By Stacey Noem
I write to address the appeal by Autum Dierking that UP do more for our Christian students that do not identify themselves as Catholic (10/11/2007, "Spiritual guidance needs to address other views").
First I would like to thank Ms. Dierking for taking the time to address her concerns in a well-written piece. Then to her plea "I'm still waiting," I would like to respond, "Please wait no longer."
Campus Ministry is for everyone, not just Catholics. Our office and the University administration value all our students' spiritual growth so highly that we fund a Campus Ministry staff position dedicated exclusively to our interfaith students (me).
Through this position alone we maintain a network of 13 small faith group gatherings across campus. In addition to Bible studies in each hall we have special interest Bible studies such as Officers Christian Fellowship and the Nursing Bible study. We have musical worship opportunities like Fish and Praise and Fellowship. We even have a newly forming Mormon group to serve our LDS students. These groups organize any number of Christian retreats, days-way, service opportunities and social activities (you can thank us for Dodgeball each semester).
This only begins to touch on programming we have available to all students, programming that is not explicitly Catholic.
We offer more than a dozen retreat opportunities a year which are intentionally designed to provide for students across the spiritual spectrum. We have something for everyone - from the Freshman Escape, the Sophomore/Junior Getaway, and Hall retreats which provide for community building and some spiritual exploration, to the Encounter with Christ, Senior Encounter and Silent Retreat which facilitate in-depth spiritual contemplation and reflection.
But if these opportunities take you too far off-campus, we provide a Men's Spirituality group and a Women's Spirituality group for those that would like to explore their spiritual lives more deeply: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, what have you. We offer marriage preparation to all students, not just those entering into a Catholic marriage. We offer a Muslim prayer room in Christie Hall. We partner with halls to provide spiritual (not explicitly religious) programming. For example, last year a meditation group was held in Shipstad using a different style of meditation each week. Moreover, on the very day Ms. Dierking's article was published, an ecumenical and meditative prayer service was offered in Kenna as a way for students to center themselves in silence amid their midterms.
We so highly respect the faith traditions from which our students come that we carefully cultivate a relationship with members of Campus Crusade for Christ. We invite members of their team to campus so that our students may be mentored in their own Christian faith tradition and not have to rely exclusively on the Catholic members of our staff. You would be hard pressed to find any other Catholic institutions that go that far to meet the needs of their other Christian students.
At this point I would like address Ms. Dierking's attempt at comparing UP's interfaith Campus Ministry offerings with those of Notre Dame and Gonzaga because I found her lines "Notre Dame does. (...) Gonzaga does," particularly hurtful. Leaving aside the polemical tone these two statements create, I would like to correct a misconception. While I can speak only anecdotally about Gonzaga, it is with a high level of experience that I speak first hand about Notre Dame (my alma mater and our beloved sister school). I assure you that when it comes to concern for the spiritual development of our respective student bodies we match these institutions stride for stride. But when it comes to providing comprehensive offerings for the spiritual guidance and growth of our interfaith students we have Notre Dame beat by a mile. (And I am not only comparing candy dishes here...)
Campus Ministry maintains an office in the Pilot House. Students that might hesitate for whatever reason to step into our Chapel offices can access all our services here - just between The Cove and The Book Store. Our candy dish is always available and the door is always open.
So, to Ms. Dierking's plea that "UP do a little more to help non-Catholic students find their spiritual identity," I say simply:
UP does.
"Come and see..."
Stacey Noem is an Assistant Director for Faith Formation at Campus Ministry
