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Campus Ministry: Any Congregation Can Do It Cong. Dist. Ext. Services, UUA |
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Campus Ministry: Any Congregation Can Do It Cong. Dist. Ext. Services, UUA |
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Rev. Donna DiSciullo - Outgoing Director of Campus Ministry, UUA
Melissa Quirk - UU Campus Ministry Group, Vassar College
We often lament the fact that Unitarian Universalist youth, having been brought up in our churches, so often lose their connection to Unitarian Universalism when they leave high school. Campus ministry can be an important program to help those youth continue their participation in our faith; it can also attract others who had no awareness of Unitarian Universalism. Campus ministry can truly sow the seeds of the future for Unitarian Universalism.
In this seminar, the Rev. Donna DiSciullo of the UUA and Melissa Quirk of Vassar's UU Campus Ministry Group, outlined some basic needs and expectations for campus ministry, and shared their experiences on how campus ministry can work. DiSciullo also mentioned that she is the outgoing director of the Campus Ministry program at the UUA, and introduced Michael Tino, the incoming director.
The time students spend on campus may be called the heretical years -- literally the years in which they are choosing their future values. We have an obligation to make our principles and purposes available as these young people get in touch with their souls. We can provide a place for youth to come together and reflect on the values in their lives, thus creating a safe place for people to get in touch with their soul.
In this sense, campus ministry is ministry, not a vehicle for growing a church. Most of the youth involved in campus ministry may never set foot in the church that sponsors their group. By providing them with programs and an awareness of Unitarian Universalism, we support them in their spiritual journey, and we may well be creating young-adults who will find their Unitarian Universalist church when they leave the campus.
There are currently between 100 and 125 active campus ministries. Being student led, they are very dependent on the energy of the core leadership of students. In fact, campus ministry is characterized by continuity and change. The role of the congregations is to provide the continuity they need. Typically, the structure within which this happens is a committee in the local congregation. When the student leadership is strong, this committee can concentrate on relations between the group and the congregation. However, when student interest flags, a local congregational committee can be key in keeping the group alive.
Relations between congregation and campus ministry groups can be uncomfortable. Bearing in mind the fact that groups are typically student led, and that students prefer it that way, there are various kinds of events that can bring the congregation and the campus ministry group close together: dinners, speakers, open houses, conferences, and shared work experiences. It's not a natural relationship; it's one that needs to be maintained intentionally.
In order to do that, congregations need to tune in to the college calendar. Remember that there are midterms, finals and vacations that give the college year it's own rhythm. One factor for success in attracting students to a Campus Ministry program is to start out very early in the school year. Freshmen are bombarded with a solicitations to participate in a huge number of activities and organizations. The patterns they establish in their first few months of school are the ones that persist. So work at snagging people right away. Letters and welcome "care" packages are good methods for this.
Someone needs to be responsible for campus ministry in the church. It works best if it's considered a ministry of the congregation and becomes part of the general congregational consciousness. Find allies in the congregation; people whose kids are going off to college are naturals. Then find someone to go on to the campus and support them.
Note that campus faculty and staff are typically not good choices for this role. Once the program is established, student members of a campus ministry program tend to enjoy meeting these people in an off-campus congregational context (a dinner or similar event), and relating to them on-campus. Similarly, within the congregation, choosing the volunteers who will directly interface with the students can require some care. The Campus Ministry program at the Office of Congregational and Extension Services has some support material for people intending to be the liaison with Campus Ministry groups. There is also a Campus Ministry "Instant Start-up Kit" which is being rewritten. Some copies are still available, however.
Once the group is started, they may find ways to participate directly in the life of the church. To see hour your congregation looks through the eyes of the youth on campus, take a look at the "Congregational Survey of Young Adult Involvement." In some cases, small changes in the life of the church can make it much more attractive to such youth. In other cases, the best thing to do is create worship opportunities (like a Sunday evening "Sundown" service) that may be more attractive.
As we think of youth bridging from our churches when they go away to college, we must give them some place to bridge to. Campus ministry groups can, in many cases, be that place. The Campus Ministry program also has a packet on "Bridging" that amplifies on this perspective.
Other resources available from the office include "send-off cards." These cards are to be filled out by an adult in the youth's congregation, and sent to a congregation near where the youth are relocating. The intention is that the congregation in the youth's new location will contact them and help them connect with the campus ministry or other Unitarian Universalist program there.
If those names are also forwarded to the Campus Ministry program, they will be added to a database they maintain of Unitarian Universalist youth, which helps people start Campus Ministry programs. The also receive the programs "Ferment" newsletter.
There are funding sources appropriate for large churches - 400 or 500 members and up. Paid permanent campus ministers would be great, but other than these, the largest of our congregations, that's difficult. Where a congregation (or congregations together) are willing to fund a campus minister, the Office of Campus Ministry has a program to provide three years of transition funding.
For smaller churches, the office is starting a program is to support closer congregational/campus connections. It doesn't take much to have a viable and vibrant program. A part-time contact person can be hired for several thousand dollars a year, and provided with funds for expenses. A modest program like this can cost as little as three thousand dollars a year. It might meet with the students once a week in a spiritual context and do some programming with young adults on campus. The Office of Campus Ministry can support the start-up of such programs as well.
On the other hand, a church whose pledge base is shrinking and whose membership is aging is probably not a good candidate for extending itself into a campus ministry. A better focus for such a church would be a young-adult ministry, which would attract young-adults capable of pledging and adding directly to the life of the congregation.
In terms of setting up the program, gaining official status on the campus is key at many institutions. At others, students themselves have access to lists of names and religious affiliations that may not be available to off-campus organizations. In other cases, the campus chaplaincy can help locate interested students. The Campus Ministry office also has a list of "10 Easy Things You and Your Congregation Can Do to Support Campus Ministry."
Although there are scattered resources on the world wide web for helping with Campus Ministry, CUUYAN is working towards creating a coherent collection of resources; they hope to have this project underway this year.
General Assembly 2001 · Program Grid
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