[ecm] A big Episcopal "howdy!"

[Rob Lundquist]

Greetings & blessings!

 

>From Episcopal Campus Ministries in Ft Collins...


This Sunday, Oct 14: 6 pm service -- Christian humility
I Peter 5:5b-7, Psalm 147:5-12, & Mark 9:33-37
At 6:30 I'll speak informally on "What's distinctive about Anglican
Christianity?"   One of these things is not like the others....
7 pm -- free dinner, prepared by Matt Rogers, PhD & all-round groovy dude.
Come on by! Bring a friend or 2.

Hope to see you!

In Christ,
Rob+

 

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The Rev. Robert Lundquist, Episcopal Chaplain

1208 W Elizabeth St, Ft Collins, CO 80521

   970-482-2668                 FAX 866-261-3507

 970-372-7515 cell & text        <mailto:rector at stpauls-fc.org>
rector at stpauls-fc.org

  <http://www.stpauls-fc.org/College_ministry.htm>
www.stpauls-fc.org/College_ministry.htm 

FaceBook:     <http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2230590958>
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2230590958

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

 

 


Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus


ALAN FINDER, New York Times

 

Peter J. Gomes has been at Harvard University for 37 years, and says he
remembers when religious people on campus felt under siege. To be seen as
religious often meant being dismissed as not very bright, he said.  No
longer. At Harvard these days, said Professor Gomes, the university
preacher, "There is probably more active religious life now than there has
been in 100 years." 

Across the country, on secular campuses as varied as Colgate University, the
University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley,
chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion
and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember.  More
students are enrolling in religion courses, even majoring in religion; more
are living in dormitories or houses where matters of faith and spirituality
are a part of daily conversation; and discussion groups are being created
for students to grapple with questions like what happens after death, dozens
of university officials said in interviews. 

A survey on the spiritual lives of college students, the first of its kind,
showed in 2004 that more than two-thirds of 112,000 freshmen surveyed said
they prayed, and that almost 80 percent believed in God. Nearly half of the
freshmen said they were seeking opportunities to grow spiritually, according
to the survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University
of California, Los Angeles.  Compared with 10 or 15 years ago, "there is a
greater interest in religion on campus, both intellectually and
spiritually," said Charles L. Cohen, a professor of history and religious
studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who for a number of years
ran an interdisciplinary major in religious studies. The program was created
seven years ago and has 70 to 75 majors each year. 

University officials explained the surge of interest in religion as partly a
result of the rise of the religious right in politics, which they said has
made questions of faith more talked about generally. In addition, they said,
the attacks of Sept. 11 underscored for many the influence of religion on
world affairs. And an influx of evangelical students at secular
universities, along with an increasing number of international students,
means students arrive with a broader array of religious experiences. 

Professor Gomes (pronounced like "homes") said a more diverse student body
at Harvard had meant that "the place is more representative of mainstream
America. That provides a group of people who don't leave their religion at
home," he said. 

At Berkeley, a vast number of undergraduates are Asian-American, with many
coming from observant Christian homes, said the Rev. Randy Bare, the
Presbyterian campus pastor. "That's new, and it's a remarkable shift," Mr.
Bare said.  There are 50 to 60 Christian groups on campus, and student
attendance at Catholic and Presbyterian churches near campus has picked up
significantly, he said. On many other campuses, though, the renewed interest
in faith and spirituality has not necessarily translated into increased
attendance at religious services. 

The Rev. Lloyd Steffen, the chaplain at Lehigh University, is among those
who think the war in Iraq has contributed to the interest in religion among
students. "I suspect a lot of that has to do with uncertainty over the war,"
Mr. Steffen said.  "My theory is that the baby boomers decided they weren't
going to impose their religious life on their children the way their parents
imposed it on them," Mr. Steffen continued. "The idea was to let them come
to it themselves. And then they get to campus and things happen; someone
dies, a suicide occurs. Real issues arise for them, and they sometimes feel
that they don't have resources to deal with them. And sometimes they turn to
religion and courses in religion." 

Increased participation in community service may also reflect spiritual
yearning of students. "We don't use that kind of spiritual language
anymore," said Rebecca S. Chopp, the Colgate president. "But if you look at
the students, they do." 

Some sociologists who study religion are skeptical that students' attitudes
have changed significantly, citing a lack of data to compare current
students with those of previous generations. But even some of those
concerned about the data say something has shifted.  "All I hear from
everybody is yes, there is growing interest in religion and spirituality and
an openness on college campuses," said Christian Smith, a professor of
sociology at the University of Notre Dame. "Everybody who is talking about
it says something seems to be going on." 

David D. Burhans, who retired after 33 years as chaplain at the University
of Richmond, said many students "are really exploring, they are really
interested in trying things out, in attending one another's services." 

Lesleigh Cushing, an assistant professor of religion and Jewish studies at
Colgate, said: "I can fill basically any class on the Bible. I wasn't
expecting that." 

When Benjamin Wright, chairman of the department of religion studies at
Lehigh, arrived 17 years ago, two students chose to major in religion. This
year there are 18 religion majors, and there were 30 two and three years
ago. 

At Harvard, more students are enrolling in religion courses and regularly
attending religious services, Professor Gomes said. Presbyterian ministries
at Berkeley and Wisconsin have built dormitories to offer spiritual services
to students and encourage discussion among different faiths. The seven-story
building on the Wisconsin campus, which will house 280 students, is to open
in August. 

At Colgate, five Buddhist and Hindu students received permission to live in
a new apartment complex on the edge of campus this year. They call their
apartment Asian Spirituality House and they use it for meetings and
occasional religious events.  The number of student religious organizations
at Colgate has grown to 11 from 5 in recent years. The university's
Catholic, Protestant and Jewish chaplains oversee an array of programs and
events. Many involve providing food to students, a phenomenon that the
university chaplain, Mark Shiner, jokingly calls "gastro-evangelism." 

Among the new clubs is one created last year to encourage students to hold
wide-ranging dialogues about spirituality and faith. Meeting over lunch on
Thursdays in the chapel's basement, the students talk about what happens
when you die or the nature of Catholic spirituality.  Called the Heretics
Club (the chaplains were looking to grab students' attention), the group
listened to John Gattuso talk about his book, "Talking to God: Portrait of a
World at Prayer" (Stone Creek Publications, 2006), a collection of essays
and photos about prayer in world religions.  

 

"Do you need to believe in God in order to pray?" Mr. Gattuso asked.  The
discussion was off and running, with one student saying one needed only to
believe in "something outside yourself" and another saying that "sometimes
'Thank you' can be a prayer." 

Afterward, several students talked about what attracted them to the
sessions, besides the sandwiches, chips and fruit. Gabe Conant, a junior,
said he wanted to contemplate personal questions about his own faith. He
described them this way: "What are these things I was raised in and do I
want to keep them?" 

 

 

 

 

 

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