how to promote cooperation on our

campus. We are so excited to get things rolling and use our knowledge from the conference to promote a more

accepting campus environment.

Interfaith Coalition of Students Forms At The Crossing By Valeria Martínez, sophomore

YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS STUDENT INITIATIVE! The students from the Interfaith Group need about $1,000 to accomplish their goals for the year. Would you consider

donating for this project? Send your contributions to

The Crossing—1127 University Avenue, Madison WI 53715

Write “Interfaith Project” on the memo line.

Interfaith Group leadership (from

left to right): Valeria Martínez,

Jasmine Bhatia and Najeeha Khan.

Racial Justice and Interfaith Cooperation was the topic of the inspiring and challenging talk

given by Activist Linda Sarsour at The Crossing in April. This was also the theme of much of

Spring Semester 2016 at The Crossing. It was a semester of collaboration across boundaries

and it is a joy to see students’ individual passions come alive as they enthusiastically build

bridges of deeper understanding with other student organizations, even as they live in a divisive world.

Several opportunities were offered around racial justice and/or interfaith literacy themes. With other

campus ministries we sponsored a Race and Faith Panel as well as a Conversation on Religious Pluralism with

Harvard Scholar Diana Eck (through First UMC). Additionally, Valeria Martinez worked with Students for

Justice in Palestine to bring Linda Sarsour to The Crossing. It was heartwarming to hear Linda and Muslim

students share how warm and welcoming they experience The Crossing to be. The Muslim Student

Association invited our Leadership Team to contribute a basket to their orphan fundraiser and Jasmine

Bhatia created a beautiful basket with international items (featuring our Quest program). Passionate about

building connections with the Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics, Lianna Schwalenberg co-planned a

Progressive Picnic with them. Finally, we held a Lenten series entitled, Embracing Interfaith Cooperation,

introducing students to the Interfaith Youth Core and its Founding Director, Eboo Patel. This series led to a vision for an interfaith program next year, which students are now planning – so stay tuned!

A bonus opportunity presented itself when we learned that Israeli Anthropologist and Founder of the

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Jeff Halper, was on a book tour for his book, War Against the

People. Valeria Martínez worked with Students for Justice in Palestine, The Distinguished Lecture Committee

and other local groups to bring him to Madison.

In addition to all this, the semester was filled with the joys of community life: Vespers, delicious meals

provided by congregations, social and service activities, Bible Study, Meditation… With 32 students in

Madison this summer, we enjoy meeting weekly for devotions and activities. One week we planted

sunflowers along our western wall in memory of Sam Gilbert. They will be reminders to us of her joyful

heart-full spirit and our call to let our lights shine as well – as we grow in God’s grace and love.

Building Bridges of Understanding by Karla Schmidt, Campus Minister

Page 3 Summer—Fall 2016

Many Thanks To The Churches & Individuals Who Fed Our Students This Past Semester!

Sherman Avenue UMC, Madison

Bashford UMC, Madison

First Baptist Church, Madison

Plymouth UCC, Dodgeville

Congregational UCC, Mineral Point

Plymouth UCC, Madison

First Congregational UCC, Madison

Monona United Methodist Church

Iglesia Metodista Unida El Libertador, Monona

The Crossing Board of Directors

Swiss UCC, New Glarus

Memorial UCC, Fitchburg

First United Methodist Church Tabitha Circle, Madison

Interested in signing up to bring food for Sunday Vespers? Church’s Youth Ministries, Mission Committees, Women’s or Men’s Ministries, Confirmation Class…

ANYONE can sign up! Contact Campus Minister Karla Schmidt at karla@crossingministries.org

Connections Page 4

The Crossing, QUEST and Slow Food Students and alumni with staff at the Gala.

The Crossing presented this year’s

“Cecil Findley Service Award” to

Professor Keith A. Findley for his

community work with the

Innocence Project. It was of much

significance as Prof. Findley is the

son of the late Rev. Cecil Findley for

whom the award is named.

In the photo, from left to right:

The Rev. J. Manny Santiago, Crossing Exec-

utive Director, Ms. Helen Findley, widow of

Rev. Findley, and Professor Keith A. Findley,

honoree.

Summer—Fall 2016

What would they be up to after graduation? Go on and transform the world!

The Crossing Class of 2016!

Page 5

Crossing graduates (from left to right):

Heang Lee Tan, Juliet (Liren) Wang, Bill Mulligan,

Jennifer Brown and Jacob Fischer.

Bill Mulligan

BS Biochemistry

Matriculating to the University

of Oxford to read for a Masters

of Social Science of the

Internet.

Juliet Wang

BS, Psychology, Biology and

LGBT Studies

I am going to attend counseling

psychology graduate program

in Columbia University

Heang Lee Tan

B.Sc. Dietetics and Sociology

I’m now working for Women’s

Aid Organisation, a Malaysian

women’s rights organization.

I'm doing advocacy work

specifically, influencing public

opinion on gender issues

through mainstream and social

media.

