A website for updates and information about the New England Presbyterian Campus Initiative, a year-long project of the New England Presbytery Partnership Group.
So we’re all packed up—the office is cleaned out, the hard copy files stored, and when I’m done writing this post, I will proceed to wipe the NEPCI files from this computer’s hard drive and return it to Karl. Like the end of most term jobs, I’m joyful and sad at the same time. Joyful that I was able to see the project through to the end, but sad that I don’t know what the future holds for the New England Presbyterian Campus Initiative. In looking over interviews yesterday from last summer, I ran across one person’s wise comment regarding NEPCI: the success of the project will be judged by what follows from it. I hope and pray that what follows will be more energy and enthusiasm on the ground to do campus ministry, and more attention from our governing bodies to the good work that is being done and could be done. But I don’t know what will happen.
And in some ways, the fruits of the project have never been in my hands alone. So much of what I reported back to the presbyteries was simply a reflection of your hopes, your frustrations, and your experiences with collegiate ministry. In the end, the new thing that comes forward will be yours as well. Whatever you do, however, cannot be done in isolation if it is to have an impact on the broader church. What Presbyterians in New England need is for a broad-based coalition of people who care about campus ministry to form a region-wide group, one that will support one another in on-the-ground ministry, share ideas, and advocate within our polity for the needs of collegiate ministry. Long gone are the days when we can assume that everyone knows why campus ministry is important: people who care about campus ministry have to make their case before congregations, at presbytery meetings, even on the floor of the General Assembly. Many people don’t know how collegiate ministries impacts the life of the church, and those of us who care about this ministry need to start showing them why it does—not because we see congregations as cash cows to be milked aggressively before someone else beats us to them, but so that we can invite one another into deeper intergenerational relationships and greater opportunities for mission. To do these things, we need to come together in some formal capacity.
Perhaps my greatest regret from Great Expectations, an otherwise wonderful event with thoughtful and engaging conversation, was that as facilitator of the Implementation session I did not propose the creation of such a group. The Great Expectations event did produce a letter to the New England Presbytery Partnership Group, petitioning them to implement the recommendations of the NEPCI Final Report. But there is no doubt in my mind that we need more.
If you agree with me, if you’re interested in taking our conversations to the next level, let’s start talking about it on this blog via the comment feature (or on our Facebook group page) and see where it goes from there. Even though this stage of the project ends today, I will keep checking for your comments and, if people are interested, I will keep blogging as things progress.
In either case, I know that God’s work on college campuses is just that—God’s work. Regardless of where NEPCI goes from here, I trust that the Spirit will continue to blow in the midst of college students. And whether it blows Presbyterians into students’ lives or takes us somewhere else, I also trust that God continues to move within the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Thank you for the opportunity to work and serve on this project this year. It has truly been a blessing.
A quick guide to where you can currently find various NEPCI documents online:
Click here for the NEPCI Final Report. This link will take you to a page on the Synod of the Northeast's website. From there, download the file labeled "New England Presbyterian Campus Initiative Report."
Right now there is no word on whether the report from Great Expectations will be made available online, but if it becomes available, you will most likely find it at the link above to the Synod's webpage.
You can also join our Facebook group by clicking here. This is a great place to discuss your thoughts and questions with other New England Presbyterians who care about collegiate ministry.
If I hear of more documents from the project becoming available in the coming months, I will try to update this page.
Also, for those of you searching for Presbyterian Campus Ministry resources, these links might be of interest:
The Synod of the Northeast Grants Page includes not only scholarship information for your Presbyterian students, but also an application for the New Initiative in Higher Education grant. You might want to contact the Synod office before applying, however, to receive the latest update on availability.
The now-defunct Office of Collegiate Ministries in the PC(USA) national office still has a resources website that you may find helpful as you look for ideas and ways to connect nationally.
We’re almost there… Great Expectations is coming up in only a few short days, on Saturday, May 30 in Burlington, MA. We have an exciting program that mixes presentations with discussions, as well as plenty of time for groups to brainstorm the next steps for collegiate ministry around topics of interest to them. Our afternoon “Imagination” session is designed so that the participants can basically generate these topics in the morning sessions, and then vote during lunch on which ones they want to attend. But here are some of the potential topics we might cover, if they speak to the interests of the group:
The future of ecumenical partnerships Ministry on the pluralistic campus: secular institutions and interfaith dialogue The cultural and generational relevance of our ministries: what are students hungry for? Dynamics between evangelical and progressive campus ministries Congregationally-based Presbyterian outreach Presbyterian support for campus ministry: the role of presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly Incorporating Christian service, justice, peacemaking, and environmental issues into campus ministry Mentoring students in the search for meaning
I look forward to reporting back on this blog some of the insights and next steps that emerge from the event!
