ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 25, 2007
Lutheran Campus Ministry Celebrates Centennial June 25-2907-111-LL*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church inAmerica's (ELCA) Vocation and Education unit will celebrateLutheran campus ministry's centennial anniversary, which willcoincide with the annual continuing education conference atLoyola University Chicago, June 25-29.
"The centennial theme is comprised of three phrases, each emphasizing the ongoing mission of campus ministry: expanding minds, deepening faith, and inspiring service. These themes will be lifted up at our conference and echoed by our keynote speakers and various workshop presenters," said Sue Rothmeyer, director of campus ministry, ELCA Vocation and Education. She said that 100 campus ministry staff members from a number of campuses are registered to attend.
On June 26 Sharon Daloz Parks, director of Leadership forthe New Commons - an initiative of the Whidbey Institute,Clinton, Wash, will serve as the keynote speaker. Daloz Parks hasheld faculty and research positions at the Harvard DivinitySchool, Harvard Business School, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. She alsoserves on the project staff of the Valparaiso Project on theEducation and Formation of People of Faith. Valparaiso is an independent Lutheran institution. Daloz Parks is the author of several books.
Christian Scharen, director of the Faith as a Way ofLife/Pastoral Excellence Program and assistant professor(adjunct) of Congregational Studies and Practical Theology, YaleDivinity School, New Haven, Conn., will speak on June 26. His most recent book, "One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God," is a theological evocation of the Christian faithseen through the lens of the rock band, U2.
The conference and centennial celebration will culminate on June 28 with worship to be held at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, will preach and a celebration will follow the service.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to share experiences through a number of workshops and recognize alumni inattendance with awards of recognition for their contributions to campus ministry.
Lutheran Campus Ministry began in 1907 with the calling ofthe Rev. Howard Gold to the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
"It's the first time the Lutheran church identified a pastorspecifically to be in ministry to and with the students on apublic campus," said Rothmeyer. By 1921 Lutheran student groups and individuals were interested in holding a national meeting. Thirty-nine students from 16 colleges and universities attended a conference at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). LTSP isone of eight ELCA seminaries.
In 1922 the former LutheranBrotherhood of America sponsored a gathering of students to an organizational meeting in Toledo, Ohio. At that meeting theLutheran Student Association of America, now the Lutheran Student Movement, was formed, according to Rothmeyer.
One hundred years after its beginning, ELCA Campus Ministrycontinues to focus on student ministry from the base of Word andSacrament. Its mission is to "invite people in academic settings more deeply into Jesus Christ and the community that bears hisname, so that they can discover and fulfill their vocation asdisciples."
There are 190 campus ministry agencies across the country,working with more than 400 Lutheran congregations. These efforts attract an estimated 4,400 students to worship each week, according to Rothmeyer.
Hanson reflected on his experiences with campus ministry inthe introduction to "A Centennial Book of Essays Honoring Campus Ministry's 100th Year." "My personal gratitude for campus ministry has deepened throughout my ministry. As the pastor of a large congregation at the edge of a Big Ten university campus, as bishop of a synod committed to deepening its relationship to campus ministry, and now from the perspective of the presiding bishop of the ELCA, I have rejoiced in campus ministry's mission to expand minds, deepen faith, and inspire service," Hanson wrote.
