Setting Sail: Conversations before General Synod
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The Rev. Canon Megan Collings-Moore
On campus, Christmas is quiet but Lent’s a flurry
When I was just starting campus ministry, a colleague warned me, “Christmas will be disappointing, because all the students go home!” In a parish, Christmas Eve services are packed, though often with people you see only once a year. The college chapel hosts one Christmas Eve service, sparsely attended. The same sense of occasion isn’t [...]
read more10 surprises about student worship (part two)
In my last column, I began to share my “top 10 list” of what I have learned about worship as a campus minister. One of the biggest surprises was that many of these items are not unique to worship with young adults. Take a look at the top five:
#5 Coffee and community are as important [...]
10 surprises about student worship (part one)
I’ve been in campus ministry for just over three years now. When I started, I knew this was a very different context than parish ministry. I thought my assumptions, especially about worship, would be challenged, and they have been, although not always in ways I expected. So here is a countdown of my top surprises. [...]
read moreFermented Faith
Thursday afternoons are the highlight of my week. Around 2:00 I bring the conversations in my office to a close, and log off my computer. At 2:15 I head across campus to a local pub. By 2:30 I’ve met the group already gathered there, and another week of Fermented Faith has begun.
read moreThanks to small churches
When I was an undergrad student in the early ’80s, going to church involved much planning and stealth. You certainly didn’t want other students to discover what you were up to, and admitting that you were Christian implied you really weren’t very bright after all.
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Show hospitality
It’s an average day. I show up at the college and make my way down the hallway. Inside the Ministry Centre, where I work as chaplain, the coffee is already on. A student stands at the sink doing dishes. Another is sitting on the couch reviewing a presentation for her ESL class. A third is checking email.
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