University of Guelph Ecumenical Campus Ministry

What is campus ministry all about? Whom do I serve, and how do I begin? These were just a few of the questions I brought with me as I began my ministry here at the University of Guelph. Having recently worked with young offenders I wondered what similarities or differences I would find on campus.

I have found campus ministry to be a place of welcome, a place of compassionate listening to one another and a place where faith is challenged and questioned. Many students come without any church experience. Others are grounded in a particular faith tradition and perspective. Ministry, therefore, requires being a non-invasive spiritual presence for some, a stimulus to searching for others. It means meeting students where they are; and inviting oneself along for the journey.

The University of Guelph’s multi-faith resource team promotes events on campus to foster understanding and respect. Speakers’ events, worship tours, and panel
discussions are all ways we attempt to engage students to understand one another.

Mostly ministry takes place in relationships; built up
by encounters and experiences shared. It is in these
relationships that the work of Christ is done.

Christian ministry takes place in small group discussions, in bereavement counseling and faith discussions. Some days it is a meditation group sharing silence and prayer, sometimes it is a wide-ranging discussion in a campus residence, at times it is support of social justice actions on campus. At Thanksgiving all our supporting churches work together to offer a Thanksgiving dinner for international students far from home. During the first week of January we stood outside and offered hot chocolate and cookies to students back to school after the winter break.

Mostly ministry takes place in relationships; built up by encounters and experiences shared. It is in these relationships that the work of Christ is done. This is work that cannot be done unless we are on campus encountering students and becoming part of their university experience.

It is one of the places where Christian faith meets the world, and it occurs because of your support. Thank you.

—The Reverend Margot Feyerer, Ecumenical Campus Minister