Empowered: Reflections for Catholic Ministry in Higher Education
Brought to you by the Catholic Campus Ministry Association
Posted by admin on May 11, 2012 under Uncategorized | 
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CCMA bloggers will be taking a break for the summer! No need to fret, the team will be back to blogging news, reflections, reviews and more in August. Please feel free to post your own stories, reflections, thoughts and ideas while we’re away. We would love to hear from you!
Have a blessed and happy Summer!
From CCMA and the Technology Subcommittee
Posted by admin on May 10, 2012 under 4. Thursday in the Trenches | Be the First to Comment
As I enter the year-end mode and reflect back and evaluate (a fancy way of saying I need to do lots of assessment and reporting), I find this to be a helpful time to re-center and revisit the fundamental reason for doing this very good, very challenging work of campus ministry. I would like to share with you a handful of quotes that keep me centered in my ministry. Perhaps you have a favorite quote of your own you could add in the comment section?
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.”
-Thomas Merton
“The sign outside the gates of salvation says, ‘be grateful.’”
-Michael Levine
“I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions.”
-Dorothy Day
“Youth look to the church to show them something, Someone, capable of turning their lives inside out and the world upside down. Most of the time we have offered them pizza.”
-Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
-Aboriginal activist groups, Queensland, Australia
I wish everyone a rejuvenating and joy-filled summer!
Greg Baker is Director of Campus Ministry for Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania
Posted by admin on May 7, 2012 under 1. Monday Spiritual Smoothie | Be the First to Comment
I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I hope at least some of you, in reading the title of today’s post, started hearing Haddaway’s one hit wonder of the same name because it’s been stuck in my head for a few minutes now! The readings today provide a powerful answer to the question “what is love,” and move the definition beyond pop culture to something much richer and, I would argue, much more compelling.
John’s gospel sums up the Christian mantra of love best, “love one another as I have loved you.” The first letter of John builds on this, letting us know unequivocally that “love is of God,” and in the first reading we see how Peter puts this love of God in practice, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”
Love unites us, draws us more deeply into God who is love, and is a response to the love God has shown us in Christ. We love because God loves us, and we know God loves us because of the redemptive love we experience from the embrace of Christ’s arms spread wide on the cross. And we know what love is because the tomb is empty; love is stronger than death.
God’s love for us is what allows us to love others, and it calls us to be true friends to one another. In some ways I think our entire life is the beginning of our answer to the question “what is love.” Do we live a life by which others see, experience, and encounter love in us? How do we show love to others? How do we allow others to share their love with us? And, grounding all of this, how do we love God and allow God to love us? What is love for you?
Sarah Heiman is Administrative Director of Campus Ministry at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.
Posted by admin on May 4, 2012 under 5. TGIF! | Be the First to Comment
CCMA would like to take this opportunity to thank all its members for their continued support and prayers through the past year and national convention. You all are such a blessing to us! Annual membership renewals invoices are being mailed in the next several weeks. Renewal and new membership rates will be the same as the 2012-2013 membership year, as follows:
Membership term begins July 1 and ends June 30. In order to be included in the 2012-2013 annual directory, please renew membership by June 1, 2012. Please contact Christine Bennett at memberservices@ccmanet.org or 888.714.6631, Ext. 17, for more information or to renew or join CCMA.
Posted by admin on May 2, 2012 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment
Every exam week, wonderful permanent parishioners bring in crock pots of soups and pasta and loads of cookies, muffins and snacks. Our building is left open late with tables set up in the basement, and our studious young Catholics have plenty to chew on while they study! But- as much as a good meal and quiet space is conducive to hard work, it doesn’t soothe the anxious nerves of our collegiate parishioners. In order to do something really fun to relieve anxiety and bring even more parishioners together, we started hosting a “breakfast for dinner”.
Every Tuesday night we host a late Mass- 9:15pm- which is primarily filled with college students. On Tuesday of Exam Week, we invite the parish Knights of Columbus to cook a pancake and bacon dinner and serve it after that Mass at about 10pm. We brand it with the pastor’s name, and he helps serve the meal, prays a blessing, introduces and Knights, and mingles with the students while they eat. We do not charge the students for this meal.
We do lots of fun pancakes- blueberry and chocolate chip have been our staples, but this year we tried crushed Oreo pancakes and M&M pancakes as well. No one complained :) The parish K of C has enjoyed the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with the college students- this year, we even had a student’s dad take to the kitchen!
This year over 100 students filled the church for Mass and joined us downstairs until about 11:30pm for the Late Knight Breakfast. A good time was had by all…
What programs do you run during Exam Week to help soothe college nerves? Please share your ideas!
Katie Diller is the Director of Student Outreach at St. John Catholic Church and Student Center serving Michigan State University.
