Theology Today - Vol 41, No.2 - July 1984 - SYMPOSIUM

188 - Christian Vision in Academe

Christian Vision in Academe

WHEN I began my work as a campus minister with the Newman Community, the Catholic campus parish of the University of Rochester, I had expectations about my ministry, about the people with whom I would be working, about the counseling and programming which would occupy the bulk of my time, about the kinds of issues with which I would be involved. Now that I have been at the University for six years, I have found my preconceptions about my ministry here very much like my preconceptions about a variety of things. Each one had some validity, but not one of them contained the whole truth. Having been formed in the abstract, each one of them had to be tempered and shaped by reality. Being an effective religious presence on campus meant more than I dreamed.

Bringing to campus a dimension beyond humanitarian concern for an academic community, as good and important as that is, meant exploring deeper questions about the presence of religion in an academic environment. What is the role of religion at a private research institution? What contribution could I, and my priest colleague, be making to campus life which would be uniquely ours, qualitatively different from the valuable work done by those in Student Affairs positions, in Counseling and Psychological Services, in the Religious and Classical Studies Department? The following reflections do not constitute an overview of campus ministry. Neither are they a survey of the attitudes and concerns of students in the '80s, nor an annual report on the status of the Newman Community of the University of Rochester.

Religion should be present in an academic setting because authentic religion calls us to be truly human people, people striving for a full human existence as held out to us by the Kingdom of God. Authentic religion calls us to be people who seek ultimate meaning through the needs and hopes of one another, people who search for the truth about ourselves and our universe as a way of finding the One who is the guide and goal of all human endeavors. In their search for truth, authentic

Sister Marie Susanne Hoffman, S.S.J., is Chaplain of the Newman Community, the Catholic Campus Parish at the University of Rochester. She received her Master's degree in American History from Notre Dame University, and is at present a candidate for the Master's degree in theology at St. Bernard's Institute of Colgate Rochester Divinity School-Bexley Hall-Crozer Theological Seminary. The Newman Community is working with the University toward the establishment of a Chair of Catholic Thought and History, and in promoting, with the Philosophy Department, a symposium on war and morality.

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religion and academia are related. Religion should be present in the midst of academia to help scholars focus their search for truth, to acquire true wisdom, to see that life goes beyond the measurable and definable.

I believe that religion or a particular religious tradition is present on a campus primarily for people of faith, to nourish what is already present in their lives, to sustain their hope in the midst of ambiguity. Of the many ways in which this is done, the most central to the life of the Newman Community, and to my own ministry, is liturgical worship.

In my own religious tradition as a Roman Catholic, the eucharistic liturgy is the focal point for the life of faith. My experience on a residential campus convinces me that effective programming and ministry flow from what occurs when we gather as a community to worship together. If weekend worship has no vitality, even the most innovative programming cannot compensate. The strength of the weekend liturgical celebration can gather people from all aspects of university life and give them a commonality which has made it possible for the Newman Community to be diverse, a community going beyond the stereotype of the college-age student, a community bringing an added dimension to the life of the students.

While many elements contribute to a truly nourishing liturgy, I would like to highlight two which are essential for liturgy to have integrity. First and foremost, worship must be a vehicle for communicating the presence of God. It must be "the holy ground" on which God encounters us. God must be able to be experienced through it, not trapped in it, or excluded from it. If liturgy degenerates into a mere production or performance, no matter how well done, it has no more significance than any other theatrical event on campus. Liturgy should be innovative and life-giving; it should excite our imaginations. Yet, we must resist doing what is novel simply for the sake of being new. Any innovation must be rooted theologically and liturgically; it must be consonant with the life of the church or we do a disservice to those who gather by creating a craving for what is peripheral rather than essential, or by being so unique that we have hindered their ability to be participative members of other faith communities when they leave our campus.

Secondly, it is important that the liturgy be experienced as our liturgy, as our memorial of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Granted the key roles the chaplains have in a liturgical event, we do not have an exclusive role. We do try to involve all segments of the Newman Community in some way in the planning and in the various liturgical roles throughout the liturgy so that the celebration can be a community experience. An added way of drawing the community into the celebration comes from a careful monitoring of Newman Community needs, interests, campus events or crises, academic and personal questions. When these are incorporated into the homilies, prayers, music, and style

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of worship, there is an integration of our lives as a worshipping community with all other aspects of our life and work.

