The Wesley Foundation Update
April 2010
University of Iowa
Bright tropical peaches and pinks made all the difference in the San Salvadoran home where Alfredo, bus driver for the Wesley delegation to El Salvador, lives with his wife and two girls. Ten-year-old Sandra seemed especially pleased with the day: their home was painted inside and out; after the hot day's work was done they all cleaned up and went out to dinner; and then she learned several phrases in English from Wesley student and world traveler Brian Buh. "It was one of my favorite days there," Brian said. "It was a chance to give back to a family who was so giving to us."

Rev. Marsha Acord led the trip, with seven other participants, to El Salvador over spring break. The trip included visits to many historical sites in San Salvador and in the countryside, including the chapel where Archbishop Romero was shot, the site of a massacre during the civil war, a visit with an FMLN party member who was elected to the National Congress, and a water project in the mountains. They also climbed a volcano, played soccer with preschool children, and participated in many conversations about life in El Salvador, both past and present.

Student Nicole Hershey said, "It's different from other mission trips I've taken. Usually I've gone somewhere and worked for a week on a project and gone home. I never met the people who lived there. This trip I got to know people. I learned more about their realities and culture. We worked with a family painting their home, but more often I listened to people's stories. This trip changed me. I want to talk about the stories. I learned about war and poverty, but also about hope."

One of Nicole's images of hope is the young son of Eric Mendez. Eric was a civil war orphan. This is the fifth time the Wesley Foundation has sponsored a trip to El Salvador, and the fifth year of sponsoring a scholarship for Eric, who recently married Esmeralda, a civil war orphan like himself. Their toddler, Cesar, charmed everyone who met him. After the tumultuous years of war the parents lived through, seeing their happy marriage and Cesar was to Nicole, "like spring. Like the resurrection."

University of Northern Iowa
This evening (April 14th) we began our worship in our temporary home, known affectionately as Wesley in Exile for the last time.  We've been meeting there since a summer severe storm blew our roof onto the fraternity house next door.  Wesley in Exile had been a used book store and coffee shop.  The lighting wasn't great, there were no bathroom facilities on the main floor, it wasn't accessible, it still smelled of the used books and the paint still said Vibe Coffeehouse. But worship tonight was not about the problems and quirks.  It was about thanksgiving for the grace extended to us by Jon Gulick and the folks from Copyworks, and the students who've gotten involved in Wesley during our time here, and the two weddings that have taken place here, and the jazz vespers that we have hosted, and the callings that have been awakened.

Then our worship moved to under a yard light on the UNI campus where we prayed our prayers for the world, for poverty and peace, for our campus, for the earthquake victims in China, for victims of domestic violence, and for our leaders. Then worship moved into our "new/old" Wesley building on the corner of 25th and College.  We communed and laughed and made plans for our street dance to celebrate our return. We looked around and the craftsmanship of Larry and his crew who have transformed the desolation from the storm into a beautifully restored and improved space.  We have reduced our carbon usage/footprint.  We have used local laborers and green products and as local as possible materials.  What a wonderful evening and surely the presence of God is in our temporary Exile location, on campus and here back in our home.

Drake University   
The Wesley House at Drake University

In the early morning hours of April 10th, hate pulled onto Drake University in a red minivan. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church came to campus to protest a symposium sponsored by the Drake Law Center entitled, "The Same-Sex Marriage Divide."

Drake University allowed the protest because, like other colleges and universities, it is a haven for free and open discourse. Freedom of speech, even offensive speech, is vigorously defended here. The University also allowed for a student-lead counter protest. Police were notified and barricades were erected. University Avenue would separate the two groups.

Six members of the Westboro Baptist Church piled out of their van holding brightly colored signs bearing offensive slogans like "God hates fags," and "Fags are beasts."
It was a peaceful demonstration, and it lasted about an hour. But it was not a fair fight. On the north side of University Avenue stood more than 500 Drake students holding brightly colored signs bearing radical ideas like, "God loves all," and "For God so loved the world...."

500 to 6. It was no contest. Love triumphs over hate, again.

Iowa State University
Students at the Wesley Foundation at Iowa State are involved in four worship experiences each week (8:30 and 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sundays and midweek chapel in the Memorial Union on campus each Wednesday).  As previously reported in the Wesley Update, Wesley students are especially integral to the planning, leadership and evaluation of faithspring, the alternative worship experience held on Sunday evenings.
 