Posted by admin on April 27, 2012 under 5. TGIF! | Be the First to Comment
The Frank J. Lewis Institute for Campus Ministry Orientation is a conference specifically for Campus Ministers who have completed one to three years of professional ministry. For nearly thirty years, the FJLI has assisted new campus ministers to bring the faith perspective to higher education. At the heart of the Institute is the USCCB’s Pastoral Letter, Empowered by the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future.
The Frank J. Lewis Institute will be held July 8 - July 13, 2012, on the beautiful campus of DeSales University in Center Valley, PA. You may register now by visiting www.desales.edu/FJLewis
The Institute is specifically designed to provide:
Registrations are now being accepted and registration will close when the Institute is full. For more information, please contact Maggie Riggins at: Magdalene.riggins@desales.edu.
Posted by admin on April 26, 2012 under 4. Thursday in the Trenches | Be the First to Comment
I have been privileged to be part of a great cross-departmental dialogue which is considering various offerings for student-centered programming next year. The topic is intimacy and technology. I sat yesterday morning at a table with three faculty members (an ethicist, a sociologist and a psychologist) and three administrators (from counseling, service learning and campus ministry). We are all painfully aware that there is so much (too much) to talk about. I wonder why we have not begun processing these ideas sooner. We are aware the students live in an exploding world of technology with a frequency and complexity that most of us who work on campuses do not. It is that world which we need to visit in order to offer support and (in the context of ministry) evangelize. Here are a handful of the big-picture questions which surfaced at the meeting. Each individual question could merit a program in itself.
· In an age of portable technologies, do students any longer see teachers as experts, when answers are always at their fingertips?
· Have students learned how to access information quickly, while at the same time failing to learn how to encounter people?
· Does the constant multi-tasking enabled by technology affect our executive functioning and deep learning?
· What are the direct connections between use of technology and anxiety/depression?
· Where does kindness and truthfulness enter into social media in landscape marred by bullying and intimidation?
· How do we equip students for self reflection (i.e. a journal entry written for one’s eyes only versus Face Book updates and tweets)?
· Where does technology play into our ability to mature in personal development psychologically (Erikson) or faith development (Fowler)?
· In what ways can technology be used to better this world and advance causes for peace and justice?
So, where do we begin? Our plan is to gather student leaders to identify real-life case studies that introduce questions about technology and ethics. We will engage students in dialogue at small tables to “unpack” some case studies and let students lead the way in opening up ethical and religious questions. Then a few faculty members and administrators will offer some small nuggets of research from their fields. This is step one, with many more steps to follow. How have your campus and your campus ministry entered into the world of students, in which technology is the primary means of communication? As our Church steers us to continue the process of a New Evangelization, have we accepted that (at least for the CCMA membership) the world of advancing technologies might be our single greatest missionary frontier?
Greg Baker is Director of Campus Ministry for Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania
Posted by admin on April 24, 2012 under 1. Monday Spiritual Smoothie | Be the First to Comment
Every reading this week sparked an immediate emotion and connection for me, so I need to limit myself in some way! The image Jesus puts forward in the Gospel of himself as the good shepherd in comparison to the hired man who only works for a paycheck has resonated with me in a way I didn’t expect.
Let me begin by confessing that ordinarily when I hear this reading my brain shuts off and I hear it, but I don’t listen to it. I grew up on a farm so it’s not necessarily that the imagery of sheep and shepherd is entirely foreign, but because when I hear this passage I have too often heard homilies that seem to be a self-congratulatory pat on the back for the priest about how grateful the assembly should be for his ministry and sacrifice. Priests should be thanked and often deserve our gratitude, but it sometimes becomes hard to hear the great sacrifice a priest in the United States might proclaim when considering the real martyrdom that some priests (and laity) experience even today in so many parts of the world.
There’s something about placing oneself too squarely in the role of Christ that is deeply uncomfortable for me to hear, in part because that ministry of priest as shepherd does not happen in isolation. Even in parishes where there is only one priest on staff, there are volunteers whose contributions to the parish community help the priest to faithfully witness his ministry as shepherd. I’m aware of my own limitations and tendencies that lead me to close my heart prematurely to the message God might speak to me through the words of others, and so I’m grateful today that praying with this Gospel will hopefully help me to be a bit more charitable this Sunday!
My openness to this Gospel lies, in part, with a remarkable two-day conference that just concluded at Sacred Heart University on Vatican II and the universal call to holiness. The presenters and conversations were phenomenal, and offered many challenges on how I might lead a more faithful (and therefore, more holy) life. In particular, while praying with this Gospel I thought of the remarks of Dr. Nancy Dallavalle who reflected on the role of workers.
Dr. Dallavalle suggested that one way forward in our parishes and dioceses was to have priests and bishops see the dignity of their work as equal, not superior, to the dignity of the work provided by the laity. Certainly there exists vocational and sacramental levels to their work, but one of the ways we continue growing as a people of God in holiness is to truly listen to and respect the experiences of others. How would this Gospel message be lived if the priest as shepherd asked his flock to share their experiences of shepherding? What would it really look like to invite all in a parish to have that sense of responsibility for one another such that all would be willing to lay down their life for another? Who are the members of the flock that aren’t currently present that need to be shepherded into the fold?
