June 2010 Wesley Foundation Update
Greetings,

Summer is a great time to start thinking about the fall.  If you would like one all of the Wesley Foundations to send a group to visit your church or if you would like to visit one or all of the Wesley Foundations, just let us know.  Feel free to contact any of the Wesley Foundation Directors or send an email to Lisa at lisa@cwames.org with questions or to set up a visit.
Iowa State University

Recently some current Wesley Foundation Students and Alumni wrote testimonials about their experiences at the Wesley Foundation at Iowa State University. There's not space enough here to share them all with you but I'll share just a sampling, a piece of each of them.  I'm hoping to post them all soon, in their entirety, on our CUMC/WF website.

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Without this community to welcome me to college, my transition would have been much harder...I have also met the best group of friends imaginable through my college community of faith, Collegiate/Wesley. The Wesley Foundations are important to many students, and help keep our church on the forefront on issues of all-inclusiveness and interfaith dialogue.

"My faith has grown immensely through my college journey and I credit that to my participation in Wesley Foundation. Not only did I learn about my faith but I also made wonderful friends that I will keep my whole life. Wesley Foundation made my college career the best experience I have ever had."

Collegiate/Wesley has provided me with the chance to connect with an adult church family and to participate in leadership positions within my community of faith. I have also been able to strengthen my relationship with my Lord, and have found the best group of friends anyone could ask for. My involvement with the Wesley Foundation has been a major part of my college experience, and it means the world to me.

"At CUMC/WF I found a surprising response to my questions, even though I did not ask them, per se. I found a church that said, 'Yeah, I get that. I understand those problems. I've asked those questions myself.' I found a church that did not profess to know the answers. I found a church that admitted to circular reasoning and other logical issues that trouble the scientific mind. And most importantly, I found a church that was willing to let me seek my own answers and accept me no matter what I concluded."

Because of CUMC-WF I thought and still think about my faith on every level. I am stronger and more mature in my beliefs, in my questions and as a person. When I attend church now, I know that the person sitting across the table from me could have theological ideas strikingly different than mine. But I'm okay with that. And I feel like at CUMC-WF, they are too.

"The Wesley Foundation at Iowa State profoundly transformed my college experience. When I first arrived on campus my freshmen year, I felt alone and in need of a community of friends. Throughout my time at Iowa State, the Wesley Foundation helped me grow as a person and allowed me to help others at the same time. I have a group of friends there that I know I can count on them for anything and I will never forget my time there."

Collegiate United Methodist/Wesley Foundation was a significant part of my life while I was a student at Iowa State University. They provided a wide range of programs that fostered friendship and deepened my faith. I participated in several small group studies where I learned more about Christianity and other religions, learned about the United Methodist denomination and discussed many issues that can challenge our faith. I also participated in a covenant discipleship group which helped me become more devoted to my faith. Besides study groups there were many fun activities that helped provide a distraction from the stress of schoolwork. The Wesley Foundation allowed me to find a home away from home. I felt so welcomed there and in the church. I learned a great deal about my faith and myself during my time there. I made many good friends and even met my husband because of the Wesley Foundation. It is an amazing program that has impacted the lives of many students. I hope that it will be there for many years to come and perhaps one day will be a home away from home for my children. 

"The Wesley Foundation has been a very important part of my life. In my time at Iowa State, I met many good friends, including my wife, at the Wesley Foundation at Collegiate United Methodist Church. It is a wonderful place to make lifelong friendships. You get to participate in a wide variety of events, and meet a wide variety of people that you wouldn't normally meet in your classes. Some of the many activities that I participated in include Bar-B-Que Bible studies in the summer months, Murder Mystery dinners, progressive dinners, and many groups that helped me to discover and develop my beliefs.

The Wesley Foundation opened my eyes up to new things and was an escape from the academic world. I got to know people that were a part of the congregation and helped me feel like the church was my home away from home. faithspring was a place for all to join together and worship and have a relaxing meal with others before the school week started. I have told people who are interested in Iowa State University to check out the Wesley Foundation and to get involved and it's a place where they feel welcomed as college students and can learn more about Christ with other Christian believers.

"The Wesley Foundation at ISU is, in my opinion, one of the best things happening in the Iowa Conference right now. It's relevant, in touch with today's university students, and offers unique ministries that help students to both broaden and deepen their own faith. I fully believe that strongly investing in campus ministries is critical in an age when so many students either choose not to practice their faith or to simply call themselves 'spiritual but not religious'."

The Wesley Foundation is a fundamentally essential part of so many important Ames programs.  As a member of the United Methodist Church I cannot begin to express how much fuller and more vibrant my life has become because of my experiences thanks to the Wesley Foundation. They've continually reinforced my faith in Christ, fed my body and my soul.

