jubilee

cross

cultural

cross

Jubilee Cross Cultural (JCC) aims to serve students of color by equipping and empowering them in what it means to live out their faith through their called vocation while acknowledging their ethnic and cultural history as being a unique gift from God.

Jubilee cross cultural at Jubilee 2026

The Year of Jubilee:

A freedom audit of what was, is, and is to come

The year of Jubilee is a time of liberation, reset, and rest. Our freedom audit will be centered around taking inventory of how liberation has been addressed in the past, how to live into it now, and how it will be ushered in through our future hope.

workshops

Sunday, Feb. 15 @ 9 AM

Faithful Deconstruction: Reading the Bible While Black

led by Doc Powell

At a time in which studies seem to show younger generations returning to church, Black Gen Z is still leaving the faith in unprecedented numbers. There are many reasons why, but a chief theme among them is the belief that The Gospel no longer holds any relevance in the story of our people. Using material chiefly taken from Dr. Esau McCaulley’s book, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, this breakout is designed to begin a conversation around our place in God’s Story, address the impact of systemic sin on Black life in America, and cast a vision for a “decolonized” Gospel as a means of hope through Christ for Black history, culture, and identity.

Saturday, Feb. 14 @ 4 PM

Jesus our Jubilee - Family Stories of Providence

led by Pip K

As cross-culture people we are living histories. We come from rich traditional backgrounds, with fascinating family histories that, if written in books, could fill libraries. We speak of ancestors, clans, distant lands, tribes and mother tongues.
Our ancestors crossed lands, oceans and air, sometimes for safely, sometimes for better opportunity but for many against their will. These movements always required a letting go and our families demonstrated incredible courage, resilience, perseverance and ingenuity not without deep pain, struggle and trauma.
However, we can often take our family histories for granted, treating them as “just a given.” When we fail to look back with a biblical perspective and critique our stories, we can completely miss God’s providential care in orchestrating the events of our family history. We can unwittingly carry generational brokenness without realizing that God intends for us to live in radical freedom.
Jesus is our Jubilee. He promises spiritual liberation, complete restoration, and a new life that is truly free.
In this workshop, we will create space to intentionally look back and reflect on our histories. We will seek to discern God’s providence;His active hand in the past, recognize it in the present, and receive practical help for what it mean to live a liberated Jubilee life today and into the future. Using the simple, guidance of John Flavel; Observe, remember, respond, we will practice paying attention to what God has done (He was), what He is doing now (He is), and where He is leading us next (He is to come).
Do we believe God truly cares about the life of the mind, and more importantly, mental health? Can men, especially Black men, find safe spaces for discussing, addressing, and finding help for our mental and emotional health? I want to share my experience and invite other men to share theirs, in order to learn from one another about where God is involved in this area.

events

Day @ 10 PM

Salsa Dancing

Join us for an evening of Salsa dancing with Marlon Silva! Whether you are experienced or have never tried, come experience the beauty and richness of the Latin culture through dance.

Saturday, Feb 14 @ 5:45-7 PM

Jubilee Cross Cultural Dinner

The Jubilee Cross Cultural Dinner is an offering of the Jubilee Cross Cultural. It's an opportunity for students from diverse cultures to gather around the table of cuisines from around the world and engage, share, learn, and grow from one another.

Speaker Bios

Pip K

Philipa "Pip" K ministers to students at the William Peace University through a partnership with Holy Trinity Anglican Church of Raleigh.

Pip studied Applied Theology at the University of Oxford. She most recently served as campus ministry staff at the University of North Carolina.

"Jesus says The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,'" says Pip. "I am passionate about seeing students find fullness of life as they abide in him throughout their time in college and in their lives thereafter."
Doc Powell

Doc Powell is a campus minister at the University of Pittsburgh, currently in his third year. He serves alongside CCO veteran, Gene Tibbs, leading Sankɔfa Gatherings, a ministry focused primarily on serving Black students and students of all ethnicities to transform the world for Black people and all people”. His passion for racial justice is born of his conviction that Christ’s promise to “make all things new” includes Black culture/identity.
Marlon Silva

Originally from Latin America, Marlon has been called "that red-hot chili pepper of a dance instructor" by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He choreographs, performs, and teaches salsa and merengue throughout the south eastern region of the USA.
Marlon teaches beginners and experts alike with step-by-step detailed instructions. His technique breaks down all salsa moves and combos into building blocks, which are then assembled into more complicated moves that can be adapted to any music or club atmosphere. Marlon's technique results from body mechanic studies and training as well as his experience in martial arts and interactions with diverse cultural groups.
Marlon is also a model, a bilingual voice over, and a certified aerobic instructor. E.S.A, a Zumba black belt, and has a 1st degree in Tae Kwon Do (ITF). He has taught classes for corporate gyms but also fitness and dance centers in the Pittsburgh area, including Club One, Highmark, The Rivers Club, Club 4 live, YWCA and YMCA, Alexander's Athletic Club, Arena's Dance Center, and Pittsburgh Senior Centers.