Scott Powell, a 25-year old student at State University of New York at Potsdam, drowned during an InterVarsity outing at Lampson Fall, New York, on Saturday, September 10, 2005. Scott was a senior in archeology and history who would have graduated this December.
InterVarsity President Alec Hill expressed his condolences in an announcement to InterVarsity staff:
We extend our sincerest sympathy to Scott’s family. We are grateful for Scott’s salvation and for his influence on many people during his years as a student. “He was extremely devoted to his family and his faith and his friends,” said Scott’s father, Jeff Powell.
Please join the staff and students in New York in prayer as they grieve the loss and care for others in the chapter. As the parent of two, I can’t imagine the depths of their pain. Let’s pray together that God will use this difficult situation to bring redeeming grace to the campus.
The Chapter website had these moving words to say about Scott.
Hello Friends and Fellow Believers in Christ:
Some of you know that our chapter suffered the tragic loss of fellow brother in Christ, Scott Powell, in a drowning accident Saturday at Lampson Falls. For those who knew Scott, it is extremely difficult to think he will no longer be with us. It is sad to think that he will not be here to sing, dance, laugh and cry with us. It is sad to know that we will not be getting a hug from him this week at our meeting. It is these hard and painful things that help us realize we can take comfort in knowing that Scott is, even now, enjoying the presence of our Lord and Creator, Jesus Christ – something he longed for and spoke of often.
Ironically, in the car on the way to Lampson Falls, Scott shared how he came to know the Lord as his Savior, how much he enjoyed being a child of God and how much he enjoyed knowing God. He even said, ‘I wish every day was Sunday.’ He said he wished he could be in the presence of God every day. He wished that he could go to church every day and be in fellowship with other believers. He wished he could enjoy the awesome presence of the Lord everyday and not have to worry about an assignment due to next morning. Scott also showed us a hammer and chisel he had just purchased for his geology class. He shared his deep love for geology and his adoration for the world that God had created for us.
It is odd how simple statements made in the company of friends can have such profound meaning later.
It is amazing to think that now, though absent from us, he is present with God. He really can check out those streets of gold and the “Rock of Ages” for himself! He is probably up there shouting “Yes, now everyday is Sunday!” It is so hard to rejoice in times of loss, but we are confident that Scott is in a much, much better place.
Scott always seemed to have one eye towards heaven and may have often felt homesick. Looking at his life, we see a man of God who was not afraid for people to know he was a Christian. He knew what it meant to seek God above all pleasures of this world. Some might have thought him different but what mattered to him was serving God with all he had. His death has illuminated that his life glorified God. He will be greatly missed, but not at all forgotten. The power of his life lives in us through Jesus Christ.
As we grieve Scott’s loss, please keep his family, friends and other chapter members in prayer, too. We, as a leadership team are here to offer any support we can. We encourage you to seek the resources available to you through the campus counseling centers and especially through your local church body. God has blessed us with a caring and loving community ready to help process the loss of Scott and to honor what he stood for: truth, humility, trust and grace.
We close with this. Christ prayed in John 17 verses 20-23:
“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.”
Let us come together and help each other experience the love God has called us to give to one another. Our plea is that you hold on to Jesus, put Him first and consecrate your lives. Turn your eyes to Jesus, look full at His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Be Holy, Be Strong, Be Bold.
We love you, and are praying for you.
In Christ’s Love,
Melissa Richards
Sophia Hsia
Chris Hanudel
Mike Premo
Paul Holt
The Daily Star newspaper report
