Task Force on Campus Ministry

Transcription

1 Task Force on Campus Ministry Editor s Preface The Task Force on Campus Ministry was a charge of the NWPA Synod in Assembly at its 2010 Assembly. The scope of this Task Force was to deal with the changing landscape of campus ministry and to provide direction for the future with regards to focus and funding. At the time it was proposed the Inter-synodical Committee on Campus Ministry was still overseeing funding of the Campus Center on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As the committee was constituted that reality changed and added to our work the future of this existing ministry. As such the following parameters of the task force were established: What is the Synod s Vision for Campus Ministry? How does Campus Ministry fit into the Synod priorities of Forming Faith, Making? Funding for Campus Ministry. Funding for IUP Campus Ministry. Funding for Other Campus Ministries/Contact Congregations. The material of this report is both prescriptive and descriptive. We have tried to prescribe what we see as best practices for congregations with a campus community in their parish. At the same time we are forced within the recommendations to be descriptive of the conditions that we find the church/synod in today. Lack of financial commitment should not infer a lack of commitment to the importance of this ministry. Nor should our present financial reality be seen as lessening the Task Force s resolve for congregations to take seriously the best practices or their call to this ministry. While the implementation of this report was beyond the scope of this Task Force it would be our hope that this document would serve as a continued resource for this synod and its ministry to young adults as well as the opening of an ongoing conversation as to how the synod might more fully engage them in the life and ministry of this synod. It would be our hope that a committee might be formed to oversee this ministry within our synod that would provide congregations continued support and encouragement in the living out of their ministry to this population. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Task Force for their diligence, insights and faithfulness to this work. I and this church are truly blessed by their ministry. Pastor Harold Jake Jacobson, Convener 1 P a g e

2 Report We the congregations of the NWPA Synod are called to engage in deep hospitality, wise outreach and creative mission with the campus communities on our territory in shared worship and prayer, service and stewardship, fellowship and learning. We will offer and cultivate relationships, resources and collaborative ministries for those disciples of Jesus who are looking to live out their faith, as well as offer opportunities for the disconnected to explore the Christian faith. We will seek to develop meeting places and mutual ministries where the gifts and powers and hopes of young adults can flourish, and where their distinctive faith and life challenges can be heard, and addressed. We will promote mindful conversation and exploration of vocations, personal and public. We will welcome, and seek to amplify, the particular charisms that young adults are offering within the Body of Christ, as the whole church engages times of profound missional re-orientation. We will endeavor to give guidance to those struggling with issues of vocational discernment. At a time when many are struggling with identity, relationships, and new learning without their traditional support networks our congregations will make available a forum for discussion, guidance and discernment. Called to foster arenas where God s work of reconciliation can occur we will continue to work to build stronger ties between our congregations and the students, faculty and administrations of the campuses in our communities. This call places campus ministry within the parameters of the synods priorities in the following way: Forming Faith The locus for forming Christian faith is the gathered community. Whether that gathered community is within a free-standing campus ministry site or a local congregation it is expected that opportunities to engage in the following should be present: Worship Prayer Service Fellowship Learning Discernment Making Disciples The making of disciples within the Christian tradition has involved the identification and nurturing of individual gifts/charisms, the exploration of vocations in which these gifts might be used and the healthy development of mission/service with one s vocation. A campus ministry site has a unique opportunity to address these issues as they are developing within the young adult or returning adult student. 2 P a g e

3 Developing Leaders The development of leaders both within and outside of the church is paramount for our region today. The campus ministry setting can be a vital locus for identifying the gifts of leadership as well as honing those gifts in through opportunities for engaging in leadership. Other areas involved in developing leaders would include: Exploration of vocations Identification of gifts/charisms Vocational Discernment Development of adult life-skills Best Practices As we look at our call in light of these priorities it seems that there are certain best practices that are identified for campus ministry and contact congregations within our territory. Deep Hospitality congregations are called intentionally to reach out to make college students feel welcome at worship and within all aspects of the church family Wise Outreach we are called to provide appropriately trained leadership (lay and/ or clergy) Worship and Prayer we are called to provide opportunity for worship, Bible study, and prayer. Service and Stewardship - we are called to provide opportunity for student to give back to the community whether in conjunction with a local congregation or an independently organized project. Promote Mindful Conversation we are called to provide an arena where college students may discuss current issues that they are facing and how to respond in an appropriate manner. We are further called to provide an arena for conversation regarding issues of vocational discernment. Develop Meeting Places we are called to provide hospitable space. This space could be within the walls of another building/church that is readily accessible to the student body. It could be a building separate and apart from all others and designated as Campus Ministry. Within the space there should be facilities for larger groups/worship, small spaces for personal/private conversation and prayer. Appropriate reading materials and resources could be provided. Collaborative Ministries we are called to develop/identify projects, activities, goals where local parish(s) and campus ministry work together to support the given needs of the greater community. Life Challenges we are called to develop and promote peer ministries or other resources where a student could call/ drop in to talk when they feel as though they are in crisis mode. The constituent pieces of such campus ministries might include: Campus Ministry staff (full time/part time, paid/volunteer, rostered/non-rostered) Student Leadership Congregation Support/Sponsors a solid foundation of parishioners who are dedicated to supporting this ministry. Perhaps include a designated liaison who works with campus ministry to identify and communicate needs that the sponsoring/supporting congregation could fulfill. 3 P a g e

