All Are Welcome at the Waysmeet Center

Last week I had the opportunity to visit with nearly 20 students from the University of New Hampshire as part of the project, and spent time learning from them about their experiences with campus ministry, their needs, and their thoughts for the church. I’m not going to say exactly what they said at this point—when I get a chance to summarize information from all the focus groups we’ve held across New England, then I’ll post some reflections here on this blog for you. But I did have a few general thoughts I wanted to share with you about my visit to UNH.

The United Campus Ministry at the University of New Hampshire, also known as the Waysmeet Center, is a collegiate ministry sponsored by your Presbyterian mission dollars, as well as the mission funding of several other Protestant denominational partners. When you pull into the Waysmeet Center in downtown Durham, right across from the UNH campus, you’re immediately struck by its colorfully painted door splattered with yellow daffodils. If you come when I did, you’ll also notice that the front door is open. This place encourages the stranger to wander in as well as the friend, and has plenty of food on hand to greet her!

The ministry offers a variety of entry points for student involvement—some learn about Waysmeet through the large number of UNH student groups that the campus minister, Rev. Larry Brickner-Wood, allows to meet there. Others get involved through the ministry’s popular Drum Circle and pasta dinners. Some are involved with various spiritual groups. A few are looking for a place to live, and Waysmeet offers affordable housing in an intentional community. And many get involved as volunteers in service. The Cornucopia Food Pantry, which is primarily staffed by student volunteers, is open three times a week to community members in need. The pantry produces 450 food baskets annually over three gift cycles, feeding 2,250 people. This and other related volunteering activities give 300 students and community volunteers the opportunity to reach out to over 5,000 people every year. This is a place where students can have fun, explore their spiritual lives, and make a difference in the lives of others.

And I will say this much about my conversation with students there—they care deeply about this ministry. The mere fact that 18 people gave up an hour or more of their Thursday night to come talk to me, and another two emailed me responses because they couldn’t come in person, shows me more than any words how meaningful students find their involvement with this ministry. If you think that college students aren’t interested in our campus ministries, I invite you to check out the work at UNH. You can visit their website here.