Saint Stephen’s is one of three parishes that were built to serve the large, land-grant campuses in our diocese. The parish is on the campus of the Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the nation. In recent years, campus ministry at Saint Stephen’s has centered around outreach to the campus’s arts community. With the founding of EASE Gallery in 2013, the parish answered the expressed need of campus artists to have a place to show their work. Undergraduates, graduate students, and adjunct professors have all shown work there. In addition, the campus ministry is deeply engaged in an exploration of Christian spiritual practice. Sunday night services (6:00 PM in the sanctuary) focus on teaching types of prayer, and students are often the primary teachers. Our weekly Bible study is focused on spirituality as well. In addition, Saint Stephen’s is a founding member of the Ministerium of Ideas, a gathering of progressive faith leaders who engage with some of the biggest questions facing our communities by inviting university professors to speak on different topics throughout the academic year.
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Thoughts on the Future of Campus Ministry
This is part one of a two-part piece that Karl Stevens wrote for the Episcopal Cafe. You can read the whole piece here.
Campus ministry used to be easy. In the beginning, no such thing had to exist, because most colleges and universities in America were founded by specific denominations, and populated by members of those denominations. Then, in the late 19th century, students at state institutions began forming denominational groups. Some of those denominations called ordained chaplains to minister to them directly. The Episcopal Church didn’t, with some notable exceptions, preferring to establish parishes near campuses and work with student chaplains. And it was pretty clear who those chaplains and parishes were meant to serve – four year residential undergraduates, and graduate students who might stay for longer but certainly lived within the vicinity of the campus and the church.