Don't forget—registration for Great Expectations continues until May 15. Please email me (Kelsey) and let me know you're coming! It promises to be an exciting day and an important one: now that NEPCI has completed its work, the ball is really in our court to take the next steps. A good turnout for the event will ensure that the next steps are effective.
Last weekend, I guess you could say that NEPCI formally ended—I presented the final report on our research to our funding body, the New England Presbytery Partnership Group (one of the myriad governance committees in our Presbyterian system). The report turned out to be about 30 pages, single-spaced, written mostly to address campus ministry issues as they related to Presbyterian polity. However, the report features sections about the nature and needs of college students today, and talks a lot about the general campus ministry landscape. When I confirm with the Presbytery Partnership Group that they want the report to be distributed, I will post a link to it on this website. But in any case, the current phase of this work is over.
Just a few reflections on what I’ve learned through the process of studying campus ministry for nearly a year now… one, I think I have added quite a bit of nuance to my understanding of the student relationship to mainline Protestant denominations. When I spoke with campus ministers and chaplains in the fall, I got the impression that denominations were irrelevant to all students. They had moved beyond denomination, were “postdenominational” in every way. But after talking to students in focus groups, I came to the conclusion that describing students as postdenominational was too simplistic. The students I met are what I like to call “denominationally open.” Whether a student came into college with no clue about the denominational thing or actually looking for something in their own tradition, most students care more about the kind of community they find within a particular ministry than with its denominational label. If the ministry welcomes them, helps them identify with a peer group, and makes room for their questions, among other things, students seem willing to participate in the ministry even if they must cross denominational lines to do so. It doesn’t mean the denominational identity has no meaning, but it does mean that community and a sense of belonging mean more. It is less a question whether our ministries are Presbyterian or anything else, and more about what students find there.
I have also learned that although some ministries we support aren’t doing the most flashy, high profile activities on campus, that doesn’t mean that their work is not making a difference. Chaplains and campus ministers serve based on their resources (which aren’t always much anyway), their own spiritual gifts, and the needs of the campus. On some campuses this meant large student groups with retreats, worships, and Bible studies. For others, it meant participating in other, not explicitly religious groups and committees as a pastoral presence and a spiritual resource. Nearly all the campus ministries I encountered were about relationships, and that seems to me the primary task we should consider when we’re evaluating collegiate ministries: is the ministry building transformative relationships, both one-on-one and with other groups on campus? Relationship-building takes on many forms, but all truly life-changing relationships will contribute positively toward a more just and compassionate campus culture.
Finally, this project has taught me more about this church that I love. I have discovered that Presbyterians in New England are not apathetic about young adult involvement, nor do they only wish to see students in the pews so that their churches will survive (although there is a bit of that longing mixed in, too). The Presbyterians I have encountered have children and grandchildren in colleges all over the country, and they care about this work because they realize how much college students need people of faith to be there for them. Campus ministry really is a mission for the church—not a mission based on that notion of the university as a temple to godless secularism, but a mission in that students need us as witnesses to Christ’s peace in times of tragedy, Christ’s unconditional love in times of stress and strain. They need caring companions on the journey, wherever that path might take them. And I think Presbyterians are beginning to awaken to God’s call and respond to that need.
Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I discovered that the Office of Youth and Collegiate Ministries in the PC(USA)'s national office had picked up the article about NEPCI in the Synod of the Northeast newsletter... check it out here.
I'm working hard on the final report for the project, with recommendations. The presentation to the New England Presbyterian Partnership Group, our grant funder, is only ten days away!
Plans for Great Expectations continue to hurtle along… the official registration form is now available here, and you can also get a flyer to post at your church or college here. Please advertise this event to anyone in your church or campus ministry who cares about the future of Presbyterian outreach. If you’re a pastor, I honestly don’t expect you and your entire congregation to show up… but I do ask you to send those two or three people in your congregation who really care about ministry to college students, and consider attending yourself. Even if members of your congregation have never participated in an event like this before, we hope that this will be the time and place when they can get involved. Also note that the deadline for registration is May 15. That will allow us to make sure we have enough food for your lunch, and that the food we provide doesn’t make you puff up like a blowfish. So in the interest of your own health and safety, please register by May 15!!
I just got back from a Good Friday Seven Last Words service downtown. The Presbyterian churches I know here in Boston don’t have Good Friday services, so I went to a great ecumenical service hosted by a Catholic community, the PaulistCenter. One of the reflections we heard reminded us that we are an Easter people living in a Good Friday world. And so we are. We live in a world where people continue to be crucified by the ravages of war, torture, gun violence, and hunger. With Jesus, millions cry out, “I am thirsty,” from lack of access to clean drinking water. This same darkness affects young adults. A February 2 Boston Globe article by Judy Foreman reports that almost half of American 19-to-25 year olds “meet standard criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder,” according to a recently published study. Young adults are often isolated and struggling, without critical relationships and communities to help them through the final maturing process. Like Jesus, they too feel forsaken. The darkness of the crucifixion story resonates with us because it reflects the reality we see every single day—in our families, in our communities, in our world.
