From the Rector

Dear Friends,

I hope you received my parish-wide letter of December 5, announcing that I have called the Rev. Tambria Lee to be our new Associate for Campus Ministry, effective February 1, 2004. The students, immersed in exams, as I write this, are very excited, as many of you have indicated you are as well.

I want to say a word about the expanded notion of our campus ministry as we have been discussing it during this pro cess. Obviously ministry to and with the students is a primary part of campus ministry. These are the future leaders of the Church and of the world, and these formative years are very important ones in their faith journey. Providing a nourishing, challenging, guiding Christian community as they begin to look at serious questions from an adult perspective is vital work for us and for the whole Church.

But we are to do more than provide a chaplaincy. Under the leadership of the Associate for Campus Ministry, we are to help provide a presence on campus, working not only with students, but also with faculty and staff. While respecting the parameters and limitations of a secular university, we are to help make real and accessible the spiritual dimension that suffuses all reality. Through our worship, our pastoral care, our service of others, and our willingness to engage significant issues, we are to let our light so shine that others may be engaged by God.

The stained glass window to the right of the altar in our church is a constant reminder of our challenging opportunity. It depicts Paul addressing the men of Athens (Acts 17:16-34), an educated community who, among all the other representations of God, had an empty pedestal "to the unknown God" (to cover all their bases!). Paul declared to them that the unknown God was the one who had created the world and who had sent his Son, Jesus. Quoting their own poets, he taught that God is not far from us, for "In him we live and move and have our being," as we now pray in the well known collect. This scriptural story serves as an inspiration to us to proclaim the Gospel "on the campus" in ways that can be readily understood and responded to.

I call on all those of us who have direct connection with the University, whether by employment or educational commitment, to be part of this corporate ministry. Make yourselves and your willingness to be involved known to Tammy. Let her know your thoughts about how we can do this together in creative, fruitful ways. I also invite all the rest of us to be as supportive as we can of our campus ministry efforts. Through your generous annual giving, through your warm and welcoming presence, through participation in specific programs, and through your faithful Christian witness in our worship and other ministries of this parish, we can all continue to fulfill this significant opportunity our parish has been given through our location and history.

- Stephen