Well, as you can probably imagine there have been plenty of things happening on the future site of the C.S Lewis College campus since the opening of Sage Chapel on December 11th.

January made its presence known on campus in a couple of different ways. January 13-17 we welcomed the “Ignite Ivy” conference to campus. Ignite is an invitation-only conference designed to minister to student leaders from all eight Ivy League schools.

Overall, sixty-five members from the different schools were housed on campus at either the Merrill Keep Dorm or Moore Cottage and were provided meals daily at the Hibbard Hall cafeteria.

During the conference, students were addressed by special guest speakers such as:

• John Beckett – CEO of the R. W. Beckett Corporation and author of several books, including Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business without Selling Your Soul.
• Jay Bennett – Founder and Chairman of the Twin Cities Christian Foundation.
  
• Stephen McDowell – Founder of the Providence Foundation.
  

All five days of the event were held in the Olivia Music Hall and included prayer, worship, and workshops.

January also brought its fair share of snow to campus. Over fifty inches fell on the beautiful hills that overlook the Connecticut River. Campus crews logged many hours keeping the walkways, roads, and buildings open and accessible.

During this time, many interior painting projects began. Wilson and Hibbard Halls received fresh coats of interior trim and wall paint. Painting crews put in many hours in these two buildings and did a great job. The elements were not in their favor and sometimes they had to scale snowdrifts up to their hips to get into the buildings. We thank them for all their hard work.

February brought much more of the same. Some really huge snow storms blanketed the campus, but through them all, the work of the campus continued. Painting began in Stone Hall after many years of the building sitting dormant. It was really nice to see the building come back to life, and with a fresh coat of interior paint, the building is well on its way to its former glory.

Projects also began at Billings Hall and Bolger Arts building. It’s amazing how a fresh coat of paint can change so many things, and it’s great to see the buildings being lovingly restored. It reminds me daily of God’s grace and how it covers a multitude of sins. God’s grace is truly in full effect here on Campus. Old things are becoming new again!

As March approached, we were glad to see that old man winter was loosening his hold and large patches of snow started to become small patches of ground. With the weather still quite cold it was hard to see the promise of spring, but it has slowly started to appear. The blue birds have made their appearance along with large groups of robins.

Round top has finally cleared and become once again an awesome front seat to God’s creation. In the evening, you can hear the large flocks of Canadian geese lift off of the Connecticut River with honking noises that would rival rush hour in just about any city.

Crews have been re-working all of the doors in the Auditorium. All fifty doors have been removed, repainted, and leveled, with double pane glass replacing the old single pane lead glass. New works and hinges have been added and the doors have all been repainted. This has been a painstaking job but has really turned out beautifully.

So now we move into spring here on campus. There are many different things coming up and I find it hard to contain my excitement for the coming season. Although this past winter has been full of snow, ice, and freezing temps as low as -27, the campus continues to move forward.

We have introduced some full-time residents to the campus who are building a small volunteer community based in prayer and service. We also have small groups such as the Erasmus Institute meet once a month for a “Five College friends and faculty” prayer meeting and supper at Merrill Keep. This group consists of facility members from U. Mass., Hampshire, Amherst, Holyoke, and Smith Colleges who have come to pray specifically for the needs of this campus.

— Eric Donaldson