Lutheran Campus Ministry (ECLA) at Northern Michigan University
In recent weeks, we’ve been holding a series of conversations with a local priest from the Zen Buddhist community. A common ground we identified in both Christian and Zen traditions is awakening to what Carlos Castaneda once called a “Second Consciousness.” In that respect, I’ve been thinking about specific frontiers of this new way of seeing that define who we are in our small faith community. Look closely and you’ll find footprints of such consciousness between the lines of projects and programs in this ministry newsletter.
First is Dreaming. Everyone has a song to sing, a story to be lived out, distinct from any other. This goes against conventional thinking that suggests we must copy or model our life around someone else. It’s a personal and difficult challenge to claim your own sacred story and “calling” (vocare in Latin). To even begin, one needs to be reminded—and convinced!—that their life is blessed. That’s what the ritual of Baptism is about.
Second is Exploring. Sharon Parks, teacher and author, calls for a commitment in education to “Creative Dislocation.” She reminds us an important developmental task for young adults is to break out of the box, to try walking different paths. There’s a lot of ways to do this, but at the root of any healthy expression is a sense of cosmic safety; an awareness and conviction that life is bigger, deeper, more mysterious and better than we may have thought. All life is holy. At Lothlorien, our student center, you’ll notice we have a copy of the Rolling Stones magazine lying next to The Christian Century and The Internationalist on our living room table.
Third is Skill-building. It’s not a college degree by itself that will equip you to engage and serve the world in an effective way. It’s the ability to lead a discussion, host an informal dinner, relate to people from different walks of life and process the ups and downs of your emotional life. It’s about seeing yourself humbly as part of a Great Drama. Choosing to be connected to a healthy faith tradition can do that.
So, for those on the way to new horizons, our prayers! For the rest of you, looking forward to a new semester ahead, our blessings. We promise
to be here. By your side.
Weekly Rhythms
THE GATHERING
Our Wednesday mid-week services welcomed over these past weeks Pastors Laurel Halverson-Bernard, David Van Kley, Steve Gauger, Steve Solberg and Jim Duehring. Thanks to each of them for sharing fascinating insights into the mystery of the Gospel as it practically impacts and shapes our daily lives.
Emmanuel Shayo from Tanzania, International graduate student, has provided great leadership for our mid-week liturgy.
We start up again on Wednesday, January 13 at 8 p.m. on the second floor of the University Center. This is the heart of our community’s life. Our Lenten tradition includes various individuals from the wider Marquette community, who come as guests to Lothlorien to share their own respective “stories of faith.” There will be no Gathering the weeks of Lent. Instead, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17, we will meet for six weeks at Lothlorien (8 p.m.) around the fireplace to explore the mystery of our guests’ faith journeys.
GAUDEAMUS Latin for Joy-filled
Sunday Evening Student & Community Suppers
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall
1318 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette - 6 p.m.
Special thanks to Lothlorien’s good friend Mary Kay Peterson, former nurse and refugee worker in Malaysia, who hosted our Gaudeamus dinner during Thanksgiving week with traditional Thai cuisine.
Our traditional End-of-the-Semester Celebration was held on December 6 at the campus pastor’s home. Our regular schedule at St. Mark’s starts up again on January 17 from 6-7 p.m. See you then!
Our appreciation to all those who have contributed home cooked meals for our fall semester series!
THE SAMUEL PROJECT:
PASTOR IN RESIDENCE, NOVEMBER 2009
Pastor Steve Gauger, from Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid River, recently joined us for the second in a series of “Pastor in Residence” at Lothlorien. Clergy and church workers are invited to join us for three days of reflection and respite from parish responsibilities. We serve as hosts and provide hospitality on campus and invite our guest to serve as preacher at our mid-week Eucharist. We intend this to be a time of renewal and rest for our colleague.
Here are Steve’s reflections…
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my time with the LC M students at Northern, from the perspective of a parish pastor, father of two college students, and simply as a concerned Lutheran. I hope to put some of what I learned to work in my own congregation’s ministry to young adults. Three impressions have stayed with me in the weeks since my visit.
• Campus Ministry at NMU provides students with genuine leadership experience. Learning to take responsibility and provide leadership in a community is often forgotten in the quest to find fun things for our young people to do. I am sure there are challenges in convincing students that they can be leaders, but I felt that every person I met carried it off with an effortless grace.