"College students need homes and the Wesley Foundation is a home for me. Not only does it support my personal spiritual beliefs, but it challenges me and helps me grow. Complete with a large variety of activities, whether spiritual, social, or service-based, I always felt supported and encouraged as a new college student. While I am welcome to be a passive observer, I have also had the opportunity to be an active leader not only in Wesley Foundation activities but within the community as well. The Wesley Foundation has made a large impact on my life, but the wonderful thing is that its influence will not stop with me. Even after I graduate, the Wesley Foundation will continue to be a wonderful influence in the lives of Iowa State students, supporting and encouraging their spiritual development and life-long dreams."

The Wesley Foundation gave me many opportunities to be a leader which has helped me be who I am today. I was very active in all the events that were planned throughout the years that I was at Iowa State. This allowed me to have fellowship with peers with the same values as myself.

"The Wesley Foundation has given me so many great opportunities. For me, college has been one of the most important times in the development of my faith. I was on my own to decide rather or not to become involved in a faith community."

For me, the Wesley Foundation was my church home away from home. The Wesley Foundation strengthened my faith in God. It helped me become a better Christian - I began reading my Bible more, leading a weekly Bible Study and playing weekly in the faithspring band, leading worship for 50 college students and other community members. One of the greatest achievements of the last year at the WF was the midnight breakfasts. Theses breakfasts are well known, not just among the WF community, but the university as a whole. Collegiate-WF is actually known on-campus as the "breakfast church" by college students. WF continues to reach out to the ISU community, offering spiritual guidance to those that need it the most, college students. The work they have done has made a huge impact on my life.

"When I finally came to school in the fall of 2008, I went to church the first sunday before classes and met the students in the Wesley Foundation. The students and staff wrapped me in their arms and have helped me overcome my separation anxiety from home and have given me the greatest extended family and community I could ever ask."

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I don't believe I need to say anything more except thanks...Thanks for making it all possible. Your prayers, support, and help spreading the word about the Wesley Foundations are very much appreciated. Thanks.



University of Northern Iowa

UNI Wesley students Tony Tan and Shiyu Dong on spring service trip to Miami.The UNI Wesley Foundation has established a partnership with Roskamp Champion Industries, an international company based in Waterloo, for a cooperative internship.  ShiYu was the first intern, Tony begins this week. The interns spend about 12 hours a week at Roskamp/Champion and about 5-10 hours per week for Tony and 15-20 for ShiYu, at Wesley. At Wesley they have developed leadership qualities as Peer Ministers.  They have learned how to bridge the cultural gap between Chinese students and American students in a variety of settings including worship, Bible studies, service trips, community meals and general socializing. ShiYu had graduated from UNI with a degree in Accounting, but was interested in an internship.  Roskamp/champion was interested in some students who not only had the academic credentials and book learning, but also interpersonal skills. With a division in China, Roskamp was particularly interested in Chinese students who could improve customer service and communication between the American home office and the Chinese representatives.Both ShiYu and Tony have been involved in the Wesley Foundation for their entire UNI experience. Though still an undergrad in the accounting program, Tony proved to Shiyu on a recent spring service trip to Miami that he was ready to begin the internship when she left for grad school.For it's part, Wesley gets the insights the interns pick up on the job from industry leader Roskamp/Champion.  In this new program, it seems that so far, everyone ones. Thank you for your support.



University of Iowa

Eddie Crise Elected to the United Methodist Student Movement's Steering Committee

Eddie Crise, a Wesley Foundation student from Milwaukee, was elected as one of two representatives from the North Central Jurisdiction to serve on the United Methodist Student Moment's (UMSM) Steering Committee. His election happened during the United Methodist Student Forum held May 27-30, 2010 at Shennadoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Eddie was one of four students who went from the Wesley Foundation at the University of Iowa.

According to the General Board on Higher Education and Ministry's website, the Steering Committee:

"...gives direction for the UMSM between annual meetings, plans the Student Forum, represents the UMSM in ecumenical and global connections, and assumes other tasks related to the movement.

"Each jurisdiction is represented on the steering committee by two students who are elected in alternating years to serve two-year terms. Five at-large members are appointed as well to ensure balance on the committee. Elections are held and appointments are made each year at Student Forum." 

Eddie has a passion for campus ministry.  In his words,

"I care deeply about the future of the church in general and in particular the United Methodist Church because it has been good to me throughout my life. I strongly believe that Wesley Foundations are sites for future leaders in the UMC to grow in their faith while in college. I'm sure there have been studies in the church to prove this, but I presume that Wesley Foundations have developed a great deal of the UMC's clergy and lay leadership. I have had the delight to grow as a leader thanks to the Peer Ministry Program. I have met former peer ministers who have come back to visit and all of them are leaders in the church in one form or another. The Wesley Foundation at the University of Iowa is sort of like a factory for church leaders. 

