Ministries provide church home away from home

Catholic campus centers give students the chance to strengthen their
faith during the college years

Nearly 2 million young Americans arrive on college campuses as freshmen each year, many of them away from their homes and parents—and tasting freedom—for the first time.

For students, this can be an exciting time and a big step on the road to adulthood. It can also be an opportunity for great spiritual growth and understanding.

Waiting to help these young people are hundreds of Catholic student ministries, which act as partner, guide and refuge on their journeys of discovery.

These programs, which could not function without outside financial assistance, are major recipients of Catholic Extension grants through its Building Faith initiative.

These grants help make faith “real” in college students’ daily lives, supporting campus ministries in creating faith communities that are homes away from home for many young adults. Sometimes they  provide a Catholic presence on college campuses where there otherwise might not be one.

“Once you get into college, if you can find that fellowship, that group of people you can relate to, they can help solidify your commitment and your faith,” said Andrew Kinstetter, 20, president of the Newman Center at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. “If you’re homesick or scared, it’s a really good thing to have.”

Catholic campus ministries meet Church needs for students and others in the community, such as Mass, Bible studies, catecheses, reconciliation and counseling. They also offer a wide range of programs and events meant to foster outreach and community-building, from move-in help for freshmen, free lunches and cookouts to service projects, retreats and international mission trips.

“Mission trips are the best,” said William Burmester, a junior at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, who has gone on several trips as a student. “Mission trips are not only so that the missionary can change the lives of the less fortunate. I found that the people we helped changed my life. Even though they have so little, they still are able to give thanks and love God so much.”

Students’ families can benefit from the ministries too, just by knowing there is someone their loved ones can turn to in times of need.

“It gives the parents some peace of mind to have the church there for their children,” said Andy Downs, past president of the Rapid City school’s Newman Center.

Once a student is acclimated to college life, the academic and social rigors provide an excellent backdrop for the kind of reflection and discernment that, with help from the ministries, can allow a young person to leave school even stronger spiritually than when they arrived.

“I would like people to have spent their time in college growing in their faith and becoming strengthened by all those challenges,” Downs said.

In this way, greater independence can equal greater ownership of one’s beliefs, and an even greater sense of belonging to the Church.

“When you grow up, it’s your parents taking you to church, and it’s their thing,” Kinstetter said. “But once you get to college and you choose to go to Mass, the faith is becoming your own. You’re worshiping with people your own age, and you’re all committed to your faith because it’s your choice to go.”

As the centers become more popular, student participation grows each year. This growth increases costs and program expenses, and places tremendous pressure on providing enough space for all to participate.

“Fifty to 60 students, or more, attend the weekly Sunday Mass here at our 1,100-square-foot Catholic Campus Ministry House, and believe me, it is packed!” said Deacon Richard Papini, director of the ministry at the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College in Conway.

Campus ministries pose unique circumstances for church leaders, who face great turnover each year as seniors graduate and new students arrive. Some parishes have no permanent home, and folding tables may serve as altars or pedestals for icons.

At St. Leo the Great Catholic University Parish and Student Center, located at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Rev. Ernest “Father Ernie” Hardesty faces challenges like this as a pastor all the time.

But his church, a single-story, 60-year old house, is literally overflowing with parishioners—college students who want to deepen the experience of faith in their lives. Young adults who want to advance peace and social justice in the world around them.

“This really is a parish since it can minister to all their needs and provide the sacraments,” including weddings and baptisms. St. Leo’s has a reputation as pitching in to help anywhere on campus where help is needed, Father Ernie added.

“The programs, fellowship and support we provide the student body also play a big role in student retention,” he said. “Because of this, college presidents offer tremendous backing for the work we do.”

Dr. Patricia Buford, director of the center and head of Arkansas Tech’s Electrical Engineering program, says preparation is vital to a  thriving ministry. Her team works hardest in the summer, she said, contacting parishes and high schools to get the names of incoming students and preparing a calendar of weekly activities.

One message Buford hopes to impart through the ministry is the meaning of ministry itself:

“Ministry is who you are, how you live your life.”