wfn.org | Meeting charts possibilities, ackno

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org]

May 9, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-1761
Meeting charts possibilities, acknowledges difficulties in campus ministry

by the Rev. Timothy J. Hallett
        (ENS) There were university faculty, administrators, students,
clergy from parishes near colleges and universities, part-time campus
ministers, both lay and ordained, full-time university chaplains, diocesan
executives, and friends of college work. They came from diverse settings
and places, but they held a common stake in ministry in higher
education.
    The group of about 25 persons was brought together at the Trinity
Conference Center in West Cornwall, Connecticut, in March as a trial
run for a national strategic planning event scheduled for Atlanta,
December 3-6, 1997. Their task was to reflect on expectations of campus
ministry and to share hopes, but also to examine that hope and
expectation in the light of personal experience and church reality.
    The event came about as the first fruit of a wide-ranging collaboration
by agencies committed to revitalizing the church's ministry in higher
education: the Episcopal Society for Ministry in Higher Education
(ESMHE), the Office for Young Adult and Higher Education Ministries
at the Episcopal Church Center (YAHEM), the Association of Episcopal
Colleges, the Trinity Institute's Teleconferencing Network, and the
Episcopal Church Foundation. In a fitting expression of that
collaboration, it took place under ESMHE auspices at the Trinity
Conference Center made possible by a grant from the Episcopal Church
Foundation.

Emphasizing the role of participants
        The structure of the pilot event took seriously the contribution of
everyone present. The expertise was that of real players; there were no
addresses by hired talking heads. Persons from the various streams of
campus ministry had a chance to swap ideas and approaches with others
in similar roles and settings, and also to learn of the broader sweep of
campus ministry from those who live and work in different contexts. The
emphasis was constantly on practical insights and strategies that can be
adapted to a variety of situations.
        Some participants were looking for ways to begin new ministries;
others sought ways to reinvigorate existing work. Some were struggling
to keep their ministries alive. All shared a commitment, or better put, a
passion for campus ministry and a frustration at the church's ongoing
devaluation of a once-vibrant area of mission.
        Students, faculty, and administrators spoke as one on the
importance of the church's presence in the university, and sadly, of the
implications of its absence. Students, all too familiar with the results of
"de-funding," were earnest in their plea for stability and continuity in
campus ministry. They pleaded for ministry that is responsive to the
needs of students and truly available to them.
        Even for parishes that really try to reach out to the campus, the
struggles were real. Clergy find themselves caught in tension between
parish and campus needs. One rector whose parish is beginning to reach
out to a small college nearby, said, "You know about `sticker-shock'--
when you find out that the cost of the car you want is a lot higher than
you expected? I know now that this will take a big commitment. But
we're going to do it. We're still going to do it."
        He said he knew that the cost of doing nothing is higher still.
        Parish traditions also may militate against the involvement of
those who do not respond to traditional forms. Too many parishes fail to
see the rewards of ministry with young adults. Too many dioceses
assume that a parish adjacent to campus will embrace campus ministry.

Commitment can bring real rewards
        Still, it was clear that parishes that are willing to make the
investment in campus outreach will reap rich rewards from the energy
and commitment of young adults, and will find the students to be more
agents than objects of ministry.
        Students were adamant about their stake in the life of the church
now. As one put it, "Students are more affected by what the church does
now than anybody else." They understand that the church often sees them
as its future, but they find it hard to understand why the church is so
reluctant to invest in that future now. They challenge the church's foolish
and patronizing notion that young adults are going to drop out for a while
and then come back when they have kids. They know their generation,
and they know their church, and they don't believe those who've left will
be coming back.
        They believe the church's ministry on campus is urgent, for their
generation and for the church, now and in the future. For them, the
future is now, and they are the future present and active in the church's
life.
        For information on the December 3-6 event, contact the Office of
Young Adult and Higher Education Ministries at the Episcopal Church
Center, 800/334-7626 extension 5267.

--The Rev. Timothy Hallett is Episcopal chaplain at the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and rector of the Chapel of St. John the
Divine in Champaign, Illinois.