APU Center for Student Action

According to a recent study, almost half of Black-owned businesses across the country have shut down since the pandemic began. One way you can show your support and be a part of the recovery, is to order directly from a restaurant, leave a huge tip, and spread the word! We have a list of LA and OC restaurants on our website that you can check out today.

a word from our Action Team Program coordinator, Julie Ploehn *** My prayer for all of us in 2021 is that we begin to step into the new story the Lord is setting before us. 2020 was hard for a multitude of reasons. It was a year marked by disappointment, discouragement, loneliness, and division. The realities of the brokenness of our world seemed impossible to escape. Many times, it felt like we couldn't catch our breath. It'd be really easy to step into this year expecting m...ore of the same. And in many ways, things are the same. Humans are still broken, there is still division, we're still in a pandemic. We have every reason to continue to live in the old story. But the Lord has something for us when we step into a new reality. There will still be disappointment this year, but I get a choice on how I respond to it. COVID is still an active part of our lives - but do I let the restriction that COVID brings to my life to stop me from experiencing a new story with the Lord? It may be foolish to have hope, but the early Christians looked very foolish for their hope in Jesus. It may look foolish to think things can be different, but hope gets us through - it shows the direction to walk even when things seem foggy. So I invite you to hope - to believe that there is a new story the Lord is setting before you. Yes, many of your circumstances may look the same - but how are you choosing to respond this time? See more

In his book, Strength to Love, we read that justice, freedom, equality, and love, lead to the beloved community of Jesus Christ. So what do we do when these foundational aspects of our faith are under attack, day after day? Dr. King has a word for us this morning. He told us how to respond to even our most bitter opponents: "We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us wh...at you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall winyouin the process, and our victory will be a double victory." So on these days when we see justice, freedom, equality, and love under attack, may we endure suffering together. May we be active with our soul force. May we love in response to all forms of evil. And finally, let us remember, that the victory is in Jesus' name.

If you feel stuck in a hopeless place today, I don't want to rush you to joy. Maybe you need to spend a little time letting the darkness do what the darkness does - nourish, strengthen, and hold. The darkness can invite us into a mystery, a place where we don't know the answer. It's here that you can choose hope because it's what keeps you going in the fog." - Emily P. Freeman from her book The Next Right Thing More insight and encouragement coming from our Action Team Program Coordinator, Julie Ploehn, in the days ahead. Summer Action Teams now open for sign ups. Link in profile.

"If you feel stuck in a hopeless place today, I don't want to rush you to joy. Maybe you need to spend a little time letting the darkness do what the darkness does - nourish, strengthen, and hold. The darkness can invite us into a mystery, a place where we don't know the answer. It's here that you can choose hope because it's what keeps you going in the fog." - Emily P. Freeman from her book The Next Right Thing More insight and encouragement coming from our Action Team Program Coordinator, Julie Ploehn, in the days ahead. Summer Action Teams now open for sign ups. Link in profile.

Hey Everyone! We start member interviews the week of November 2nd, so if you haven’t signed up for a Spring or Summer Action Team, do so soon! We have incredible trips this year so be sure to check them out on our website. Tag a friend that doesn’t follow us who needs to go this year! Also, these teams still need leaders:... *Alaska *Ireland *Poland *Thailand TMS *South Africa (Sign up this week!) See more