The cross represents the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion. The cross was an instrument of torture and execution in ancient times. Jesus was sentenced to death and murdered by Roman authorities who convicted him of high treason. For many Christians, the cross represents the sacrificial death of Christ and is the most widely-recognized symbol of Christianity.
Non-Denominational
People:
Colleen (McCormack) Rice (Yale Women’s Soccer, BR ‘17) is the staff leader of Athletes in Action at Yale. If you have any questions and/or would like to schedule a meeting, please email her at colleen.mccormack@yale.edu.
Mitchell Tyler is one of our student leaders and would love to connect with you if you have any questions or interest. You can email him at mitchell.tyler@yale.edu.
Faith Community:
Athletes in Action (AIA) is a student-led sports ministry dedicated to building a community of fellowship founded in the loving character of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to see ourselves, our community and the world deeply changed by the love of Christ. We welcome people of all backgrounds to explore the Christian faith. We meet weekly during the academic year and have Bible studies throughout the week, fellowship activities, and retreats throughout the year. To explore the national organization of AIA, please click here for lots of resources, info, and videos about programs. To be included on the email list so you can stay up-to-date on all our activities, please email Colleen.
Programs:
Large Group – Joyful fellowship. Authentic relationships. Welcoming worship. Practical talks. Fun games. Those are the key aspects to our weekly time together, which always serves as an important hour of rest and encouragement. We meet Tuesday nights at 9pm, in the RTH Varsity Room.
Life Groups – We offer weekly small groups to develop deeper relationships with God and with one another. There is always a welcoming spirit, an open discussion, and study of God’s Word. Email Colleen to be included!
Frosh Group – One of our small groups is dedicated to first-years only! Join for a safe space of building friendships and discussing life and God. Email Colleen for the weekly time & location.
Fellowship Activity – Varying from week to week, these include s’mores, bowling, game nights, movie nights, etc. We also try to attend as many athletic events together as possible. All are welcome!
Retreats – We host a Yale-specific retreat in the Fall semester, and we attend the Northeast Regional AIA retreat in the Spring semester (late January/early February).
People:
Dr. OrLando Yarborough III is the pastor of the Black Church at Yale. If you have any questions and/or would like to visit with him, please e-mail him at orlando.yarborough@yale.edu.
Faith Community:
Black Church at Yale (BCAY) is a student-run church with a diverse congregation consisting of a variety of backgrounds including diverse ethnicities, nationalities and denominations. Although our services are mostly attended by Yale undergrads, we are open to graduate students, professors, staff and community members joining our worship community. We are joined together by our love for Jesus Christ, not by the color of our skin, or our denominational affiliations. We express our love and devotion to God through songs of praise and worship. During our worship set, we stand on our feet, clap our hands, raise our arms and bow our heads in reverence and adoration of our God. Our musical style ranges from contemporary Christian to gospel praise and worship. We have a talented team of vocalists along with a full band that consists of a keyboardist, bassist and drummer.
Worship Schedule:
Sunday (10:00 a.m.) -Join us for worship services at the Afro-American Cultural Center, located at 211 Park St, New Haven, CT. Our worship format is very simple, without a long list of rituals and traditions. We believe that the most important components of a Sunday service are the worship and the Word, so we give priority to these two elements. We aim to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, which means that sometimes we may deviate from our regular schedule to give way for an additional worship song or a special moment of prayer. Once a month we celebrate communion through the Lord’s Supper. Also, we get a special performance from the remarkable Yale Gospel Choir once a month.
Programs:
The Serve the Nations Team - Jesus was a servant leader and we will be a servant people (Luke 22:24-27). We aspire not only to serve inside the church with excellence, but to minister in the marketplace. This church will produce future problem solvers for the greatest global challenges, thus becoming the salt and light of the world. (Matthew 5:13:16; Matthew 28:18-20). Purpose: To equip the BCAY family to follow Christ in servant leadership, thus becoming salt and light in the world.
