The Vision for the Future…

An address on April 30th, 2005 by Erica Liu, Co-Pastor

Good afternoon! My name is Erica Liu and I am the Program Director here at Pres House. Currently I am also in the ordination process to become a minister in the PCUSA, and hopefully you’ll all be receiving another invitation later this year for my ordination and installation service to become co-pastor along with Mark. We are very excited to share with you the future vision for ministry at Pres House.

Before we get into some of the details of our plans, I wanted to tell you a bit about my own journey in coming to minister here at Pres House. I did not grow up in a Christian home, and prior to entering college, had no interest whatsoever in the Christian faith. In my opinion, Christianity was irrelevant and had nothing to offer to my life. This was my state of mind when I left home for school at the University of California, Berkeley.

Like many students at a large, public university, I was confronted with a diversity of ideas, beliefs, and more importantly, people. I would like to say that I acted like a responsible adult at the young age of 18, and that I navigated my way safely and successfully through my first year. The truth however, is that I floundered spectacularly. I was struggling to find my place in the world and I was desperate for meaningful relationships. I tried alcohol, partying, and various other scenes on the university campus. This wasn’t satisfying and I found myself lonely, unsure of what to believe, and lost. I was depressed and wondered what the point of life was.

During this time I was living in a large dorm called Unit 2. My roommate was a Christian, and another student who had befriended me was also a Christian. Initially I did not spend much time with them, but eventually I hit bottom and these friends were some of the few who were still around. Since I lived with these people, I was witness to their daily lives, struggles, and faith in Jesus. At first we didn’t talk much about their faith, but as time went on, I started asking them some questions. I was intrigued by the fact that I liked these people AND that they were Christians!

We began spending many late nights in the dorm lounge talking about God, faith, and the Bible. As I debated with my friends, other students would join in making quite a lively and intense discussion. I became a relentless pursuer and interrogator of my friends, questioning them about every aspect of their faith. I would leave post-it notes on my roommate’s desk with questions like, “Where are the dinosaurs in the Bible?” I became an extra four-unit class for my friends as they spent many hours with me discussing faith and God.

Eventually one of my friends invited me to come with him to the Presbyterian Church he attended. I was hesitant, having many preconceived notions of what church and church people were like, but decided I would just check it out. None of my expectations were met, and I was surprised to find the college pastor in blue jeans singing a Van Morrison song and welcoming questions about the bible. It was enough to keep me open to coming back for another visit.

By the end of my first year at school, I had enough experiences with my Christian friends from the dorms to know that I wanted to have what they had. I saw how their faith helped them understand their place in the world, gave them purpose, and fostered a community with deep relationships. Through that year I had a taste of what my life could be like, and I decided I wanted to join the feast.

I went back to the Presbyterian Church, and I found not only a spiritual home where I could wrestle with my questions and grow in my faith, but also a home with family. It was in this worshipping community that I was truly known and accepted with all my gifts and all my brokenness. I was encouraged to become who God intended me to be, and I was treated with grace when I fell short. I had found my home in the university where I could journey the rest of my college years with the nurturing support of my spiritual family. It was in this community that I experienced my call to become a minister to university students and thus now stand before you about to embark on this exciting new stage in my own life, and in the history of Pres House.

I share my story with you because I believe that it is not a unique story, but echoes many students’ experiences during college. College is a time when students ask deep spiritual questions, seek authentic and meaningful community, and often make significant decisions about who they are and what they will pursue in their lives. These are important issues at any point in one’s life, but they become especially salient during the college years as students find themselves on their own for the first time, away from family and home. We here at Pres House are seeking to become a home away from home for students, to walk alongside them in their journeys, and to share the grace of God in all aspects of their lives. This is our hope and vision.

I turn the presentation over to Mark now, who will flesh out some of the details of how we plan on ministering to the students of UW-Madison at Pres House.

Erica Liu, Co-Pastor
(608) 257-1030

Read Mark's address >>