"Everyone who goes to the Wesley Foundation is there because they want to grow in their faith. It's a simple statement that is remarkable when you think about it closely. At a time in someone's life when they are surround by so many new secular ideas, my peers at the Wesley Center have made a conscious effort to be in Christian fellowship and stay committed to their faith walk."


Campus Ministry Teaches Sense of Community and Social Justice
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Campus Chaplain
by Renee Elder* 



The Rev. Jennifer Copeland, lower left, with students from the Wesley Foundation at Duke University during a trip to South Africa. They partnered with students at the Wesley Society at UKZN for an awareness trip. Eighteen months later, three UKZN students visited Duke for three weeks.
Most top college students are independent thinkers whose achievements help them stand out from the crowd.

That's why some at Duke University may be hesitant to join a faith community that puts "us" ahead of "me," says the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, United Methodist chaplain and director of the Duke Wesley Fellowship. 

"I think the biggest challenge we face on the college campus, and probably local churches, too, is combating the sense of individualism bred into us as Americans and as college students," Copeland says. "Duke strikes me as a place where everybody is expected to be highly successful. In order to be successful, one cannot appear to be dependent or come across as vulnerable." 

Students who get involved in the campus ministry eventually see how the welfare of the larger community at times outranks their own ambitions, says Copeland - who holds three Duke degrees, including a recently acquired Ph.D. 

"The students who choose to be involved in any faith community have to be willing to say, 'I want to be part of something bigger than myself,'" Copeland adds. "And they have to lay down the ego side that says, 'I can do it all by myself.' We try to teach that your greatest joys are going to come when you experience a sense of community." 
That sense of community was lacking when Copeland arrived at Duke as a freshman in 1981. 

"There was no specifically United Methodist campus ministry at that time," she recalls. 
A new group formed during her junior year, and Copeland, who was raised in the United Methodist tradition, quickly joined. "I had started Duke as a biology major and flirted with computer sciences.... Then I decided to start taking classes I was interested in, and lo and behold, these tended to be English and religion classes." She realized the work that interested her always centered on the church. 
About that same time, Duke recruited the Rev. Dr. William Willimon (now resident bishop of the North Alabama Conference) to serve as dean of Duke Chapel, and he brought in a female associate, the Rev. Nancy Ferree-Clark. 
"I was a junior in college, and I had never seen a woman preach," Copeland says. "Then, my senior year, I saw worship led every Sunday by a woman in Duke Chapel. Prior to that, I had assumed if I went to work for the church it would be doing something in education or journalism." 


The Rev. Copeland (rear left) and students during an awareness trip to South Africa.
Thus inspired to seek ordination, Copeland went on to seminary at Duke, then moved back to her home conference of South Carolina, to accept a parish appointment as an associate pastor. Copeland later served as pastor-in-charge at both rural and urban churches before moving into part-time campus ministry at Converse College and then Furman University. In 1999, she was appointed as the United Methodist chaplain at Duke, returning to the campus ministry community she had helped to launch as a college student. "Because this ministry had been so formative for me, I felt it was something I wanted to do," she says. 

Among the biggest differences between parish ministry and campus ministry are the hours. "Students want to start their meetings at 8 or 9 o'clock at night," Copeland says, "where church meetings are usually wrapping up about that time." 

"One of the challenges on a campus like Duke is to help students articulate the difference between charity and social justice," Copeland says. "It's charity if the point is 'I'm strong, and I'm smart; I have a lot of money, and I'm going to work on a Habitat house this weekend.' That's one way to be involved and make a difference, but it doesn't affect your life. You still live in a 3,500-square -foot house and have two cars in the driveway. 

"Those who seek social justice do the volunteer work, but they're also asking the bigger questions: 'Why are there homeless people in Durham? Why can't everybody go to the bank and get a loan like me?'" 

Knowledge of such issues breeds understanding, Copeland says."Once we get a student engaged in our ministry, then what I hope for in their lives is a shift in how they see the world," Copeland says. 

The goal is not to make students anti-establishment, but to help them realize the world is more complicated than they might think.Ideally, involvement in the United Methodist campus ministry provides students with knowledge, inner strength, and the support of a large faith community - just what they need to become outspoken advocates for justice."If they don't have the confidence that the things they care about are the things God cares about, they won't speak out," she says. "And they have to know there are resources behind them. They are not lone rangers out there." 

*Renee Elder is a freelance writer in Raleigh, N.C.