What’s Happening at PSC

Summer 2026

Saturday, June 13 and Friday, July 24 at 6pm

Hessel Park Shelter 1 in Champaign

Pascal Study Center invites you to join us for Summer Stories! We will cultivate a thoughtful Christian faith by reading fiction together. This relaxed environment is a great opportunity to bring a friend! A picnic supper will be provided, and we welcome you to share a favorite side or dessert if you would like.

June 13: Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Lois Clary is a software engineer at General Dexterity, a San Francisco robotics company with world-changing ambitions. She codes all day and collapses at night, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall from which she orders dinner every evening. Then, disaster! Visa issues. The brothers quickly close up shop. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their bread. She must keep it alive, they tell her―feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it.

Lois is no baker, but she could use a roommate, even if it is a needy colony of microorganisms. Soon, not only is she eating her own homemade bread, she’s providing loaves to the General Dexterity cafeteria every day. Then the company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market―and a whole new world opens up.

July 24: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn’t explain much about where he came from or why he’s there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person’s story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.

Spring 2026

New Program! Open Study Hours

Wednesdays 1:00–5:00pm beginning January 28, University Baptist Church second floor classroom

Are you looking for a quiet place to study with hot drinks and treats? Pascal Study Center hosts open study hours on Wednesday afternoons when university classes are in session. Drop in to the second floor classroom any time between 1pm and 5pm to read, write, and study to your heart’s content. A variety of hot beverages will be available (coffees, teas, cocoas) as well as cookies, granola bars, and fruit. Some weeks the cookies are homemade!

Communal Reading of Scripture

Mondays at noon beginning January 26, University Baptist Church basement

Meets weekly on Mondays when university classes is in session. We gather for pizza and a shared time of listening as Scripture is read out loud, followed by a brief period of silent reflection.

This is not a traditional Bible study! Our goal is simply to allow the “living and active” word of God to speak to us directly. All are welcome: university students, faculty, staff, and community members. Come take a pause in the middle of your busy day and make space to hear God’s voice.

Director’s Office Hours

Fridays at 4:00pm beginning January 23, University Baptist Church second floor classroom

This weekly gathering offers a unique chance to connect with Dr. Wenneborg as well as students from different churches and campus ministries. Dr. Wenneborg will offer a brief teaching (10-15 minutes) on a topic relevant to university students, followed by a time of open-ended discussion. The topics will change from week to week, so come as you are able to enjoy this space for thoughtful conversation, friendship—and snacks!

Dinner Discussions

Saturdays February 21 and April 11 at 6pm- 8pm, University Baptist Church

What could be better than free food? Free food accompanied by good conversation with an intergenerational community. Dinner discussion participants read a short essay in advance and then come together for a shared meal and small-group discussion.

Our theme for Spring 2026 is Tech in Community. Our first reading, Taming Tech in Community, follows the Bruderhof community as it seeks to discern the appropriate role for personal technology in the context of communal living. Avoiding the extremes of either total restriction or total permissiveness, Bruderhof members work together to establish community norms for personal tech devices that prioritize connection and presence. Written by a leader within the Bruderhof movement, this essay offers a window into the intentionality and collective decision-making that characterize these communities.

Our second reading, ChatGPT Goes to Church, turns our attention to the role of technology within the particular community of the Christian Church. Large language models are invaluable tools for increasing access for those with linguistic barriers to participating in worship, yet they are poor creators of original content (e.g. sermons, prayers) and terrible substitutes for the crucial, Spirit-led work of pastoring and discipling. The author, an expert in machine learning and a churchgoer, brings both clarity and humor to often-contentious debates about Artificial Intelligence.

Christian Classics Reading Group

First Tuesdays of the month (February 2, March 2, April 7, May 5) at 7pm, Twin City Bible Church library

This monthly reading group welcomes participants from any life stage and theological tradition. No advanced training or background knowledge necessary. Contact us to receive a book and reading assignment before the first meeting.

We will spend the 2025–2026 year with Thomas à Kempis’s Imitation of Christ: A Modern Translation. From the publisher: “With this fresh yet faithful translation, it’s easier than ever to join the millions of readers throughout the centuries who have fallen in love with The Imitation of Christ. This classic guide to living a spiritual life brings Kempis’ timeless insights on holiness, simplicity, and humility to a new generation.”