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Greetings!
In
this issue of the Wesley Foundation Update, you will be able to learn
about what the Wesley Foundations have been up to this past spring. |
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Drake University
The Drake Wesley House had a productive Spring. We are engaged in
ministry to the students, faculty and staff of the university as well
as the surrounding community. Drake Wesley House provides a safe space
for several AA groups. Addiction is an ongoing struggle for many people
in our community and we are pleased to be able to help them on their
journey toward wholeness.
Our ministry to students
includes a counter-cultural encounter called Sunday @ 6. In a
technologically saturated world this gathering is decidedly low-tech.
We gather for a simple meal and lively, face-to-face conversation. Our
topics of conversation are as varied as the menu but we often linger at
the intersection of religion and politics. These kinds of conversations
are important for young people today. They are engaged in the world
today and are looking for ways to integrate what they are learning with
who they are becoming. Some Drake students come from families where
meal-time is a welcome venue for topical conversation. Others are not
so fortunate. Drake Wesley House is providing a safe, non-threatening
place for students to articulate how their faith informs their
understanding of the world.
On behalf of the Drake community, thank you for your support of this important ministry.
Ted Lyddon Hatten,
Director. |
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University of Northern Iowa
Closing Thoughts from a Ministry Intern
by Cody Nielsen
I have over the past two years been extremely blessed to have
opportunities to work with college students. I have watched them grow,
mature, and become students with a voice in the social justice
community. Leaving now after being the ministry intern for two years
and after four previous years of being a student at the Wesley
Foundation at UNI, I wish to impart a few highlights of my journey with
you all.
Part of the growing and maturing I have seen
has come through two week long trips at the end of the each of two
years of my ministry internship. The first, to Washington D.C. in May
of 2007 focused on homelessness and poverty. The second, a trip this
last May to New York City, took an in-depth look into the world of
immigration policies and the how the church can provide assistance for
immigrants throughout the country.
Both of these
amazing programs were eyes openers for each of the students. Both
trips included a total of 27 participants. Approximately 40 students,
including international students, participated in these two trips
combined, with several individuals being a part of both trips. The
seminar programs were organized and facilitated by the United Methodist
Seminar Programs based in Washington D.C. and New York City.
These experiences have been perhaps the highlight of my time with the
Wesley Foundation at UNI because of the sense of relationship building
and social justice seeking which has occurred on these trips. Each of
the 18 combined days of the trips I saw students from diverse
backgrounds and beliefs come together to stand up for important
issues. They molded from a group of 27 individuals to an empowered
group of united Wesley Foundation members, all of whom count of each
other now in their daily lives.
It has always been a joy
to witness the remarkable importance of campus ministry in the lives of
the students who take part. It is from these grounds where education
is foremost on everyone's mind where social justice movements emerge
and where individuals mature into adults. These students, though
young, are in many ways one of the most vital to the church. And each
step along the way toward adulthood leads them closer to being that
vital part of the church.
Whether it be baking
cookies for a community meal, participating in book and bible studies,
studying together as friends, being vulnerable and opening themselves
to new and diverse cultures and individuals, or participating in a
major trip halfway across the country, everything which occurs and
changes in each of these students lives has the possibility to be
influenced by the ministry of the Wesley Foundation. It is with these
finals thoughts which I must encourage all of you reading this to take
time to understand the importance of campus ministry for all young
adults, including those who are not United Methodist. For some
students without faith have found a home. Some students with faith
have found a voice. Some students with a voice have found a soundboard
and a passion. And some students with a passion have found a calling.
For without this place, so much would be different in these students'
lives.
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The University of Iowa 
by Lindsay Kinkefus
Despite
all of the informational meetings we had before we left for the land of
The Savior (as El Salvador translates) nothing could have prepared me
for what we would experience there. There were various sights (military
on the street corner carrying assault rifles), sounds (the Spanish
language of course), smells (local cuisine and flowers as well as some
smells that were less than pleasant), and stories (of the Civil War and
the poverty) that I had never witnessed before.
Our group (5
Wesleyites and 13 Mt. Vernonians) stepped off the plane, into the
microbus, and that was all the transition we had before we would
experience these things first hand. We began our trip in San Salvador,
the capital city, for two nights. We saw a war memorial, a local
market, the National Cathedral where Oscar Romero (the archbishop who
was killed for advocating for human rights) is buried, and hiked at the
Door of the Devil (a place where bodies were dumped off of cliffs
during the war).
After a drive through the country to see many
different towns, each with a unique story, we arrived in Berlin and met
the Pastoral Team. They graciously welcomed the 18 gringos (slang for
white people) into the house for five nights. Berlin is more of a rural
town and lent for a different experience than the capital city. We
spent the next few days hearing and seeing all the great work that the
pastoral team is voluntarily doing in their communities. Some examples
of things they are doing, with the help of funding from Iowa churches,
are making the water safe to drink, working with a fair trade, organic
coffee finca, and building churches and schools. It is all amazing work!
We also had the joy of spending the day with Eric, the 21 year old that
Wesley is currently sponsoring through college (maybe you've heard of
him???). It was great to see the smile on his face when he talked
about how grateful he was for the opportunity we are all giving him.
We saw his university and where he works, and jumped in the waves on
the beach with him.
