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Good Shepherd @ OU

The Church of the Good Shepherd is another of the three parishes that were built to serve a campus. The parish is located across the street from Ohio University, and has long been a place where the university and the local community come together. Their music program is among the best in the diocese, and engages professors and students with townspeople on a weekly basis. They provide a free lunch every Wednesday to students and residents alike. A few years ago, they became concerned with the wellbeing of adjunct professors, and started the Soul Biscuit’s program, the most innovating and exciting response to the needs of adjuncts in the diocese.

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February 15, 2016 by Praxis

Ashes to Go at Good Shepherd, Athens

by Deborah Woolsey

It was a great experience this year.  Katharin Foster joined us for a little while and Elizabeth Thompson stayed with me the whole time and gave out hot apple cider. We were able to engage more people than last year despite incredibly cold temperatures. My favorite part was when someone stopped, looked me in the eye and asked me what Ash Wednesday is. Describing the day and it’s meaning when I felt pressure to do so quickly because of cold (there were a few times I couldn’t feel my face) and time ( people were on their way to class etc) as well as accurately and still be theologically sound all in a way that anyone could understand was an enjoyable challenge. The majority of the people who asked (I’d say there must have been around 6 people who asked) chose to receive the ashes after I explained it. We also had a few who were grateful for the reminder that it was Ash Wednesday and even walked out of their way to receive ashes. Two people asked if it was okay to receive ashes if they were not Episcopalian. We found out there was a great deal if conversation about Ash Wednesday at Free Lunch.  A few who had questions from that conversation came back outside to ask us.

My favorite encounter was after a student gratefully received ashes.  He turned and started walking toward a group of students he knew and one person in the group yelled out to him: “What the hell is on your face!?” He grinned and said, “Ashes, it’s Ash Wednesday.” Then she asked him what that was.  He explained it, and she said, “That’s cool,” and came and asked to receive ashes herself. Definitely one of the best parts of the day for me.

Posted in Campus Ministries, Featured, Good Shepherd @ OU, Reflections · Tagged Ashes to Go · Leave a Reply ·

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June 25, 2015 by Karl Stevens

Soul Biscuits at Church of the Good Shepherd

People get PhDs because they love learning.  When Elizabeth Thompson said this to me I realized how obvious it is, and wondered how I’d missed that basic fact.  I’ve worked with professors for years, and have been part of many conversations about departmental committees and faculty politics – conversations in which we decry the corporatization of the university and the way that employees, especially adjunct professors, are treated.  Often anxious and bitter talk hides a deep spiritual longing, and Elizabeth helped me to understand that professors long for that feeling of excitement and discovery that was with them during their student days.

Understanding this, Elizabeth set out to help herself and her colleagues fill this longing, and build a community for a learning community at Ohio University, where she works as an Instructor in English.  She gathered a few colleagues, and together they created the Soul Biscuits program at The Church of the Good Shepherd.  “We put our spiritual life in a box,” she told me.  “When I start neglecting the things I love best, I know I’m on a downward spiral.”  Soul Biscuits works at opening that box, so that people who love learning, but have little opportunity to learn, can feel their spirits nurtured.

Soul Biscuits meets every other Friday evening.  People gather for wine and cheese, have time to chat and form friendships, and then listen to a musical performance,  a talk given by a professor or a graduate student, or participate in a workshop.  Elizabeth, and the friends who help her organize Soul Biscuits, are clear that this is a secular outreach program.  Many of our churches sit on campuses or in neighborhoods that have specific community needs.  When we stop worrying about how we can get people into church on Sunday morning, and start wondering about how we can help our neighbors, we find ourselves opening our doors to all sorts of community activities, and meeting the spiritual needs of all sorts and manner of people.

Adjunct and visiting professors are most in need on many of our campuses.  Even though we’re living through a period of steady expansion in higher education, when many schools find that they can be more selective in the students they accept due to the size of the millennial generation, and many campuses are engaged in large building projects, the job market for PhDs is exceedingly tight.  Many schools are cutting costs by hiring adjunct instead of tenure track professors.  People who have dedicated their lives to studying the things they most love now find themselves teaching heavy course loads for very little money, and with no hope of promotion. They’re so busy teaching that they have no time to learn or research, or to pursue publication, which they need to do if they’re to have any hope of finding tenure track positions.

Campus ministry is ministry to the whole campus.  This includes non-tenure track professors.  Campus ministries must find ways to serve them, both by calling the institutions they serve to account, and by helping to nurture their souls.  Knowing this, and having spent much time worrying over the needs of adjuncts, it was a revelation and a grace to discover the work that Elizabeth is doing at the Church of the Good Shepherd.  It’s work that could be shared on all of our campuses, each in its own way and in its own context.

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Posted in Campus Ministries, Featured, Good Shepherd @ OU, Reflections · Tagged Adjunct Professors, higher education · Leave a Reply ·

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August 2, 2014 by Aaron Klinefelter

Brad Modlin and the Camino de Santiago

Brad Modlin

Brad Modlin

Way back in December Aaron, Andrea, and Karl sat down with Brad Modlin to hear stories of his experience on the Camino de Santiago. It was magical and now you get to hear it too!

Brad is a PhD candidate in creative writing/poetry at Ohio University and lives in Athens, Ohio where he’s involved with his parish and campus ministry.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

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Posted in Featured, Good Earth, Good Shepherd @ OU, Podcasts, Praxis Podcast, Who We Are · Tagged Brad Modlin, campus ministry, Pilgrimage, Young Adults · Leave a Reply ·

RSS Campus Ministries Posts

  • Campus Ministry Grants 2017
  • Finding Balance: A Campus Ministry Retreat
  • Does God play dice with the universe?
  • Sing to the Lord a New Song! A Reflection on the Province V Gathering in Chicago
  • Ashes to Go at Good Shepherd, Athens
  • 2016 Provincial Gathering in Chicago!
  • Considering the Lilies
  • Prayer for Graduate Students and Post Docs
  • Register for the “Consider the Lilies” Campus Ministry Retreat
  • Soul Biscuits at Church of the Good Shepherd

Featured Posts

  • Young Adult Gathering 2019: Telling the Story of God With Us November 23, 2019
  • Rearranging the Furniture: A Theology of Praxis March 25, 2019
  • Understanding the Vision of Beloved Community March 25, 2019
  • The Church – A Video Series January 24, 2019
  • Young Adult Gathering 2018: Come Again with Joy December 3, 2018
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