• I liked the emphasis on supporting the student ministry with a group of interested and interesting adults from the St. Mark’s/Messiah congregation. I think it really helps to connect the lives of students with the larger world of church and community. Too often we segregate our young people in a kind of youth ghetto, especially on a university campus. To borrow an image from the letter to the Hebrews, I was quite impressed by the “cloud of witnesses” supporting and encouraging the students in their endeavors.
• I think Campus Ministry serves to open hearts and minds to possibilities and challenges that our job-focused educational system tends to close off. Connecting young lives with Lutheran World Relief, Earthkeepers, or visiting scholars and religious leaders, all working to wake students up to the wonders of God’s world, and the wideness of God’s grace and interest. Our young people need these experiences, especially at a time in their lives when they have not been captured by the world’s quest for more and more stuff.
Thanks for the work you do for our students and for the larger church. LCM is a real gift to the congregations and families that send their children to NMU.
God’s blessing. –Steve Gauger
FINANCES AND SHARING CAMPUS MINISTRY RESOURCES
A few years ago I asked a graduating student, Shannon, one of our leaders, “What is the most important thing you’ve learned these years working with campus ministry?” After a brief pause she replied, ”I had no idea what it takes to keep a mission like this alive and working!”
Campus ministries are very much like the “special forces” in the life of the church. We spend most of our time in “no man’s land” trying to figure out who the enemy may be or who our allies are. It’s always a surprise. This kind of outreach is a fierce, intense, joyous kind of experience. Not everyone has the stomach for it, primarily because like many small parishes, though our needs are minimal, financially we are extremely fragile. Since 1963 we’ve faithfully carried on the work here. These are the toughest financial challenges we’ve ever faced because of ELCA funding cutbacks.
At the same time we’re convinced that if we’re supposed to be here, then the Spirit will help provide the support. You, our readers, are part of that Spirit. The Church and its friends that have called us to this place. Eighty-eight individuals have supported us thus far in 2009. We hope to end the year with 100. We’re looking at a lean program budget of $30,000. We’re almost there with 23,670! Pray for us. We know we can’t do this alone.
FINANCES AND SHARING CAMPUS MINISTRY RESOURCES
CONTINUED...
Here’s a sample of how we’ve impacted the university, the world and the wider church since 2003...
...Sent 11 young adults into Central and South America with Lutheran World Relief teams and sister-parish programs.
...We are the first campus ministry at NMU to welcome a nationally renowned Islamic religious leader and Buddhist priest for interfaith dialogues at our campus center.
...Provided 167 overnights of hospitality (at no cost) in our Bonhoeffer Guest Room for church workers, refugees and seminarians.
...In 2005, our Earthkeeper student team worked with 287 congregations from 10 faith traditions in Northern Michigan to collect over 320 tons of electronic waste. In 2009, this same group also facilitated the planting of 12,000 trees.
...Mentored and provided support for 3 students who have chosen to enter the ordained ministry, one who served in London with an ELCA Global Mission project and one who served with the Peace Corps in the Ukraine.
CARING FOR CREATION:
EARTHKEEPING
Our interfaith student representatives, Amanda Emerson and Ben Scheelk, continue to work with the larger religious community in Northern Michigan to help plot our future strategy for our Ecumenical Earthkeeping outreach. The US Environmental Protection Agency has encouraged our church leaders to continue this creative, grassroots effort. In November, Amanda and Ben joined the Earthkeeping Vision team (representing 10 faith traditions) on a retreat at the Page Center in Gwinn. Kyra Fillmore remains EK Coordinator. Last April Earthkeeper volunteers from 100 faith communities in fifteen counties planted 12,000 trees across the Upper Peninsula.
Special thanks for Bishop Tom Skrenes’ leadership in coordinating denominational leaders and bishops for our projects. Keep tune for notification on an “Eco-Christmas” workshop at the Peter White Public Library, December 12, coordinated by NMU’s Amanda and the Earthkeeping team.
SEMINARY ROAD TRIP
This November, Finlandia and NMU Campus Ministry teamed up to offer a discernment vocational/education trip to visit three nearby seminaries (Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Wartburg Seminary and Luther Seminary). There were 5 participants, from a range of backgrounds and all searching of a next possible step in discerning their future.