I’m afraid my thoughts are still rather unrefined, but there is something about this message related to labor and this Gospel that has captured my attention. And I pray that, this Sunday, I might truly listen to the message that I hear with charity rather than closing my ears and heart prematurely. I, like all of us, often have need of a shepherd as well!
Sarah Heiman is Administrative Director of Campus Ministry at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.
Posted by admin on April 19, 2012 under 5. TGIF! | Read the First Comment
The Campus Ministry Leadership Institute is a five-day training and working institute for student leaders and campus ministers from across the country who attend together as campus teams. Now in its fourteenth year, the institute is designed to produce effective leaders who work collaboratively to develop and implement successful Catholic Campus Ministry programs on college campuses, both private and public.
At CMLI, participants learn and practice valuable leadership skills with their teams, develop a project that is ready to implement at home, generate new ideas by networking with campus leaders from across the USA, and acquire a practical understanding of Catholic Campus Ministry based on the US Bishop’s Pastoral Letter, Empowered by the Spirit. The institute is open to any campus ministry program where a college campus minister and two to five students (upcoming sophomore through senior) register as a team.
CMLI will be offered twice in the summer of 2012. The two sessions will have identical goals and schedules, so you can choose the date and location which works best for you. Session 1 will take place June 6-10 at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa. Session 2 will be held June 20-24 at the University of Missouri-Columbia (St. Thomas More Newman Center) in Columbia, Mo. Scholarships, for campus teams from mission diocese, are made available through a grant from the Catholic Extension Society.
For more information contact Barbara H. McCrabb at bmccrabb@usccb.org or by phone at 202.541.3142. To register a team, please visit the USCCB’s website where you will find a link to “Register for CMLI 2012″. The registration deadline is May 1, 2012. For more information contact: Session I - June 6-10; Tom Sheibley, tsheible@sju.edu or 610.660.1030, or Session II - June 20-24 Angelle Hall, Angelle.hall@newmancentercolumbia.org or 573.449.5424.
Romero Center Ministries is hosting Integrating Faith, Service & Justice with Young Adults conference May 17-20, at the Romero Center in Camden, New Jersey. Sponsored by the National Young Adult Ministry Association, the conference is for those in ministry, be it at a parish or diocesan level, to young adults in college campus ministry. You will network and share resources with others in ministry, explore how to invite young adults involved in service to respond to the call to work for justice, consider ways to integrate prayers and action groups, discover how to bring Catholic Social Teaching and Church documents to life, and discuss ways that serve may help bring the transition from college campus ministry to parish life. Registration is $235 and includes accommodations, meals, programming, printed and online resources, and access to internet discussion groups. Register online by May 2.
Starting the evening of Friday, May 25, young adults from around the Chicago and the United States will be arriving at DePaul University to partake in this ecumenical event. Throughout the weekend, the Taizé Brothers will be holding prayer services several times a day, as well as small group sessions, workshops, and fellowship based on themes of solidarity and trust in the world. For more information on the Pilgrimage of Trust please follow the links to the Taizé website: http://www.taize.fr/en_article12737.html. If you have further questions, you may contact the Brothers at chicago2012@taize.fr, or Michael Schmit (MSCHMI29@depaul.edu ) in DePaul’s University Ministry office.
Chrysta Bolinger is CCMA’s Director of Member Services and Communications.
Posted by admin on under 4. Thursday in the Trenches | 2 Comments to Read
As academic years draw to a close, glances turn towards next year. As a campus ministry director, I always feel like the one who puts the “evil” in evaluate this time of year. I used to think I understood strategic planning and evaluation/assessment processes. Then I started working on a college campus. In our ministries we have the great double-edged sword that our student populations are constantly changing. We are constantly developing program for which we know we will have new leaders within a few years. Students are changing, sensibilities are changing, and things can never remain the same in our programmatic approach to ministries. Thankfully, Jesus remains the same. Much else seems to be up for grabs.
In this ever-evolving context, how does one evaluate? How do you discern which programs have the most value? Is it numbers? Is it depth over breadth? Is it diversity of programs? Is it the number of likes on your campus ministry Face Book page? I am really interested to see how other campus ministries approach this dialogue. As for me, right now we are gathering information about every program we do, answering this range of questions:
Obviously, all campus ministry programs look different and you will inevitably need different questions for your evaluation process. This year I am trying to take the “evil” out of evaluation and I am seeing this as a process of returning to the fundamental reasons why our ministries exist. Our programs are means to ends, not ends in themselves. I often speak of ministry programming as simply being the process of creating excuses to gather people to meaningfully spend time together for prayer, fellowship, discussion, service and justice. Maybe this year I will have the courage to actually cut out a couple programs and spend more quality time with the many students who hunger for presence, mentorship and companionship.
Greg Baker is Director of Campus Ministry for Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.