The Holler (Spring 2023 Newsletter)

VOL. 1 NO. 1

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SPRING 2023

THE HOLLER The Lutheran Campus Ministry at West Virginia University

ANCIENT ROOTS & NEW BEGINNINGS As we relaunch our print newsletter, we are excited to share how the Holy Spirit continues to be moving among and through the LCM@WVU, thanks to your continued generosity

LUTHERAN CAMPUS MINISTRY IN A SPIRITUAL CARE DESERT We are the best spot not-on-campus.

Even with "at West Virginia University" in our name, the LCM@WVU receives no funding from WVU. This means our location, with the Library and academic buildings on three sides, is technically not "on campus". While this creates opportunity because of the visibility in a high traffic area, it also represents a larger challenge that we are called to address: the lack of spiritual care for young adults during a time of immense transition and growth.

With no formal spiritual care office and a decreasing religious studies department, WVU students are left without support and care as they ask important questions about their faith, explore spiritual practices, and find grounding in their life's callings.

That's where your Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU comes in, and that's why this ministry that you make possible is so important!

Because it gives our students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to connect with Chaplain Ben and Chaplain Courtney when they need pastoral care.

To ask questions and wrestle with what it all means.

To experience God through worship and the gift of the Sacraments.

To process what taking ownership of their faith and spirituality looks like for them.

To discern in community where God is calling them now and when they graduate.

And your Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU is crucial because it offers our students the chance they may not otherwise get to learn about the freedom we have in Christ and how much they are loved, in a world that would rather tell them they aren't loved unless they work harder and do better.

We may not be financially supported by WVU but the value we offer the university by not only sitting on the edge of campus but also through our Chaplains going onto campus to share God's love and the good news of Jesus Christ is priceless. Through you, the Holy Spirit is transforming lives. Thanks be to God!

DONATE TODAY AT LUTHERANMOUNTAINEER.ORG

THE HOLY IN-BETWEEN It started with a waterbottle.

Every weekend, WVU hosts "Up All Night", where students hang out, enjoy food, go bowling and...stay up all night. But John Jarman (Jr, Computer Engineering) noticed that there was a disconnect between the care given to students up at the Mountainlair, WVU's student union, and what was provided for those making the trek downtown to High Street for late-night snacks and dancing. That's when the Lutheran Mountaineers stepped up!

John set up a table on our Chapel stoop, grabbed some water, and started greeting people as they walked by. He called Chaplain Ben and some of his friends, and thus began our weekend waterbottle ministry! The goal is simply to help students hydrate and know that on our little stretch of University Ave there are people looking out for them. A simple, common grace that God multiplied as students held impromptu compline, learned more about the Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU, and even started coming to Mass!

The Holy Spirit is powerful like that, calling us to serve the inbetween spaces that might otherwise be overlooked. That's what the LCM@WVU is: an inbetween space where young adults experience tremendous growth as they transition from home to their adult lives. And that is where God has called us to serve, this holy space that holds so much opportunity to share God's love. Even through a waterbottle! +

RANT TO ME ABOUT RELIGION + I WILL LISTEN

There's a murmur on campus when the "Screachers" are here, standing near the Mountainlair with their signs, telling students how they are going to Hell. It's equal opportunity anger, where every person who passes being damned because they don't meet their particular standards. What these Screachers haven't realized is... that doesn't work. At best, students shake their heads as they walk by or avoid the area completely. At worst, students view this sideshow as the totality of Christianity and the church: people who don't know them telling them how they need to work harder in order to be loved by a God who delights in condemnation. This is not what the love of God looks like.

Inspired by a Lutheran colleague, Chaplain Ben + Chaplain Courtney began sitting outside the Mountainlair in their collars with our own sign that reads: "Rant to me about religion, and I will listen". We don't scream at people walking by, we just smile and say hello. If they want to say something to us, we listen. If they are want to process their experiences in the church or ask questions, we're there to help. And if they walk by pretending they don't see us, that's okay, too. Our goal is to show them what the love of God can really look like. Some days that's a handful of powerful conversations with students who would never pass through church doors, and other days that looks like a chaplain smiling beside an empty chair, listening for where the Holy Spirit will move next.

Chaplain Ben always says, "It's better to love someone into Heaven, than scare them out of Hell", and that approach is one reason the Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU continues to grow. We encounter new students every week who need to be reminded that regardless of how they do in class or what's happening in the dorm, they are loved unconditionally and they belong. Listening speaks volumes. +

LUTHERAN MOUNTAINEER BENEFIT DINNER A HUGE SUCCESS! A big thank you to Chef Marion, Ali + the whole Ohlinger family (Hill & Hollow) for an amazing dinner featuring modern Appalachian cuisine!

Thank you to our student volunteers , Pastor Patrice, and St. Paul's (New Haven) for all of your help.

Teamwork makes the dream work!

FALL BRUNCH FUNDRAISER WITH HILL & HOLLOW TBA SOON!

YOUR LCM@WVU CHAPLAINS THE REVS. BEN + COURTNEY ERZKUS

LIVE-STREAM PRAYER During the academic year you can pray Matins, Sext, Vespers, and Compline live with us on Facebook (or watch later)!

SUNDAY MASS & DINNER @LCMWVU

Every Sunday of the semester we worship at 6pm followed by dinner and Compline.

You are always welcome to join us!

BEN@LUTHERANMOUNTAI NEER.ORG 717.881.4631 COURTNEY@LUTHERANMOUNTAI NEER.ORG 717.881.4621

HOLY MOMENTS

Lutheran Campus Ministry at West Virginia University

E-mail chaplain@lutheranmountaineer.org to sign up for our e-mail or print mailings!