Renison College's Ministry Centre buzzes with coffee and conversation.
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.
The morning ebbs and flows. Staff members pop in for a coffee. A student clearly upset appears at my door: “Have you got time to talk?” There’s a loud discussion about the difference between major denominations. A candle is lit, and prayers are said.
At lunch, almost every chair is full, and there’s a wild assortment of smells. Chopsticks appear for noodles, yogurt is spooned into mouths. Handfuls of cookies disappear, food is shared. Somebody’s laptop is hooked up to speakers—YouTube videos play amidst laughter. Class notes are passed on, textbooks dropped off.
By afternoon no one wants to work, and procrastination is the name of the game:
“Megan, what season in the church year are we in?”
“Hey, listen to this translation of Revelation!”
“What do you know about palliative care?”
Someone curls up and falls asleep on the couch. Conversations carry on around her. People come and go.
“Can I borrow this prayer book?”
“What’s this article in the Journal about?”
"Hey, I didn’t know you went to church!”
Sometimes the conversation is explicitly about church and faith. Sometimes it’s not.
“People are stupid.”
“Sure—but individuals can be pretty amazing!”
“I hate this class.”
“I don’t want to go home.”
Sometimes people know each other before they hang out in the Ministry Centre. More often they don’t. Individuals make their way here because it’s less scary than the cafeteria, or someone else told them this was a good place, or they heard there’s free coffee. And over that coffee, conversation takes place and community forms.
Approximately 70 percent of the students who use the Ministry Centre are registered with the Office for People with Disabilities, students who know that complete independence isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Many of the English language students make their way here because others will let them practice their conversation skills. They too know that they need other people.
Other people include off-campus folks looking for a place to sit between classes, staff who need a mental break from long to-do lists, or faculty who want to connect with students in a more informal setting. They are all part of the Ministry Centre.
Someone asked recently “But isn’t this just another lounge?” Before I had a chance to respond, there was a chorus of “No!”
What is it that makes the Ministry Centre different? Well, partially there’s religious “stuff” all over the place. From copies of the Anglican Journal, to the lending library associated with Renison University College’s Institute of Ministry, to prayer beads and candles, religion is woven into the fabric of this place.
So conversations about religion tend to take place: people compare different translations of the Bible (like The Word on the Street, which rewrites Revelation as a series of emails). Or they pick up materials on different church seasons in our display area (in February I was amused to see many students referenced Candlemas in their Facebook statuses). And because Campus Ministry and the Institute of Ministry both ‘live’ in this place, people ask out loud what religion and God have to do with their lives—and that’s a gift!
A graduating student said to me, “Every neighbourhood should have a Ministry Centre.” I wanted to answer, “It does. They’re called parishes.” But most of us know only too well that not every parish is a hospitable place. And there are good reasons why that is so—security, mental health concerns, expenses, etc.
But what would it look like if the Ministry Centre experiment was replicated on a wider level? Hospitality is a central Christian value, and entails far more than coffee hour. When I started my ministry on campus, the Ministry Centre was a way to meet students, to “hook” them. It has become a place where I am keenly aware of God’s presence.
The Indian poet Tagore wrote, “After you had taken your leave, I found God’s footprints on my floor.” The author of Hebrews said, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Indeed. Welcome to the Ministry Centre—welcome to the church.