Just last week, the second Sunday of Easter, 10 students were involved in worship leadership @ faithspring...playing and singing in the worship band, leading the call to worship, reading scripture and sharing reflections on "Why I Need the Resurrection".  Many other students, of course, were in the congregation worshipping.  In addition, a special guest, former Vice President of Iowa State's Government of the Student Body Chandra Peterson, introduced the upcoming faithspring sermon series ("Sustainability...Is it a God Thing?") with her reflections on how caring for creation is connected with her faith. 
 
As the semester and the regular Wesley Foundation activities wind down students are preparing to participate in Iowa State's annual VEISHEA parade, enjoy one more Midnight Breakfast, participate in Dead Week Stress Relievers and then Finals Week Breakfasts.  Those who hang around this Summer will find Barbecue Bible Studies, a service project or two, weekly worship and some just-for-fun-activities.

Students can make college search a spiritual journey
by Mary Jacobs
Part 1 of 2
 
Katie McDermott is thinking ahead. A high school junior, she's researching colleges she might like to attend, thinking about her major and visiting with admissions officers. She's also making connections with campus ministry leaders at the schools she might like to attend. "By the time I get to college, I will already know some people in the campus ministry scene," said Katie, a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kan. "I can jump in and hit the ground running." 

Young United Methodists embarking on the college search process can learn from this kind of proactive approach, according to Bridgette Young, assistant general secretary for campus ministry at the denomination's General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). On visits to college campuses this spring, she says, high school juniors and seniors can profit from checking out the "spiritual scene" on campus as well as the academic and social life. "When you get a sense of how faith fits into a campus, you get a better sense of the community as a whole," said Ms. Young. 

Finding a fit
While the college search may seem like a numbers game dominated by standardized test scores, grade point averages and admissions rates, many of the most important factors for college success can't be quantified. Educators say that a good "fit" between a student and a school ultimately determines whether the student will stay at the institution, graduate and thrive. "The greatest predictor of whether students will come here and persist comes down to whether they fit in and feel comfortable," said J. Timothy Cloyd, president of Hendrix College, a United Methodist-affiliated school in Conway, Ark.  But figuring out whether a college is a good "faith fit" can take some soul searching, some research and a proactive approach.  Particularly at secular institutions, "admissions counselors often feel as if they're not to presume that a student has a faith commitment, and won't point prospective students to religious life activities unless the student asks," says Peg Falls-Corbitt, director of the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling at Hendrix and the parent of a high school senior. "Some admissions counselors and tour guides are very aware of religious life, and some aren't," said Ms. Young. Prospective students may need to do a little pre-research online to find out what's available and initiate contacts themselves.

"I'd start with Facebook," said the Rev. Ashlee Alley, director of campus ministry at United Methodist -affiliated  Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. Many campus ministries have Facebook pages; prospective students can quickly get a sense of the organization's activities and vitality, and make a personal connection with those already involved. Before visiting a campus, speak up and express your interests, says Karen Foust, dean of admission and financial aid at Hendrix College. "The more the student shares with us, the more we can tailor the visit to his or her needs," she said. Ms. Foust recalled a prospective student who expressed an interest in attending a United Methodist church and more specifically, playing in a bell choir. The admissions counselor introduced her to members of a local church where the student now worships - and plays in the bell choir. At United Methodist-affiliated Albion College in Michigan, a visitation program helps prospective students test out the "faith fit" on campus. "Faith In Transition: Being a Christian in College" brings high school youth to Albion for an overnight retreat, where they attend a Bible study, meet Christians on campus, discuss Christian living in a college environment and learn about other faith-related opportunities at Albion College. 

At schools that don't offer this kind of introduction, Ms. Young suggests prospective students make an appointment to meet the campus minister or chaplain at a college as part of the college visit. "Most would love to meet with prospective students, or at a minimum, will point you to a student leader," she said. "I always recommend making those contacts."  That strategy worked well for Luke Wetzel. As a high school senior, he visited several colleges and universities, touring the facilities and talking with admissions officers. But a visit to the chaplain's office helped Mr. Wetzel make his choice: Emory University, a United Methodist-affiliated school in Atlanta, Ga.  "I had a good conversation and learned how the campus ministry facilitates community and connects students with worship, as well as some of the challenges they were facing," said Mr. Wetzel, now a first-year student at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. 
"I saw that Emory would be a good place for me, not only academically and intellectually, but as a place where I could grow spiritually." 

© 2010 General Board of Higher Education & Ministry