Jacob Fischer

B.Sc. Agriculture & Applied

Economics; B.Sc. Statistics

I am currently working at Heart-

land Credit Union in Madison

QUEST NICARAGUA: A STORY OF TRANSFORMATION by Allison Oskin, Quest and Crossing student

Connections Page 6

In May of this year, I had the privilege of accompanying six other people to Tipitapa,

Nicaragua, to work with the community in building an additional classroom at an elementary

school in El Papayal.

After my friend introduced me to The Crossing just one semester earlier, I immediately

fell in love with it and continue to look forward to Vespers each Sunday. Six months ago I would have never

imagined myself reaching out of my comfort zone and embarking on a journey such as Quest. When I heard

about the opportunity, I immediately was set on making it happen. Through the Quest program at The

Crossing, I not only grew as a person, but I grew closer to my fellow Quest members and the families and

community members we met and worked with.

The eye-opening experience gave me a better understanding of education and culture in a country other

than my own. As a student at UW-Madison who is studying towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and

eventually going into Art Therapy, working with others is my passion. Quest helped me connect and interact

with people who I now consider friends.

The first few semesters of my college career, I wasn’t a part of a student ministry, although I knew I

wanted to find a way to bring myself closer to God. The Crossing has given me not only a community I

belong to but is a highlight of my week, and Quest was honestly the most amazing experience of my life. I

very much hope to go on the same Quest Nicaragua trip next year.

Your financial contributions to

the “Pierce QUEST Scholarship

Fund” helps supports students

to participate of national and

international service projects.

Students who qualify are

awarded between $250 to

$1,000 in scholarship to fund

their trips.

Consider donating to this fund

today and support a student’s

journey of transformation!

More information about

Quest at

www.badgerquest.org

Quest Badlands: Knowing Our Place by Drew Lehmann, Crossing graduate

Summer—Fall 2016 Page 7

This summer, I was blessed with

the opportunity to lead 8

students to the North Dakota

Badlands—the North Unit of the Theodore

Roosevelt National Park to be more specific—to

learn, among a diversity of other topics, about

place. When our host, John Heiser, first asked us

whether we knew our place, my mind went to a

generic-sounding movie quote. A person in

power condescends to another and commands:

“know your place!” I don’t know where I first

heard this quote, but for some reason, it stuck

with me. When John used it, however, it meant

something completely different. For one to know

their place, they have to be aware of their

surroundings. They need to pay attention to

small details and think holistically. A person who

knows their place is a historian who knows the

plants and animals that live there and the

weather that shapes the land. John taught us to

know our place, as we discussed interactions

within the food web and how people have

changed the landscape and through that the lives

of the animals living in the Badlands.

As we learned about all these somewhat

abstract concepts, we worked to make the park a

better place for both visitors and wildlife by

repairing fences, fixing trail posts, and otherwise

maintaining the grounds. On the first day, I

worked with three students to dig a hole that was

about 5ft deep, enough that one of our students

could almost fit completely inside! We also had

the opportunity to talk with hikers on the back

country trails as John made sure they were

prepared to have a safe and fun time in the park.

What struck me the most about the trip was that

I was that, despite the hard work in the heat, and

the unpredictable days, I was joyful doing the

work. I am no longer unsure of what my future

holds. I will be a park ranger that makes sure my

place is a beautiful, wild place that people can

enjoy for generations.

Connections Page 8

Summer—Fall 2016 Page 9

With Dr. Diana Eck (far right), Harvard professor,

during a lecture on religious pluralism. With Muslim activist Linda Sarsour,

Crossing, Muslim Students Association and Students for Justice in Palestine

during a lecture on faith and race.

Former Executive

Director Rev. Doug

Pierce visited The

Crossing and caught up

with current Executive

Director, Rev. J. Manny

Santiago

The Rev. Ernesto Bazán (third from

right), host of Quest Cuba, visited The

Crossing and led Summer Vespers and

presented us with a beautiful altar dec-

oration made by the women’s ministry

of his church.

Dr. Emory Morris (right),

who was a member of The

Wesley Foundation (one

of our predecessors) over

50 years ago visited us!

Dr. Morris studied

biochemistry and retired

from teaching a while ago

from SUNY Stony Brook

in New York.

Mark Okello

(center), host of

Quest Kenya,

visited Madison

recently and

talked about the

work of our

partners at the

Jirani Project.

Connections Page 10

FROM STUDENT TO BOARD MEMBER by Kristen Seashore, alumna and Board member

I first heard of The Crossing like most other students - seeing a sign on the sidewalk advertising a free meal after Vespers. What college student can resist the of-offer of free food? Walking into the building, I was first struck by how welcoming the students and staff were to me. The Crossing quickly became a regular part of my life, and allowed me to go on the first Quest Kenya trip in 2010. When I graduated, I knew I wanted to continue my relationship with The Cross-I have been blessed to continue to support The Crossing students and staff as a Board member. As a supporter of The Crossing, you have heard of all the great programs and opportunities for students to explore their faith and ask questions about how it relates to them. We hear from students like me who wandered into the building for a free meal and wound up staying. Or students who were looking for a faith-based organization that promotes social justice. Or students who wanted a place to belong, where they

were treated with respect, and found a home. The Crossing offers all these benefits and more. In today's world, headlines bombard us with messages of fear, despair, and hate. The Crossing of-offers the opposite - understanding, hope, and love. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry and all it does to build the next generation of socially conscious, globally engaged, and radically transforma-tive people. Blessings to you all.