4 Ecumenical Ministries - in an effort to witness to the fullness of the church as well as greater funding possibilities where at all possible we encourage congregations to explore ecumenical partnerships for campus ministry. All of this requires resources both human and financial. As we look into the future both as a synod and as congregations we recognize a steadily decreasing pool of resources. This will affect how and where we are able to implement campus ministries on the territory of our synod. Of immediate concern is the campus ministry at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1987 the Intersynodical Committee on Campus Ministry (ICCM) was formed. This was an effort of the three newlyformed synods (WV/WMD, SWPA and NWPA) that once comprised Western PA/WVA Synod of the LCA to provide adequate funding for full-time chaplains of the Campus Ministry of Greater Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Indiana University of PA. In addition it also supported the ongoing efforts of Lutheran Campus ministries/contact Congregations at Clarion, Edinboro, Meadville and Grove City on the territory of NWPA. In 2011 The Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod determined that it could no longer financially support the work of ICCM. The ensuing crisis will make it necessary for this synod to arrive at some determination as to the future relationship with the Campus Ministry Center at IUP. Paramount is the financial commitment. At present we have budgeted for the three campus ministries (Campus Ministry of Greater Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Indiana University of PA) a total of $ 43, through May of The Proposed NWPA Synod Budget for 2013 has redistributed those monies in the following way: Indiana University of PA ($ 33,613), Campus Ministry of Greater Pittsburgh ($ 5,568), and West Virginia University ($ 4,415) to reflect While the importance of campus ministry has been reaffirmed by the work of this task force, questions of sustainability of current structures and patterns remain at the forefront of discussions. Recommendations In looking at the best practices highlighted on page 3 and the changing funding stream; there is nothing listed that requires the current structure or funding patterns to remain intact to assure faithful ministry to the campuses on our territory. In many ways, our current situation opens the possibility to envision this ministry in new and creative ways. That said, the Task Force offers the following observations and recommendations: 1. The locus of campus ministry is within the parish of our congregation(s), involving both the campus community and the congregational community. As such the primary relationship for campus ministry is between congregation(s) and campus. 2. Campus ministry is contextual. No two campuses or congregations are alike; therefore, to promote a single model for campus ministry would be inappropriate. It is expected that campus ministries would to the best of their abilities reflect the best practices of this synod as outlined on page 3 of this document. 3. The primary role of the NWPA Synod will be to encourage and facilitate faithful and ongoing relationships between the congregations of this synod and the campuses of their parish. Assistance with the exploration of appropriate models, establishment of sustainable funding patterns, and reshaping of ministries is available through The Director for Evangelical Mission and existing campus ministries on the synod territory. 4 P a g e

5 4. Funding for campus ministry in the future will be congregational or cluster based. This is the level best able to assess needs and direction for the ministry. 5. Synodical funding to campus ministries will be in the form of grants for the purpose of start-up of new campus ministry efforts by congregations/ clusters or the revitalization of existing campus ministries seeking to reenergize or embark on a new direction for the ministry (vehicles for such funding would include: The Good Ideas Fund and the Hegele Estate). 6. Sustaining grants or line-item funding from the NWPA Synod would not be available. 7. Because of the abrupt change in funding for the ministry at the Lutheran Center at Indiana University of PA it is recommended that synodical funding be decreased incrementally as the congregations of the parish explore new possibilities of sustainable funding and as the ministry is reshaped to reflect the changing landscape of this church. This ongoing decrease in funding will be done in consultation between the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Center and the Office of the Bishop of this synod. Membership Pastor William Bixby Thiel College Pastor Steven Bond Indiana University of PA Mrs. Beth Grafton Indiana University of PA Dr. Robert Holderer Edinboro University of PA Pastor Jeffery Piccirilli Penn State Behrend Pastor James Seeley Grove City College Pastor Arlene Schweitzer Indiana University of PA Pastor Harold Jake Jacobson Clarion University of PA 5 P a g e