Eucharistic liturgy is the key worship experience of the Newman Community, but it can also be a vehicle for continuing the teaching mission of Jesus for at least raising questions about the content of faith. Often students come to a college or university ill-equipped to integrate their faith life with their academic and social development. While their horizons expand in many areas, their theological vision may remain narrow and unfocused. Helping those of all parts of the university community distinguish the essence of faith from the non-essentials is a process calling for sensitivity and creativity. Given the time pressures of academic life, educational programming has to be varied in content and structure and responsive to "the teachable moment."

III

In our university tradition, chaplains are not faculty; and as a rule, the Newman Community chaplains have assumed a dual role in the educational area. One is that of teacher or organizer of ad hoc programs from areas as basic as how we pray, what constitutes a critical approach to Scripture, to areas as complex as the moral implications of in-vitro fertilization. The other role is that of advocate for courses in the Religious and Classical Studies Department of the University. Over the years, such advocacy, reinforced by student interest, has encouraged the University to live up to its responsibility to provide courses in all areas of human intellectual endeavor.

Most campus ministers find that the supportive activity of counseling consumes a significant amount of time. While I become directly involved in counseling related to religious questions and conflicts and have counseling experience and some training, I am not a professional counselor. Thus, I do not feel that I should compete with or attempt to replace the professional counseling services provided. Nor should I fill a gap in those services if a better long-range solution would be encouraging the University to provide a wider range of services. I feel that it is important to establish relationships with the professional counseling staff so that I can refer students to them with confidence and that, in turn, they can refer to me those students dealing with religious questions or involved in religious crises.

Campus ministers are "bridge-builders" among people of faith, people searching for faith, and all others in the academic environment. By supporting the good things done on campus, by encouraging students to become involved in campus life, by being present at various campus events, by sharing a vision and appropriate expertise when needed in areas of academics or student affairs, by encouraging the University to improve the quality of life for all who are part of the academic community, by being a mediator or reconciler between estranged or distanced groups within the University, campus ministers demonstrate that authentic religion proclaims God's concern for all people.

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Authentic religion is on campus to do more than support people. It must also challenge people of faith and of none. The challenges relate to several levels. On a communal level, authentic religion calls people of faith to a greater integrity. As Christians, we are called as a community to a greater fidelity to the Gospel, to a continual striving to be a sign of the living God. We are called from self-centered isolation to true relatedness.

On a personal level, the Christian vision challenges students to move from an earlier, less reflective, less mature approach to an adult understanding and commitment of faith. They are called to abandon "escapist" religion, religion which means mere intellectual assent, for true discipleship which calls for a willingness to suffer and to die with absolute trust in God, as did Jesus. By raising issues of morality and social justice questions, students are confronted with the complexities of life and the realities of a fractured world. Such issues and questions challenge students to examine the values inherent in the present and future lifestyle, in their career and research choices. Such issues and questions encourage them to reflect upon their participation in societal structures which breed injustice. Such challenges must always be presented along with Christian hope, with possibilities for change, with concrete alternatives for making a compassionate and viable response to injustice.

Since Newman Community chaplains are not University employees, our freedom to challenge the academic structure is unequaled anywhere within the University. To challenge without alienating or cutting off the lines of communication is a delicate task. It calls for a willingness to present the truth as one sees it, humbly aware of one's own shortcomings, with the hope that communication and collaboration can resolve problems and lead to creative solutions. Challenge means pointing out unforeseen opportunities for growth and development. It means raising questions of value in areas of curriculum and research, in University policy and priorities. It, means critiquing those problem areas in which injustice is present. Above all, it means challenging in the spirit of Jesus who came not to destroy but to bring about a fullness of life.

An important part of Christian vision is the challenge it presents to chaplains themselves. If we speak about a religious vision to people, do they find that vision enfleshed in us? If we encourage people to ask questions, to probe, to grow, do we take the same risks ourselves? If we challenge them to be people rooted in prayer and in their religious tradition, do we nurture our own rootedness? If we challenge people in their fidelity to the Gospel, do we critique ourselves in those same areas and continually call ourselves to conversion? Above all, does the work we do make God less hidden and more accessible for all who need to be touched by that presence?