The Hospitality Team - The purpose of the Hospitality Team is: 1) to create an environment of warmth by welcoming and accepting individuals from any background into the BCAY community. 2) to make those who come to BCAY feel comfortable as they explore what God means in their lives. 3) to establish a community where they feel welcomed.
Breath of Life Worship Team - The purpose of our praise and worship team is to: 1) To invoke the presence of God through musical worship. 2) To lead and involve the congregation in praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. 3) To create an atmosphere most conducive to hearing from and connecting with God.
The Audio/Visual Team - “They’re pretty cool…just join them.” ~ Anonymous member of team, 2011. The purpose of the A/V Team is: 1) to fully engage the congregation with every aspect of Sunday service: praise & worship, the message, and announcements. 2) to oversee the technical setup and breakdown of the sanctuary. 3) to manage the audio and projector feeds during service. 4) to launch the “BCAY Presents” monthly news video series (anticipated launch date is November).
Marketing and Communications Team - A lot happens at BCAY, and the Communications team is responsible for keeping everyone informed and in the loop. This team coordinates all internal and external communications and marketing efforts.
The Finance and Development Ministry - The Finance and Development Ministry is the business department at BCAY. This team manages the collection and deposit of tithes and offerings on Sunday mornings. It is also responsible for keeping up-to-date books, making payments, acting as signatories on authorized checks and officiating finance meetings/reports with Student Staff. This team will also assist in seeking fundraising methods to increase church funds.
People:
Chitra Kovoor (chitra.kovoor@christianunion.org) and Michael Racine (michael.racine@christianunion.org) are our Ministry Fellows. Our student leaders are Luke Bell (Pierson ’23), Maddie Bartels (Trumbull ’23), and Tiana Luo (Stiles ’24). If you have any questions and/or would like to meet up with them, you can reach them at luke.bell@yale.edu, maddie.bartels@yale.edu, and tiana.luo@yale.edu.
Faith Community:
Christian Union Lux is a Christian fellowship and undergraduate organization at Yale University. As a child organization of Christian Union, CU Lux inherits our shared mission of transforming our nation and world by developing and connecting bold Christian leaders. We hope to carry out our mission through a strong curriculum focused on saturating every student in the Word of God and a lifestyle of seeking fervently after Christ. For more information, explore our website at https://culux.org!
Programs:
Bible Courses: Divided by class year and gender, BCs are small groups where we have in-depth Bible study, fellowship with each other, and grow in Christ together. Please check our website for updated meeting times!
Rooted: Rooted is a leadership lecture series that happens every other Friday night. This is a time of worship and a time to listen to one of our Ministry Fellows or a guest speaker give a talk or lead a discussion that aims to grow us in knowledge and confidence, and equip us for leadership in any field where God may call us. This is followed by a Q&A or small group session. Dinner is usually served at the Mouse from 6–6:30 pm, when we also hang out, do icebreaker games, and sing worship songs. The program is from 6:30–8pm. We encourage you to come and also invite friends and suitemates!
Social Events: Be it prayer and fasting weekends, CU Study Hall, East Rock hike, games and comedy night, 3D Mafia, women’s brunch or men’s quesadilla night, we are always hosting various fun activities as opportunities to build friendships and serve each other! Keep an eye out for these in our weekly newsletter.
Outreach Events: Our outreach leaders spearhead CU’s commitment to honoring Christ and loving people by boldly proclaiming His love for us and the good news of what He has done for the world. Outreach events every year look different, but may include facilitating one-on-one evangelistic conversations, innovative group events for spiritual exploration and broad distribution of Christian literature across campus. Reach out to get involved!
Sacred Space:
The James W.C. Pennington Center has been significantly strengthening Christian witness and influence at Yale since 2014. Located at 31 Whitney Avenue, we are one block from Timothy Dwight Hall and two blocks from Cross Campus. The real gem is located on the basement level of the building, where the student Ministry House (affectionately nicknamed “The Mouse”) hosts our Bible Courses, Rooted, social events, and prayer sessions. It is often frequented by students studying, cooking, or having a quiet prayer time.
