kairos 1 @ berkeley - gracepoint fellowship church

Hi everyone!

Kairos 1 is ready to kick off the fall semester with our first Bible Study! We're just a couple of blocks from campus at 2440 Dana St. (cross-street is Dwight Way)

Starting off with dinner, some ice-breakers to "break the ice," then a Bible Study followed by games! We've had board game nights, fondu & fruit nights, bowling nights, basketball/sports nights, and many more!


Check out some of the cool pix from last semester's Bible Study meetings -



So don't be shy and come join us at 6:30pm this Friday, 9/5.


--SAN FRANCISCO Trip!--
And we have our first outing of the semester to San Francisco! Woohoo!
>Dim Sum
>Pier 39
>Lombard St.
>Golden Gate Bridge Tour
>and Deli sandwiches!...

Welcome to Kairos 1! You might be wondering what w're all about... we're a group of students that meets weekly to study the Bible and just do life together. We also go on fun outings, play sports together, participate in community service opportunities, eat GOOD food, and just enjoy one another's company. We all come from different paths of life so wherever you're from, you're totally welcome here!

We usually meet on Fridays at a nice cozy house on Dana & Haste at 6:30pm. We start with a scrumptious dinner, a couple of ice breakers, then we embark on a discussion-based Bible study, where you can ask questions and share your thoughts. Afterward, we have cool activities (e.g., games, trips to SF, etc.), so we invite you to come and share life with us!

Now... let me tell you about "small groups". Small groups are mid-week meetings where you get together with other students in a smaller group setting (5-7 people) to talk about different issues on life, God, religion, meaning, etc. If you are a Christian seeking to grow within a discipleship setting OR if you just want to investigate a little bit about what Christianity is about OR if you are 'somewhere in between', we have the groups for you! Small group meeting times are about an hour a week. If you're interested in our small groups - check out the video and sign up here!

NEW STUDENT WELCOME NIGHT 2008!

With over 1,000 people flooding through the doors of Pauley Ballroom (at the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph) on Wednesday, 8/27 to attend New Student Welcome Night #1 - the night started off with music, a video with Josh Linville heading it off, a hilarious yet meaningful skit, and finished off with a talk by Pastor Ed Kang of Gracepoint Fellowship Church. Several hundred stayed for the wonderful Korean BBQ served afterwards as we all stuck around and got to know one another. Don't miss out on NSWN #2 going on TONIGHT, Friday 8/29 at 7pm at same place (Pauley Ballroom), different time.

By Bethany

Time: 6:30 PM on a slow, August evening. Location: Fremont Starbucks, alfresco. A pre-sunset, sun-bathed patio with a serendipitous number of unoccupied metal tables. Who: a colorful assortment of Cal alumni and students, drinking venti vanilla frappuccinos and grapefruit Izzes. WHAT: a neat arrangement of Engineering pamphlets, semester deadline-lists, and handy campus maps. A frequent glance towards the direction of the observing parking lot. A constant milling in-and-out of the Starbucks establishment, with just a hint of nervous anticipation…

On Thursday, August 15^th, Kairos 1—doubling as Alumni Association members and Cal ambassadors—headed down to Fremont to host a Cal Connect reception for 2008-2009 incoming freshmen. Days earlier we had sent out several hundred "fruity" invitations to freshmen living in the Alameda County region, appreciating such a pat opportunity to reach out to new students, and with high hopes for a fair turnout. As representatives for the California Alumni Association, our goal was to be personable, yet reliable sources of Cal information, willing and ready to tell the freshmen anything they wanted to know about UC Berkeley (our Kairos brochures lay ready and waiting in a nearby basket just in case).

As one of the few current undergraduates representing CalConnect, I confess that as the time to meet the new freshmen drew nearer, I was plagued by an anxious dread of what I might experience during the encounter. Looks of rejection from freshman? Worse yet, an impossible-to-answer question? Besides, I asked myself, what would I know that freshmen would want to ask ME? (I'm no expert on the subtle implications of choosing IB or MCB, nor I am versed on the mysterious origins of Oskie…). As 7:00 approached, however, and our first freshman walked up to our expectant crew, my thoughts and feelings towards the freshman and to our "endeavor" began to change. Though it was somewhat awkward at first, me sitting there in my blue Cal shirt across from this really young and unfamiliar person, it soon became pretty comfortable and quite invigorating to truly connect with a future student at Cal. Offering them my 4-semester's worth of wisdom, I realized that it didn't really matter what I didn't know or what they might personally think of me—it was all about connecting with a fellow human being who was soon going to be exactly where I was, almost two years ago: an excited, anxious, and, (most probably) scared freshman at Cal. Though we were not supposed to directly promote Kairos, I think God used the opportunity to challenge me to venture out of my comfort zone just a little, and to practice loving others " more and more". Despite how much my selfish preconceptions caused me to resist the call to meet these freshmen, our DT passage on 1 Thessalonians 4 truly put things into perspective for me. True, I was secretly overwhelmed with Apostle Paul's plead to the Thessalonians to love their brothers, and the ramifications that might mean for me. After-the-fact, however, I can honestly say that I was privileged to have been at Cal Connect, knowing that it was only one act out of many which we should be willing to take on "in order to please God", and given to us "by the authority of the Lord Jesus".

I'm here to introduce something called Cal Connect, which is a series of receptions hosted by Kairos and California Alumni Association for the past two years to welcome incoming freshmen to Cal. This year, Rick and Sue Yi joined with a team of students and alumni will be more than happy to answer any questions the incoming freshmen may have or just extend a warm welcome. We will be hosting a reception for students in the Alameda County from Fremont, Union City, and Newark on Thursday, August 14.



Some of our Cal representatives include Kevin - a current junior from the HAAS School of Business, James - a current senior double majoring in Integrative Biology and Economics, Bethany - a current junior in Peace and Conflict Studies and some of our alumni including Tony, Grace, Yang, and Ernestine with majors ranging from the computer science to the environmental fields. Last but not least, Sue graduated with a degree in Sociology and Rick in Cognitive Science.


[Sue & Rick Yi]

Things are bustling in our neck of the woods - we've mailed the postcards, set up the RSVP sites, and are now going around campus to pick up brochures from many departments and getting ready to answer questions like, "What are the best places to eat or to study.... or both?" "What can I do during that one hour between class?" "How do I survive in a triple dorm room?" "Where's a cheap place to buy books?"

Hi guys, this is a short slideshow for our Sierra trip. Enjoy!

BTW, all the Sierra trip pictures are up on the website, you can check it out here.