Commitment to Campus Ministry
FROM THE RECTOR
I am thrilled to share that the Diocese of Arkansas is appointing a full-time chaplain to St. Martin’s Episcopal Center at the University of Arkansas. The Rev. Casey Anderson-Molina, who is finishing his final year of seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, will begin his ministry there on June 1. Casey is from Russellville, where he was a member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church. He is married to José, and they look forward to moving to this area very soon.
Casey’s appointment by the bishop represents a significant investment by the diocese in campus ministry. As you might remember, our bishop began his ordained ministry as a university chaplain in College Station, Texas. Sara and I went to Casey’s ordination to the diaconate in Russellville a few weeks ago, and we heard the bishop describe the importance of college ministry during his sermon. While acknowledging the inherent challenge of becoming a chaplain under the supervision of a bishop who was once himself a chaplain, Bishop Benfield named the unique opportunity that this ministry provides.
The bishop exhorted Casey to keep the doors of St. Martin’s open for those who never knew they needed faith until the stresses of college life descended upon them. Many of our undergraduates have only known the faith that has been handed to them by their parents. They have never had reason to make it their own. But with the radical freedom of independent living often comes radical challenge. Sometimes the demand to succeed, which is concentrated in the university setting, becomes crippling. The gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s unconditional love for all of us—flourishing or floundering. Who else can share it with them as authentically and relationally as a college chaplain?
Recently, St. Martin’s has only had a part-time chaplain. Although certain times during the year demanded full-time attention, Adelyn Tyler-Williams and, before her, Samantha Clare split their time between ministry at St. Paul’s and ministry at St. Martin’s. Neither the diocese nor St. Paul’s was willing to commit the financial resources necessary to support a full-time presence at the University of Arkansas. With Casey’s arrival, that changes.
For starters, it means that Casey will not be a full member of the clergy team at St. Paul’s. After speaking with the bishop, I do think that Casey will join us on Sunday mornings and share in our staff meetings on Tuesdays, and we will certainly benefit from his presence, but those are primarily opportunities for his formation—for the support of his ministry at the university. We will get to know him, and I am sure that, in a pinch, he would help us out with a hospital visit or a weekday service, but his focus will be on the community at St. Martin’s.
That also means that he can help grow that ministry beyond what has been possible in recent years. He will be their priest, their chaplain. In addition to the usual weekly services and pastoral appointments, he can look for new formation opportunities, service projects, and public engagements. He can do more intensive catechetical work. He can build new relationships with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, with whom we share that ministry, and he can establish more intentional connections with parishes across the diocese. He can collaborate more fully with other faith communities at the university and with other Episcopal campus ministers in other dioceses.
A year from now, I expect that we will be celebrating significant growth at St. Martin’s. I have already encouraged Casey to think of this year as an opportunity for him to demonstrate to the diocese the importance of full-time college chaplaincy. This level of commitment is a significant investment in the lives of the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Arkansas, and without substantial growth it will be hard to maintain that level.
One of the difficulties of campus ministry is that the fruit of those efforts are often hidden for years. Only a dozen or so students might show up each week to a college Eucharist, but, by helping them find a meaningful faith of their own, each one of them has the potential to become a leader in whatever congregation they move to after college. While students are less likely to show up every week, those who attend occasionally while in college often become weekly worshippers when they are off on their own. While the benefits may remain hidden for now, the consequences of not investing in campus ministry—of not helping these young adults discover the grace and love of God when they need it most—is already manifest in the general decline across our denomination.
I am a product of college ministry. Although I was sent to seminary by a parish in Birmingham, Alabama, it was my college chaplain whose support and mentorship I felt most strongly. Because of the community that he fostered, I discovered that the faith I had grown up with was not just for my parents but for me and that it was okay for me to make it my own. Campus ministry is not just a bridge between childhood and adulthood. It is the place where the seeds of faith sprout and grow.
The next twelve months will be an important time for all of us to invest in college ministry in Fayetteville. Whether providing a meal, showing up for a workday, making a financial contribution, or remembering Casey and St. Martin’s in prayer, we have work to do. It is good and holy work, and I suspect we will see the fruit of that work not only in the years to come but even here and now. Join me in looking for ways to make St. Martin’s a priority for our parish and to celebrate what God is doing in the lives of our university community.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan D. Garner