The trip began with Finlandia students and their van, driving over to stay the night at Lothlorien. There, NMU students welcomed all of us and offered a great night of discussion and laughter prior to the next day's early send off. Each seminary had their own unique formats and allowed students to freely gather and formulate their thoughts. Hosts, admissions staff and seminary employees were all very pleasant and willing to offer their advice. We received many eye-opening examples of why people (students, employees, etc.) “liked it where they were.”
Overall, during the van travels, information gathering and discussions over pizza, wings, and burgers...the Spirit was present, along with ten eyes looking at their future and seminaries in a whole new light. In this group....could there be new pastors, a new missionary, a parish nurse, a liturgical minded artist?
Peace.
—Soren S. Schmidt
University Chaplain
Finlandia University
SPIRIT OF PLACE
“GOD AND THE BOMB”
On November 12, NMU student Ben Scheelk traveled to New Mexico for a retreat on spirituality, ethics and the challenge of nuclear energy. Traveling between a Benedictine Monastery and the National Laboratory at Los Alamos, Ben joined a group of geologists, social workers, pastors and former NMU faculty members as they explored the history of the development of atomic weapons, the promises of nuclear energy and the dynamic interface of faith and science.
Special thanks to Bob Kraus and Louise Hanna for their leadership in coordinating this “Spirit of Place” retreat for The Cedar Tree Institute. (Bob is a former leader in campus ministry in Oregon and currently Deputy Director for Laboratory Research at Los Alamos.) And also, thanks to Larry Rusmussen, Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union Seminary, who served as a special presenter and provocative discussion leader.
INVITATION TO LOTHLORIEN
Our guest room at Lothlorien is available for clergy and church workers when visiting the Marquette area. There is no cost involved. We offer this service as a gift to the wider church’s mission.
To make a reservation, please call (906)228-8033 or contact us via e-mail at lcmnmu7@charter.net
LIVING BUDDHA • LIVING CHRIST
For five evenings during November, Paul Lehmberg, NMU English professor and priest of the local Lake Superior Buddhist Zendo, joined our community to facilitate discussions on a tiny classic book by Thich Nhat Hanh that explores common ground between Christian and Buddhist traditions. Thirty-two members of the Marquette community joined NMU student Zach Bennett and the Campus Pastor in a series of insightful conversations about the meeting of these two great world religions.
Suggestions for Lutheran practice that emerged from these discussions include insuring more time for silence during our worship experiences and keeping a clearer focus on disciplines of faithful prayer and acts of compassion. There was also a challenge to lighten up on the sometimes Lutheran obsession with right dogma and belief. It appeared to several of us that most Christian churches also would do well to incorporate a higher degree of modesty and humility in their endeavors.
FIRE, EARTH AND SPIRIT
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
Coming Up!
On January 31, 2010, Dr. Audrey West, PhD arrives as our guest for three days at Northern Michigan University. Audrey will be making a presentation on campus and meeting with faculty and staff, as well as leading a workshop for clergy on February 2 at Messiah Lutheran Church. A New Testament scholar, she will be traveling from Pennsylvania and staying in the Bonhoeffer room at Lothlorien. Special thanks to Warren Geier, pastor at Bethany in Ishpeming who is coordinating this event.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Congratulations to Erika Niebler and Scott McLain who have announced their engagement! Erika has served us in a key leadership role in recent years and will be graduating in May, 2010 with a degree in nursing. Our prayers are lifted up with a great shout of joy for your upcoming life journey together.
Lift up prayers for Carolyn Jean, our Campus Ministry Associate, who is on medical leave for December through January. Carolyn is recovering from cancer surgery and is taking these coming weeks to rebalance and gain back strength.
Special thanks to Rev. Margie West, United Methodist Campus Pastor at NMU, who was honored at a farewell breakfast at Lothlorien in early December by her colleagues for her excellent contribution as a member of the NMU Campus Ministry Association over these past twelve years.
Pastor Steve Solberg (Immanuel, Negaunee) and Lothlorien’s media friend Greg Peterson are currently finishing up a video on our work and outreach for use with our partner parishes. Look for it on our Web site in December!
