Vicar (ad) Ventures Part V
Spring semester classes have started, and so have our new programs with campus ministry. We are doing a book study on Cathleen Falsani’s book, The God Factor on both campuses. Falsani interviews different public figures, including Barack Obama, Anne Rice, Bono, and Hakeem Olajuwon about their faith and spiritual journeys. The interviews are short enough to read and discuss in an hour-long time, and they bring up lots of relevant faith issues for college age students. A big event for our campus ministry in January was hosting the Central States Synod bishop, two churchwide campus ministry staff, and the campus pastor from the University Chicago as they reviewed our ministry and gave commendations and recommendations. Every ELCA campus ministry is evaluated every four years in this kind of review. We found it helpful for outsider feedback and suggestions, and we were happy to receive lots of affirmation as well!
At Bethel, I am happy to see more lay people taking on leadership responsibility for our Green Team. I am loving our confirmation students; they have really gotten into our discussion of the Lord’s prayer and are starting to pray more comfortably aloud in our classes. The recent earthquake in Haiti gave ample opportunity to talk about where we see God in the world and how God answers prayer even in the darkest of times.
Finally, the end of January has brought me to six full months of internship – I am halfway through my time here in St. Louis. There is still much to be done and many ways that I hope to grow. In particular, I am looking forward to improving my evangelism skills on campus, providing more one on one pastoral care, and taking on more leadership as I move from being a student to a colleague in ministry. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!
Rebecca