LEVELS OF SUPPORT FOR THE CROSSING

MINISTRY SPONSOR: $60 – 119 Listed on Annual Report

MINISTRY SUPPORTER: $120 – 249 Listed on Annual Report

Acknowledgement card signed by students

5 % discount on 2 tickets to Spring Gala

FRIEND IN MINISTRY: $250 – 499 Listed on Annual Report

Acknowledgement card signed by students

10 % discount on 2 tickets to Spring Gala

PARTNER IN MINISTRY: $500 – 999 Listed on Annual Report

Acknowledgement card signed by students

10 % discount on 4 tickets to Spring Gala

Invitation to Quest Shareholders Dinners

STUDENT MINISTRY VISIONARY: $1,000 + Listed on Annual Report

Acknowledgement card signed by students

2 free tickets to the Spring Gala

Invitation to Quest Shareholders Dinners

Invitation to Lectures

Ayoti Simms (pictured here with Karla Schmidt and J. Manny Santiago), Fulbright

Scholar from Kenya, who shared with us this past year, offered the

following benediction at the Spring Gala

"I pray that God continues to fill your hearts with kindness to give and that his

grace gives you the courage to dare do even greater things.

For you may not see the results of what your giving as it is not tangible; but

because of your generosity someone here or out there feels safe, accepted,

appreciated at home and with God"

Snapshots of the staff retreat

earlier this year.

With more than 600 copies printed every winter and summer, CONNECTIONS, The Crossing’s

newsletter, can have a huge impact in both our finances and the environment. We would like to

continue caring for our resources—both our world and your donations—and thus, The Crossing offers

the option of receiving CONNECTIONS electronically. We understand that not everyone has access

to the internet.; but, if you prefer to receive CONNECTIONS electronically, please fill out the form

below, cut it and mail it back to us.

You can also send your request to staff@crossingministries.org

If you do not send us this form back, we will continue mailing you every issue of CONNECTIONS as

we have done to date.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Summer—Fall 2016

WANT TO RECEIVE CONNECTIONS ELECTRONICALLY?

Nikki Zhu Rasmussen, a Nutritional Science major

and an active Crossing student was recently named

Co-Director of Slow Food-UW. Nikki has been volun-

teering with Slow Food for a year. After becoming

friends with another very active Crossing student, Lianna Schwalenberg, Nikki

started attending The Crossing after her volunteer work with Slow Food ends on

Sunday nights.

Originally from Greek Lake, WI, Nikki has been very active in the Madison

sustainable farming movement. She is passionate about food access in low-income

communities and has diligently worked to raise awareness of food justice among

her student peers. The Crossing is proud of the work of our students, and we look forward to sharing

Nikki’s leadership skills with our partners at Slow Food-UW.

The Crossing Student Named Slow Food—UW Co-Director!

YES, I want to receive CONNECTIONS electronically!

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Name: _____________________________________________________________________

E-mail: _____________________________________________________________________

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Would you like to be including in our Weekly Message? YES NO

(The Weekly Message goes out on Fridays during the school year, containing a reflection by one of our

staff and events for the students and the community.)

Page 11

ABOUT THE CROSSING

The Crossing seeks to provide a Christian community

for the University of Wisconsin–Madison where individ-

uals can explore, understand, and affirm their relation-

ship with God, each other, and the world. Our commu-

nity is grounded in worship, fed by the study of the

scriptures, informed by the disciplines of the university

and Christian traditions, maintained by fellowship, and

seriously engaged with the problems and possibilities of

the world. Rev. J. Manny Santiago, Executive Director Rev. Karla Schmidt, Campus Minister

Jessie Steinhauer, Crossing Administrator

Sam Moritz, Quest Coordinator Cody Goetz, Program & Ministry Intern

The Crossing Inc, is grateful to and proud of our American Baptist

(Wayland Foundation), United Methodist (Wesley Foundation),

and United Church of Christ heritage. We are equally proud to

reach out and welcome any student regardless of religious affilia-

tions (or lack thereof).

Where Faith Meets Life

The Crossing

1127 University Ave.

Madison, WI 53715

Phone: 608-257-1039

Fax: 608-257-1134

www.crossingministries.org

The Crossing relies on YOUR individual

support to provide services to the stu-

dents. We invite you to become a partner

with The Crossing this coming semester,

and to pledge to this ministry for your con-

tinued support.

The students are grateful for your prayers,

your volunteer time and your financial sup-

port! Without these, we would not be able

to continue fostering personal and spiritual

growth among our students.