Some Thoughts at the End of My First Year of Campus Ministry

Brian Bork :: April 2009

It hasn’t quite been a calendar year since I started as campus minister at WLU and UW, but a whole academic year has passed. I have to admit that it seems a little strange to be reflective after what is a relatively brief amount of time; everything still feels new. I feel that whatever conclusions I can make will be tentative, scrawled in new cement, subject to change over the summer, or early next fall. I suppose that’s the way it goes with this sort of work.

From the outset, I conceived of this year as a time to get to know the culture of the two campuses. Doing so has been a challenge, but also a great deal of fun. The two campuses are separated by a couple of kilometers on University Ave., but there’s an even greater cultural divide between the two. Laurier is the politically-active school with a humanities and business focus, where students talk more about their volunteer work in various student clubs than they do about their school work. That’s not to say they aren’t studious, it’s just that extra-curricular activity seems to drive them as much as their classes do. It’s a smaller school, both in terms of the size of the campus, and of the student body (though from what I hear, the population has exploded as of late). That leads to a more intimate feel on campus – it’s rare to walk across campus and not run into someone I know, even after spending just a few months here. Because of the small campus, there are also space concerns – my office is an old bedroom in a residence hall, shared with two chaplains and some coordinators from the Women’s Centre. Occasional claustrophobia aside, working in close proximity with other people has been a great way to get to know the campus and its culture, and to participate in the work of other student organizations.

UW is a comparative giant. The campus is immense, and there is definitely a feeling of anonymity when I walk the halls. The students work really hard, and I get the sense from them that they all feel that a lot is riding on their performance. There’s also this thing called the “Co-op” program, where students spend one of their terms per year off campus, working in an industry or office related to their course of study. The Co-op program puts the student body in a constant state of flux, even more than the normal two semester/summer off schedule does. I met a lot of students this fall at UW; by winter quarter, more than two thirds of them were gone on Co-op. This will take some “getting used to” down the road.

I do have a great space on campus, though, in the Student Life Centre. It’s a large office that I’ve been turning into something of a living room as of late (better lighting, comfier seating, coffee maker). Students stop by every Tuesday afternoon for tea and conversation, and it’s been great to see how they feel welcome and comfortable there. Campus ministry can’t bloom without strong relationships with students, and without generous hospitality, those relationships have little to support them initially.

When I started back in mid-August, I assumed that Laurier would be my “home base” of ministry. It was the home base of my predecessor, and I assumed that it made good sense to keep it that way (pledging equal allegiance to two campuses would be like doing so for two churches, or two families; not the easiest task). I found as of late that I’m feeling called to UW. It’s easier to be visible presence at UW, especially since my office is in a highly trafficked area. There are great facilities nearby the office for group meetings, and that sort of thing. I’ve recently also begun to cultivate a relationship with David Johnston, the President of UW, and a devout Anglican who has a heart for campus ministry. I trust that the relationship will bear fruit down the road.

There’s also the compelling fact that there are far more Christian Reformed students at UW. Calvin and Redeemer etc. are competition for Laurier in a way that they’re not for UW (if you’re interested in the humanities, Calvin is as good a place as Laurier. If you’re interested in being an engineer or a physicist, UW is the obvious choice). I don’t conceive of my ministry as being solely directed toward the CRC students, of course, but I am loyal to and commissioned by that denomination, so I feel I should be where its action is, so to speak.

It’s been a great joy to get to know the Christian Reformed students at UW (and the handful I know at Laurier). I feel like there’s a natural affinity between us – no doubt, shared world views and assumptions make good conversation possible. Of course, before the good conversation happens, I have to convince them that I’m not the grim pastor, checking into their lives and tallying up their church attendance so I can report it back to the home office. Once they know that that sort of thing isn’t why I’m there, the relationship feels easy. I’ve had great conversations about theology (I’ve three students who want to study the Heidelberg Catechism with me this summer), about discipleship (the drinking culture of the U. comes up often), and the way that faith integrates with intellectual inquiry (and intellectual integrity). As of late, some students have sought me out for more pastoral issues, relating to the anxieties caused by the pressures of University life, or the perils of romantic relationships. Of course, I don’t wish adversity on any of my students, but it does gladden my heart to know that the relationship I’ve developed with them is worthy of these sorts of conversations.

