Lutheran Campus Ministry Celebrates over 100 Years
Reflections from Rev. Doug Paulson, Campus Pastor at the University of Minnesota Duluth
Lutheran Campus Ministry had its birth on the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus in 1907 when Pastor Howard Gold was called to begin a specific Lutheran presence for the sake of students at our state colleges and universities. The vision of that ministry has spread to the point that there is a Lutheran Campus Ministry presence on many of the public universities across the country. The 2004 Campus Ministry Agency Annual Report stated that at least 2,700 students and alumni of Lutheran Campus Ministry have leadership positions in the church, serve in social service and volunteer agencies, or are students at Lutheran seminaries.
I, personally, am a product of campus ministry. As an undergraduate at Bemidji State University I was given the opportunity to use my gifts in working with the campus pastor and other students to help make the church visible and viable on a public university campus. Since those student days I have served in Lutheran Campus Ministry for more than twenty-six years.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson made this statement: “The largest crisis we face in the parish is to retain our own young people when they leave home.” This quote speaks to the need for well-supported, vibrant campus ministries for the church’s young adults. Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Minnesota Duluth is one such vibrant ministry. During the past academic year and this fall semester students have been living out their faith by gathering for on-campus worship on Sunday mornings, participating in Bible studies and a coffee house faith discussion group, serving meals at the Union Gospel Mission, putting on a Halloween carnival for Northwood Children’s Services, going on retreats at Camp Amnicon, sponsoring blood drives on campus, participating in Union Gospel Mission’s Box Town by raising money for and raise awareness about the issue of homelessness, and last May some students were even part of a servant trip to Tanzania. But it doesn’t stop with the ministry at UMD; it continues on. I have watched many of these students as they graduate from college move into their own congregations sharing their faith and energy in a variety of leadership positions.
As a congregation you are a partner in Lutheran Campus Ministry through your mission support to the synod and through the generous ongoing support of Gloria Dei’s WELCA to the ministry at UMD. That support is deeply appreciated.
In the sixteen years that I have served as Lutheran Campus Pastor at UMD I have had the privilege to work closely with hundreds of students for whom faith is central to their lives.
Thank you for sharing in this ministry and thank you for the privilege you have given me to be a part of the faith journey of some extraordinary young women and men.
Submitted by Pastor Doug Paulson
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 219 N. 6th Ave. E. Duluth, MN 55805 218.722.3381