The Ferris wheel spins slow, under a sky that seems too blue and open to be real.  I smile, unable to join in the fun, sitting behind a table, waiting for someone to come up and talk to me.  Homecoming, the week that I secretly both dread and love, again came to foist itself upon the unsuspecting students of Cairn University.  To my surprise, this year felt different. Starting on Monday I noticed myself looking forward to Homecoming. Surely, me, the guy who has to get paid to finally start going to on-campus events can’t be looking forward to the biggest on-campus celebration of the year.  Well, dunk me in whipped cream and call me a lemon pie, because there I was, Saturday morning, rushing from my car to the (re)Connect booth just in time to start my shift.

Trapped in a booth for Advancement, I found myself in a unique position.  I could not galavant through the merrymakers and explore homecoming, but I could sit and smile, and wait for them to come to me.  Few people came, though the ones who did all left an impression. The one who made the biggest impression was a lady who came all the way from Alaska to make it to the class 1968 reunion.  This chance meeting brewed a thought in my mind that strengthened and brightened as I sat basking in the friendly September sun. There is something far greater to this university than one realizes at first, or even after years of thought.  Through all the name changes, through all the various presidents and faculty changes, through a new campus and new mission statements, we have a bond across time. We have a bond through Christ. We are but a tiny island in the vast, timeless sea of believers that transcends our plane of existence and understanding.  We are forever connected in the body Christ, from South Korea to Alaska, the long way.

It struck me, for all it was, there in the cool, September sunlight.  I saw the dream, the grand apostolic train issuing forth from heaven, down into our ordinary college campus, done up to the tens for all its returning scholars.  We are situated here, at a unique moment of time for the specific purpose of welcoming our own home, back to a place where they grew, loved, and dreamed. We are here to carry on in their footsteps but go farther than they ever dreamed possible.  The burdens are great, but our hope is greater yet. Carry on the good fight, the road does not end with us.

The Voices of the Students: Anonymous of Course

Gripes: To be honest, almost no one complained or gave memorable quotes about how little they liked Homecoming, though a few resident students mentioned their frustration with the parking situation during festivities.  

Praises: The greatest praises I heard almost all boiled down to one thing, this truly felt like a homecoming, even to students who attend here every day.  Our university is a home for many and people don’t walk away from that.