People:
Revs. Joseph and Michele Cumming are Co-Pastors of the International Church at Yale. Rev. Andrew Cunningham is Director of the Yale International Christian Fellowship. If you have any questions and/or would like to visit with them, please e-mail Elder Vicky Sigworth.
Faith Community:
The International Church at Yale is an international, interdenominational community of followers of Jesus who gather for worship at Yale. Our vision is to encourage one another to grow in love and faith so that we may serve as a visible representation and witness to the Kingdom of God on the Yale campus and serve the university community, particularly its international students, scholars, faculty, and their families.
Worship Schedule:
Sunday (10:00 a.m.) ICY is online and, when weather permits, outside! Our Sunday service starts at 10am and is always accessible on Zoom:
Everyone is welcome! Some Sundays we also meet at the same time, outside, for a hybrid service. Please contact Vicky Sigworth, vsigworth@gmail.com, or phone/text 203 215 1034 for information about attending in person.
Anyone is welcome to attend our services, regardless of whether or not you have any religious background. You are welcome, no matter whether you consider yourself a believer in Jesus, or are curious to learn more about the Christian faith, or simply want to practice your English.
We hope that you will find us to be a warm and caring community that welcomes you in friendship and helps you to feel at home here at Yale. Our services are informal, and you are welcome to come wearing whatever clothing you wear every day. American students and scholars and their families are also welcome at our services – particularly if you would like to help international students feel at home in this country.
Programs:
Chinese-Language and English-Language Home Bible Study Groups - Meet weekly during the academic year. Please contact Vicky Sigworth (see above) for more information.
English-Language Conversation Class – Meets on Sunday mornings during the academic year. Contact Vicky Sigworth (see above) for information.
International Christian Fellowship - Organizes hospitality dinners for international students and scholars, as well as an “Alpha Course” designed to help people explore questions they may have about the existence of God, the purpose of life, the meaning of the Bible or what it means to be a Christian.
People:
Jon Hinkson and Anita Hinkson are the Directors of the Rivendell Student Fellows program; Karen Mahan and Sue Smedley are the Directors of Spiritual Formation. Soozie Schneider is the Director of the Yale Faculty Roundtable. David Mahan, Tanya Walker, Donald Smedley, and John Hartley are Senior Fellows of the Institute.
For more information about our directors, fellows, administrative staff, and Board of Directors, visit www.rivendellinstitute.org/about/#team.
Faith Community:
Our mission to explore the contribution of an historic Christian vision of life to the academy, human flourishing, and the common good brings into focus two vital considerations. How does Christian faith speak to the ideas, issues, and concerns of contemporary society as these are formulated in our colleges and universities? How can our academic institutions become places where voices of faith contribute as conversation partners in the formation of a new generation of scholars and leaders? The Rivendell Institute was created to take up these and other questions as servants to and within Yale University.
Our lovely building at 291 Edwards St. is the physical center for our Institute.
Programs:
Spiritual Formation Fellowship- The Spiritual Formation program is a fellowship for graduate and professional students and postdocs that meets weekly to address the unique spiritual challenges in academia. A biblical view of integrating academic pursuits, personal lives, and faith is explored through scripture study, faculty lectures, retreats and personal mentoring. Meetings are on Fridays from 7:00-9:00pm at the Rivendell Institute. For more information about the program and curriculum and to view the full program schedule, visit www.rivendellinstitute.org/spiritual-formation.
Student Fellows Program - The Student Fellows program is a selective, intensive formation experience designed to cultivate Christian disciples in their callings as image bearers and witness bearers. The program runs the length of one academic year and consists of biweekly seminars, retreats, and mentoring. As part of the program, Fellows will develop a short integration project or paper. Occasional dinner colloquia provide Fellows an opportunity to engage with seasoned disciples who exemplify image bearing and witness bearing within their spheres of influence. The application window for the Student Fellows Program is open from May to July each year.