Now I will put my disclaimer on this short
excerpt---there is so much more that I could fill these pages with, but
alas, I have a limit and feel that I have only shared a small portion
of our trip. Our brothers and sisters that we met in El Salvador asked
us to bring back their stories and tell of the tragic things they've
lived through as well as the hope they are giving to their communities
now. So I'm sure if you ask me, or the other four Wesley gringos that
went, we will tell you whatever you want to know and more.
The following are reflections from the Wesley students who went on the journey:
Hannah Schultz
Although our trip to El Salvador was impactful as a whole, the one
thing that had the biggest impact on me was listening to Don Pablo tell
about the massacre at Cinquera that he survived. The stories he told
were horrifically graphic. It wasn't his stories but his strength that
amazed me. How a man can live through so much (including the deaths of
all of his children) and want to tell the story is astounding.
Marsha
Don Pablo lived through the 1980s civil war in El Salvador and the
massacre in his own town of Cinquera. He invited our delegation to his
home to hear his story. We sat in a circle in his yard while he told us
what lead up to the war: the people's poverty and struggle, the
oppression against the people by their government with backing by the
United States, the people's armed resistance and hope for peace and a
better life. He tells this story to whoever will listen- young people
from El Salvador and people like us from the United Statesso that the
truth can be known of the terrible atrocities and never repeated. He is
concerned because the government and others still "make fraud" and do
not want the truth of the war known. Don Pablo knows the terror and
tragedy of the war deeply and personally. Four of his children were
killed during the war. His fifth child was physically disabled by the
war. After the war this son killed himself in the yard where we were
sitting. His suicide note said he did not want to burden his parents
for the rest of his life. I cannot imagine the terrible sadness Don
Pablo lives with every day, but his truth telling and entrusting us
with his story affected me deeply. In the telling of his story is
healing power and hope.
To read more of their stories, click here
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Iowa State University
New Facilities Bishop Gregory Palmer visited
Collegiate United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation on April 6 to
consecrate new construction and remodeled areas of the building. A
centerpiece of the new addition, completely funded by the  Collegiate/Wesley
congregation, is a beautiful new Student Lounge which, that same
evening, was the site of faithspring (an alternative worship experience
designed with, by and for Wesley students). The Student Lounge was
also the site for a Young Adult Jazz Night during Annual Conference in
June.
New Project Over
the last year, students at the Wesley Foundation at Iowa State have
been working, along with the Wesley Foundation Board, to officially
"Adopt A Highway". On June 21 a small but mighty crew claimed and
cleaned two miles along Highway 30 East of Ames. The expected cans,
bottles, cups and miscellaneous garbage was topped off by the very
UNexpected, a pair of (plastic) Canada Goose feet. The feet, which
have already starred in a "Time with the Children" message just might
find a home in a place of appropriate visibility and honor in the new
Student Lounge.
New Opportunities
One Wesley Alum
(recent graduate Lisa Larson) and two current Wesley students (Sam
Cotter and Ben Hucker) took the Good News of Christ AND stories of the
Wesley Foundation on the road in a different way in June. The three
were the "preachers of the day" at Woodward United Methodist Church
during pastor Ben Carter-Allen's absence. New Staff
After what ended up being literally a world-wide search, the Wesley
Foundation at Iowa State has brought a new Campus Ministry Associate on
board. We welcome Chris Hockley who started July 1. We'll let him
introduce himself: 
I'm Chris Hockley I grew up in Laramie, Wyoming where I lived until
college. I got my degree at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell,
South Dakota. I studied religion\philosophy as well as theater. I not
only got my degree from Dakota Wesleyan University but it is also where
I met my wonderful wife Tammy. Tammy and I have spent the last year in
Bahrain teaching elementary school. I enjoy music, movies, playing
guitar (admittedly badly) and photography. I've also been known to
play tennis from time to time. I am very excited for this new
opportunity in my life. I cannot wait to share my passion for my faith
and excitement for deepening our faith walk. |
Campus Ministry At-A-Glance
- Campus ministry provides one the most important arenas to address
the need for young lay and clergy leaders in The United Methodist
Church. College is the most critical vocational discernment period in a
young adult's life, so campus ministries are one of the best
opportunities to raise the possibility of a church-related vocation.
- A survey on the spiritual lives of college students found that in
2004, more than two-thirds of 112,000 freshmen surveyed said they
prayed, almost 80 percent believed in God, and nearly half said they
were seeking opportunities to grow spiritually. The survey was by the
Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California,
Los Angeles.
- More than 17 million college students attend more than 4,000
colleges and universities in the United States. The United Methodist
Church serves only about 350 of those campuses through its campus
ministry programs.
- Public colleges and universities in the U.S. educate more than 14
million students and campus ministry is the only inroad the United
Methodist Church has to many of those students.
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Pass the Pasta Pastor
Pass the Pasta Pastor (PtPP) is a new program at the
Iowa State University Wesley Foundation. We would like to have pastor
come to Ames and have lunch with your current or potential students at
Iowa State University. It's a great way to connect with your students
and see the Wesley Foundation.
*If you get us the names of your students at Iowa State, we can try to get you their contact information.
*Then
please contact and invite your current students and or potential
students to find a date and time to eat lunch or supper with them and
Wesley Foundation staff (the costs of the meal will be covered
compliments of the Wesley Foundation).
By breaking bread together through a shared meal we can continue
to work together as one body of faith to encourage, nourish, and
sustain our young adults' journeys of faith and continue to shape them
as people of faith in the world.
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