For those of us who stand at the foot of the cross as Jesus dies, as our sisters and brothers die around us, what are we called to do? How would Jesus have us quench their thirst, and stop their crucifixions? God calls some of us to do that through collegiate ministry, but not everyone—we each have unique gifts and unique places where we have been called to serve. So on this Good Friday, perhaps we should ask ourselves how we might faithfully follow Jesus to the cross. Who has Jesus given into our care as he hangs from that tree?
May God richly bless you on this Good Friday, and bring you to the joy of Christ’s resurrection on Easter morn.
Things have been extremely busy here at the NEPCI office, deep in the bowels of Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church. Since my last post, NEPCI has hit the road to visit the Presbytery of Boston’s meeting in Worcester, MA; written a draft of the long-awaited final report; presented said final report to the project Advisory Committee; and held a conference call with the planning team for Great Expectations. You’ll see here that I’ve created a JPG version of the event flyer for your viewing pleasure—if you want something a little easier to read, email me directly and I’ll send you a PDF form.
But rather than go into some of those things today, a couple of developments have taken place in the last few weeks that underline the urgency of our common mission in campus ministry. First, funding developments among our ecumenical partners have pushed the Massachusetts United Ministry in Higher Education organization closer to the edge in terms of sustainability. It is unclear at this point what the impact of these developments will be, but at the very least it will mean fewer hours for ministry with students on campus. Second, in the latest downsizing of our denomination’s national office, the decision was made to consolidate the Office of Youth Ministries and the Office of Collegiate Ministries. As a result, two collegiate ministries staff people who had contributed much to the church’s work with college students lost their jobs. These two were the only dedicated staff people working nationally on Presbyterian collegiate ministries. Please be in prayer with me for Sylvia and Rick, as they discern where God is calling them next, and for those in the consolidated office who must now determine how to serve college students alongside their work with Presbyterian youth.
And be in prayer for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Our national leaders say that young adults in the church are a mission priority. But regardless of the rhetoric, our church’s priorities lie with those things to which ordinary Presbyterians give their time, their money, and their voices. Let me be clear: if we, the rank and file of the church, aren’t willing to put our efforts into making ministry happen on campuses, the time has long passed when we can expect the denomination to do it for us. I worked at the national office for three years, and saw how these things work. There are lots of wonderful, important ministries that people generally think the church ought to do: world missions, immigration, political advocacy, worship resources, environmental justice, peacemaking, campus ministry. When the bills come due, what will they cut? What SHOULD they cut? As one person I interviewed told me, certain ministries that have a bit of glamour about them, ministries that can make a compelling case for why they deserve a slice of that ever-shrinking pie, will continue. And ministries that are doing work we all agree is good, but have just a bit less appeal? Well, something has to give, our leaders will say.
Yet this only means the end of campus ministry if we remain apathetic—“we” meaning you, dear reader, along with me and all the other Presbyterians in our congregations with an inkling of interest in campus ministry. It is time to ask the simple question, “What is my role to play in collegiate ministry?” And you do have a role. God might not be calling you to be a campus minister or chaplain. But maybe you’re a great cook, or a genius with computers, or a Presbyterian polity wonk. People who can offer these services to the college community are necessary, too. Have we forgotten what our brother Paul said to the community at Corinth? “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Cor. 12:4-6, TNIV). Everyone has a place in the work of collegiate ministries. All you need is the heart.
If you really want to show your support for collegiate ministry during this discouraging time, I only ask you to commit to one thing: come join us in Burlington, MA on May 30. Our planning team for Great Expectations met again today, and I am always amazed by the electric energy surrounding our discussions. We will offer afternoon consultation workshops where we wrestle with the issues in campus ministry that YOU care about—congregational outreach, ecumenical partnerships, the cultural relevancy of our ministry to this generation, and as many other topics as we can find rooms to host in the Burlington church. It will be a place for us to start talking about what we can do about campus ministry and come up with some strategies for action. You don’t need any special skills, or special titles, or special reason to come to this event. We just want people who care about college students to join us.
Because when just a few of us get together and make collegiate ministry our priority, our sisters and brothers throughout the church might just sit up and take notice.
I am the Project Coordinator for the New England Presbyterian Campus Initiative. In the course of my work for NEPCI, I have interviewed nearly 40 campus ministry stakeholders and conducted focus groups with students from several New England colleges to learn more about the nature and needs of collegiate ministry in New England.
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