It’s been a great joy to get to know the non-Christian students at Laurier. I’ve felt for some time that my work at Laurier is a bit of a “mission amongst the gentiles,” and it’s been great to grow into that role, since prior to this, I wasn’t exactly a model student of the Great Commission. I’ve had the opportunity to develop working relationships with people in the Office for Student Diversity, the WLU Student Union, the Women’s Centre, and the student publications. I’ve had two students tell me that they “don’t get this whole young chaplain thing.” I’m not exactly sure what they mean by this, but I assume that they’re pleased that I’m not Jerry Falwell, and surprised that I’m not a vaguely-Christian Unitarian type. My opinion has been sought out in the pages of the Cord Weekly (the Laurier student paper – I was featured three times in one issue), and I was asked to be a founding member of LMAC (Laurier Men Advocating Change – a group that seeks to challenge the cultural assumptions of masculinity). I was even volunteered to be a part of a panel discussion on “Supporting Love at Laurier,” sponsored by the Rainbow Centre, just before Valentine’s day. I still don’t know who volunteered me to be a part of the discussion, but I’m glad they did. The panel was composed of folks from nearly every alternative sexual expression you could imagine, and then there was Christian Reformed me, at the end of the table. It was actually a very profitable discussion – no doubt, there’s a vast difference between a Christian sexual ethic, and the sort of ethic practiced and discussed at the university these days. But it was great to be able to articulate what I feel is so compelling about a Christian sexual ethic, and to be able to do so without relying on the authority of the church, or reverting to a suspicion about pleasure that seems to plague these sorts of conversations. Christian thought about sexuality was certainly a hard sell to the audience, but after the discussion I stuck around for nearly an hour, talking with students who wanted to tell me stories of being raised in Christian homes and struggling with faith as young adults.

I’m not sure what the summer will bring for the ministry. Laurier turns into a ghost town over the summer, but UW is more or less year-round, so I’m hoping to create some sort of fellowship over there, starting in May. I’ve big hopes for the fall, too, and I’ve a collection of plans, dreams and hopeful schemes that I’m praying will take off. I’m hoping to start a graduate fellowship between the two campuses, and I expect that my faculty/staff breakfast book club will continue. I’ve been working toward setting up a “Soup and Speaker” series at UW, where I can integrate food, faith and fellowship. Two students have signed on to help me with the project, and I hope to reward them with an “Emerging Leadership” grant from Home Missions. I’m also cultivating the discipline of remaining open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It’s been amazing to see the ways in which thoughts and dreams have popped into my head over the year, especially at times when I feel the ministry was stuck in a rut. I’ve taken to calling those bursts of inspiration “God moments.” God is faithful, no doubt. But God is also apparently fond of surprises, showing up when you least expect him. And God often shows up with people in tow. There have been several occasions where I’ve started to feel a little lonely on campus, and it has often been the case that when I allow myself to feel that way for too long, someone pops by the office unexpectedly, or sends me an email, looking to set up a coffee conversation. A couple of weeks ago, I was walking around the Student Life Centre at UW, and a student came up to me: “hey, you’re the new chaplain, right?” I didn’t know who he was, but for some reason he recognized me. These things happen more often than I expected them too, and I’m grateful for each time they do.

Patience is certainly a virtue in this line of work. If you don’t have it from the outset, you’ll quickly learn to develop it. A good deal of knowledgeable folks told me that it will take three years for this ministry to completely blossom. You’d think after hearing that several times that I’d get the hint. Still, I find myself wanting things to happen, to take off, and I get a little impatient when they don’t. I’ve even jumped the gun on a couple occasions, I’m sure. Last fall I tried to start a book discussion group with some students, and it fizzled out in the new year. I should have waited a little bit – given a little while, the relationships I had with the students would have been stronger, and I think that would have given the endeavor a little more endurance. Campus ministry seems to be a weird mixture of waiting and action. I think I’m getting the hang of it.

In the times that I feel a little impatient or anxious, I’ve found a lot of support. My committee has been wonderfully open and supportive of my ideas and my efforts, and I’m really grateful for that. I feel supported by Waterloo CRC, and have had warm receptions at every church where I’ve had the privilege to preach. If I haven’t been around your way yet, I hope to drop by soon.

I’ve no doubt that I’m in the right place – campus ministry is where I ought to be, and a number of supporters, colleagues, and friends have told me so. But I’m also feeling the abiding presence of God when I’m on these campuses, and take much comfort in the knowledge that somehow this little fledgling ministry of mine is working into the mystery of God’s providential scheme for these schools.