For more information and to view this year’s schedule, visit www.rivendellinstitute.org/student-fellows.
Colloquia and Retreats – These events explore what it means to integrate one’s faith with careers and other roles, and offer practical ways to draw closer to God in the midst of the many pressures we face in our academic and professional lives. Dates are posted on our website during the academic calendar. For questions about Colloquia and Retreats, please contact info@rivendellinstitute.org.
Home Scripture Study – A biweekly opportunity to participate in thoughtful, practical discussion of the Scriptures in the comfortable home setting of a Yale professor. Each year features close study of one book of the Bible. Faculty, graduate students, spouses, and friends are welcome. For more info contact david.mahan@yale.edu.
People:
Jeff Kraines is the pastor for UCW and can be contacted either via email or phone call, jkraines1@gmail.com, 860-604-3611
Faith Community:
UCW (United Church of Westville) is a student-led, pastor-resourced church. We are a community whose aim is to know Christ and make him known. We emphasize discipleship, prayer and depth in the Word, in loving, grace and truth community.
Worship Schedule:
Weekly Sunday Worship at 1p.m, followed by lunch at our church in Westville (about 10 minutes from campus). Rides leave from HGS at 12:20pm and 12:40. During the week we have small groups meeting on campus and lots of opportunities to connect with one another.
Sacred Space:
New Haven Korean Methodist Church located at 34 Harrison St, New Haven, CT 06515.
People:
Staff/Advisor contact:
Pastor Josh Williams is the staff advisor and lead contact for Elm City Vineyard. He can be contacted via email, josh@elmcityvineyard.org
The Student Leader contacts are divided amongst undergrad and graduate and can also be contacted through email. The undergrad student leaders are: Hopewell Rogers: Elizabeth.Rogers@yale.edu, and Moses Kitakule: moses.kitakule@yale.edu. The Graduate Student leaders are Daniel Song: joongyu.song@yale.edu, and Asia Brown: asia.brown@yale.edu.
Faith Community:
The Elm City Vineyard Church exists to call all people to revolutionary lives of action through Spirit-empowered communities that love and obey Jesus Christ in all things. Our mission is to form healing community and transform our city and our world. At ECV, we meet together at our Sunday gatherings, weekly home groups, and in all parts of New Haven as we work, play, and serve our city. Whether you are just asking questions about faith or whether you are a longtime churchgoer, you are welcome to join ECV as we do life together with a living and active God.
Worship Schedule:
Sundays at 4 p.m. is the regular worship meeting time and the first meeting of the semester usually occurs at the end of August.
Sacred Space:
The ECV Church is located at 425 College St. which can be found at the corner of College and Elm Sts. The First and Summerfield Church building immediately diagonal from Battell Chapel.
People:
Faith Community:
These fellowships are communities of Christians in the graduate and professional schools who meet regularly for prayer, fellowship, the study of scripture and discussions of how our faith intersects with our academic and professional callings. We seek to discover how we can use our academic skills wisely, how we can connect our scholarship and our faith, and how we can love and serve Christ in our departments, our professions, and in all aspects of our lives. We are connected with a range of local churches and organizations within and beyond Yale, seeking to share the message of God’s love to our peers at Yale and the larger community of New Haven.
People:
Lara Takasugi (TC 09) and Sang Yun (ES 93) are the directors of Yale Students for Christ. If you have any questions and/or would like to meet up with them, you can reach them at lara.takasugi@yale.edu or sang.yun@yale.edu
Faith Community:
As Yale Students for Christ, we seek to grow in faith in Jesus for a lifetime and live it out together at Yale. We are a member organization of Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ). Please feel free to take a look around the website for more info (yalestudentsforchrist.org)!