God's Movement in the Twenty-First Century

John is right to be hopeful about a new generation. Despite popular characterizations of undergraduates as party-obsessed and jaded, there is a resurgence of moral energy in many of the universities of North America, and this resurgence is quite often fueled by religious convictions and inspired by many of the great social movements of the past.

Matthew and Amanda read Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and joined the Catholic Worker Movement. With their young son, they live in a community of Christian peacemakers in Maryhouse in New York City and give themselves to the homeless, exiled, hungry and forsaken. Like many students I've taught, Dylan and Lindsay read John's Let Justice Roll Down, visited Voice of Calvary in Mississippi on an "alternative spring break" and discerned the call of service. After graduation they moved into Charlottesville's Prospect neighborhood to work with children from low-income families. The lives and legacies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mrs. Hamer and Dr. King inspired Charlene to use her prodigious intellectual gifts to encourage greater involvement of student ministries in justice and peacemaking. Lawson and Margaux came from privileged families and developed a heart for racial reconciliation as students at the university. In a prayer meeting after a hate crime on campus, they said, "It was only through the honesty enabled by prayer that this university can ever know anything about confession and forgiveness, and we can begin to reconcile. " There are so many similar stories to tell. It's an exciting time to be a professor.