Department of Campus Ministry Annual Report 2014-2015
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DEPARTMENT OF CAMPUS MINISTRY ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 Respectfully submitted by: John B. Scarano, director of Campus Ministry Campus Ministry Philosophy The Department of Campus Ministry encourages students, faculty, and staff of JCU to integrate personal faith into the academic and social environment of the university. We value the university’s commitment to academic pursuits, and welcome the opportunities we have to bring a Catholic and Ignatian faith perspective to bear on issues and trends that may surface in various disciplines and in a variety of social milieus. We have identified the following statements as our purpose: We embrace the Jesuit, Catholic intellectual tradition as an indispensable partner in the search for truth and wisdom. We promote the service of faith and the promotion of justice through education, advocacy, service and reflection; We foster the development of whole persons who become servant leaders in their local and global faith communities. We provide an open, caring, hospitable and collaborative atmosphere that supports the mission of the University. We establish a sense of community through vibrant worship, retreats, small faith communities, and immersion experiences. We recognize Eucharist as our primary liturgical experience, while also celebrating a diversity of faith and spiritual perspectives that seeks both wisdom and a fuller spiritual life. Departmental Goals: In solidarity with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we aspire to instill a basic knowledge and understanding of the six aspects of Campus Ministry outlined in the 1985 US Bishop’s Pastoral Letter “Empowered By the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future.” The six aspects are: Forming the Faith Community Facilitating Personal Development Appropriating the Faith Educating for Justice Forming the Christian Conscience Developing Leaders for the Future In light of these aspects, our departmental goals are as follows: 1. To form the faith community in the Catholic and Ignatian tradition, as well as provide our non-Catholic population with opportunities to gather with others of their faith traditions. 2. To aid the JCU community in the appropriation and appreciation of their faith. 3. To provide opportunities that form the conscience and character in light of Catholic Social Teaching. 4. To facilitate the personal development of our students. 5. To educate the community in a “faith that does justice.” 6. To develop students as discerning leaders who will excel in learning, leadership, and service in the region and in the world. 1 Campus Ministry Highlights for 2014-15 Confirmation and reception into the Catholic Church – This year, we accompanied four students through the process of sacramental initiation. Three of these received sacramental initiation at the Easter vigil at Gesu. There were two who received the sacrament of baptism, and one who was received into the Catholic Church. One student received initiation at her home parish in Pittsburgh. Interfaith Initiatives We continued to support Hillel, an organization for our Jewish students and the Muslim Student Society for Muslim students, as well as the ad hoc Lutheran group. We helped arrange events and provided a prayer space for the Muslim Students and a space to hold numerous Shabbat events for the Jewish students. The primary interfaith program was “Living the Mission” – a collaborative effort with the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office. These were informal panel discussions about the day to day reality of students of various religious traditions. There was a panel in the fall (about 120 students attended) and a panel during Ignatian Heritage Week which focused on “Care for the Earth,” facilitated by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald (also approximately 120 in attendance). Campus Ministry collaborated with the library to establish an interfaith prayer space there. The opening of this prayer space occurred during Ignatian Heritage Week. Additional Interfaith initiatives: “Explore” – a program designed to reach out to non-Catholic Christians. About 15 students attended one of 11 visits to area places of worship, which included the following: St. John the Baptist Byzantine Cathedral, St. Elias Melkite Catholic Church, Gateway Heights Christian Church, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic Christian), Greater Cleveland Shiva Vishnu Temple (Hindu Temple), St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, St Peter's Lutheran Church (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod), Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church (ELCA), and Green Road Synagogue. Following the visits, resident minister, Gillian Halusker led a reflection over lunch. “Icons of Faith” There were three parts to this presentation – each meant to expose students in different ways to the idea of saints across traditions. We purchased a lighted display board and 13 icons. These were displayed at the beginning of Lent in the Student Center atrium. Each icon included a short description/explanation of the symbols contained therein. We also included brochures of iconography. In addition there was a program presented on Thursday, February 26th at 5 pm in the atrium (adjacent to the icon display). John Carroll student, Svetlana Knezevic discussed icons in (her) Orthodox tradition. She spoke for about 15 minutes, followed by discussion and a question and answer period. About 30 people (mostly students) attended this presentation. There was very good feedback from those who attended – they learned a lot and felt comfortable asking questions in the informal setting. Campus Ministry also included a “Pray from the heArt” program on March 10th at 8 pm in the CMCR in which students were invited to make an icon. “Interfaith Student Advisory Board” – Campus Ministry formed an Interfaith Advisory Board, which met twice in the spring semester. Representatives included, Roman Catholic, Main-line Protestant, Evangelical/Non-denominational Christian, Jewish and Muslim students. The Board made recommendations to staff about how we can be more welcoming to a diversity of students. Liturgical Ministers – Among our John Carroll students, we had 12 students trained as sacristans, 67 trained as Lectors, and 92 as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharistic. We had a total of 128 individual students involved in a variety of ministries with many trained for several areas. All Eucharistic ministers are trained both at John Carroll and through the Diocese of Cleveland. Liturgy Interns – one student was chosen to participate in a pilot liturgy intern program for the spring semester; this student had responsibility for attending various after-hours liturgical events and providing support; taking videos and pictures. As a result of the success of this project, three students were chosen to participate in an ongoing intern project for 2015-16. 2 Retreats: This year we had two new retreat offerings led by Resident Ministers as well as a notable increase in our Senior Retreat (record number of 71). “Connections” and “Roots” were two new overnight retreat programs that were very well- received by students. In particular, the outdoor overnight retreat was a student initiative that was supported by Resident Minister, Russell Lum. These programs added variety in terms of style, length, and focus for the overall retreat program. Manresa Retreat remains a vibrant part of the retreat program. We continue to set records for student applications for leadership positions. For the nine team positions we had 28 (fall) and 21 (spring) applicants. Additionally, the demand for the 40 participant slots is so high that we have transitioned to an online lottery registration system. Finally, we prepared 34 students for the 8-Day Silent Retreat, with 19 continuing on to participate in the retreat. This year we created a new retreat called “Crossroads” which was tailored to the needs and issues that arise mid-way through students’ college career. We had 19 sophomore and junior students and six junior and senior leaders. About half of our attendees had never before gone on a retreat at John Carroll. Additionally, we piloted “Becoming,” a series of evenings of reflections in the Ignatian tradition for juniors and seniors focusing on such questions as “Does everything happen for a reason?” and “Why are good decisions so hard to make?” Students are looking forward to this series continuing. Resident Ministry In addition to the Outdoor overnight retreat, The Resident Ministers also collaborated on a new spring retreat for first year students called “Journey,” which was led by first year students who attended the first year retreat in the fall. Resident Ministers continued to focus on programming with RA’s in the Residence Halls, co-presenting programs with RA’s, typically two a month, but sometimes as many as 5 a month. One resident minister, Gillian Halusker, continued her weekly program, “Pray from the heArt”, which averaged 12 students a week. Russell Lum continued weekly meetings with his “spiritual, but not religious” group of students. Erin Valencia continued to work with the Respect for Life and Alpha Omega groups. Alpha Omega sponsored 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration, monthly Festival of Praise events and two retreats. Erin also coordinated and accompanied 56 students to the March for Life in Washington DC this past January. Murphy Hall masses began again in Murphy chapel with increased attendance and a group of 4-5 students who led music and helped with the Mass. There was also good attendance at the socials held after Mass in the Murphy common area. Immersions A total of