Our 15th Annual All Saints Bonfire occurred on November 7 at the lake-front home of Carolyn Jean where members of NMU’s Catholic Campus Ministry and LCM hosted an evening of remembrance, hot cider and smore’s around a roaring beach fire. Thanks to NMU’s Lacey Heinzelman and Interfaith Earthkeeper representatives, Amanda Emerson and Ben Scheelk, for coordinating such a memorable night under the stars. Thanks to Carolyn Jean and her mother Jo for providing the great hospitality.
Welcome to NMU, student Jenna Eagloski from Green Bay, Wisconsin who joins us for the next six weeks working on a special project retrieving and building an up-to-date alumni list for our ministry here at Lothlorien. Jenna is majoring in communication and public relations and will be graduating in May 2010.
Our blessings and farewell to Pastor Virginia Eggert, Faith Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, who will be heading to Portland in January 2010. Virginia has provided key support for our ministry at Lothlorien over the years.
Special prayers are raised for Pastor Scott Ehle and his wife Stefanie on the loss of their first-born son Luke Gerald in October. Scott left a lasting legacy here at the NMU campus ministry in his years as a student leader. The campus pastor and his wife Diana traveled to Fairwater, Wisconsin for the funeral. A tree will be planted at Lothlorien in Luke Gerald’s honor this coming spring.
Our appreciation to Gisele Duehring from Prince of Peace who facilitated a four-week Bible study for students, “The College Christian” in October. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Harvey) was initially one of our Covenant congregations in 1963 and continues to provide critical support for our mission.
Larry Pagel, NMU faculty member and special friend of Lothlorien, continues his faithful efforts in building and overseeing our Lutheran Student Movement Endowment Fund at NMU. Thanks, Larry!
LOOKING BACK...LOOKING FORWARD...
A Word from Graduating NMU Senior Sarah Swanson (December ‘09)
Although I’ve spent only three and a half years at NMU, I managed to squeeze in quite the array of experiences with the help of Campus Ministry. As an LCM student leader, I was able to reach out to the wider community of Marquette. Welcoming students and community members to join our midweek worship, hosting renowned scholars in our tiny campus ministry house and sharing in home-cooked community meals were all essential parts of my own breaking-out of the typical campus experience. When Jon approached me about joining a Lutheran World Relief team on a Fair Trade coffee study tour in Nicaragua in the fall of 2008, I jumped at the chance.
What campus ministry was about for me was testing boundaries and breaking my “cosmic egg”, as it was once described to me by my campus pastor. My view of the role of the church overseas was completely turned upside down after experiencing firsthand the way in which our global church family is impacted by something as simple as the choice of which coffee to drink in the morning. My experience in Nicaragua prompted the cracking of my own “cosmic egg” and encouraged me to speak to audiences around the Upper Peninsula about the significance of Fair Trade.
Campus ministry has been a unique experience. Where else would I have had the opportunity to worship in a barn with the animals, take part in an interfaith environmental group or learn about Fair Trade coffee from the very families who produce it? It's been experiences such as these that I have come to value most from my fleeting college career. Thank you to everyone who intersected my path during my time here at Northern. As I venture forward on my journey, I will take with me each lesson and warm memory you have provided me during my undergraduate career.
–Sarah
Campus Ministry Staff & Volunteers
Lutheran Campus Ministry (ECLA)
A Ministry of the Northern Great Lakes Synod & Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
"No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
—Samuel Beckett
Jon Magnuson, Campus Pastor
Carolyn Jean, Ministry Associate
Student Leadership Team
Erika Niebler
Lacey Heinzelman
Emmanuel Shayo
Board of Directors
Pastor Warren Geier, Chair
Peter Claybaker, Treasurer
Jackie Greising, Secretary
Dulcey Heinzelman
Pastor Steve Solberg
Helen Koski
Pastor Tim Bernard
Pastor Virginia Eggert
Barb Ojibway
Jill Krah, Financial Secretary
Covenant Congregations: St. Mark's and Messiah
Lothlorien “Where Time Passes Differently”
Lutheran Campus Ministry (ELCA)
701 W. College Avenue
Marquette, MI 49855
(906)228-8033
www.nmulutherans.org
lcmnmu7@charter.net
