Catholic student groups reach diverse population at BGSU |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 03 October 2008 01:00 |
BOWLING GREEN—College students looking to connect with their Catholic faith have no shortage of outlets to choose from at Bowling Green State University.
Catholic Newman Club, Creed on Campus, Catholic households and student retreats — each one has its own unique focus, and each one falls under the umbrella of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA) at BGSU and St. Thomas More University Parish.
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Members of Creed on Campus were among those praying the rosary outside
the Center for Choice abortion clinic in Toledo Sept. 11, including,
from left, Katie Breidenback, Bret Huntebrinker, Bethany Schmiedebush,
Heidi Wagner and Alicia Riedel. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens
Bertke)
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Father Michael Dandurand, pastor of St. Thomas More, says CCMA was initiated last year to foster "collaboration, cooperation [and] complementarity, as opposed to competition or maybe just conflicts because of scheduling." Each Catholic organization within CCMA maintains a certain degree of autonomy, with its own student leaders, budget and style of outreach, but he says the parish endorses them all "as student groups that are authentic to the church."
Until recently, there was just one Catholic student organization at BGSU — the Catholic Newman Club, which has a history on the campus dating back to 1940.
Fifty years ago, the students involved in that organization helped build the chapel on Thurstin Avenue that became the worship space for St. Thomas More University Parish when it formed in 1967. The parish is celebrating the anniversary of the dedication of its church this month.
"The history of Catholic Newman Club is a really important part of our parish history, and our relationship to the university," says Fr. Dandurand.
A second Catholic student organization, Creed on Campus, emerged at BGSU about seven years ago, and has gradually begun working more directly with the parish in campus ministry.
Angela Wasserman, president of the group, says its mission is to inform and educate students about church teachings "to help them understand their faith more and help them make it their own."
Members delve into Catholic teachings during meetings, and the group sponsors an annual trip to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and brings national Catholic speakers to campus. Marcus Grodi, founder of the Coming Home Network International, answers questions about the Catholic faith in November, and Christopher West returns to campus to speak about the Theology of the Body in March.
Ms. Wasserman, a senior who has been involved with Creed since her freshman year, says she appreciates that the group addresses issues that make the Catholic faith "relevant to who we are and what we do on campus."
Students looking to experience their faith through service to others can get involved in the original Catholic Newman Club, which recently shifted its mission to focus on social justice. Notre Dame Sister Maria Sally Willitzer, an advisor to the group, says members usually gather the first Saturday each month to do a service project that relates to a theme of Catholic social teaching.
For their fall break, the group is planning an ìUrban Plungeî into inner city Cincinnati to serve with Franciscans for the Poor. They also organize a formal dance to raise money for the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Another program the parish started last year gives Catholic students the opportunity to live in households with others who share their faith.
Ellen Borer, a junior who leads a women’s household, says the support system is one of the best parts of living in an apartment with three other Catholic women. "We challenge each other to live better, more spiritual lives and we are honest with one another," she explains.
Members of her household eat one meal together each week and pray the liturgy of the hours three times a week. On Mondays, they gather in church for evening prayer with another women’s household and the men’s household.
"The wonderful sense of community and the relationships between so many different people are one of the reasons that the households are so unique," says Ms. Borer.
St. Thomas More also offers a student retreat program based on the Paschal Mystery called Koinonia — a Greek term for "community." The retreat is held twice a year, and Fr. Dandurand says past participants form another community.
Some students participate in more than one group, or attend other social and spiritual events sponsored by the university parish. Fr. Dandurand says a Wednesday evening Mass followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament "without question is our biggest student Mass," drawing between 50 and 80 students a week.
He believes the variety of groups better reflect the diversity of the college student population at BGSU, which includes an estimated 6,500 Catholics.
"To ask one group of student leaders to try to touch all the various areas of campus life would be too much to ask of them," he adds. "It’s better, I think, to empower more students and enable them to find a particular niche in which they can serve."
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Last Updated on Monday, 22 December 2008 11:12 |
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