VOLUME 53
FALL 2021
KUCATHOLIC.ORG
Catholics
on the
Hill
Mission: The Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center guides and forms those at the University of Kansas in the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Catholic intellectual, moral, liturgical, and spiritual tradition. Her deepest desire is to send out full and free disciples of Jesus Christ capable of the greatest stories.
BE NOT AFRAID
Letter FROM
THE DIRECTOR Be not afraid! It’s the most repeated phrase in Scripture, for good reason! Fear lurks around every corner. It feeds the daily news cycle. It is a favorite tactic of the enemy. Fear must continually be overcome, transformed and cast out by faith, hope and love! Thankfully, these graces are ours in abundance through the communion and tradition of the Catholic faith, which St. Lawrence is so blessed to make present to the learning, experiences and relationships of KU. It’s our great honor, and constant inspiration, to echo on this Hill some of the most important words have ever been or will ever be spoken! Be not afraid! It is the message of the angel Gabriel to our alma mater the Blessed Virgin Mary, who towers toward the blue as the most favored member of our race. These are the first words of the Pontificate of John Paul II which boldly proclaimed the Catholic faith to these modern times! Be not afraid! It’s the message of St. Lawrence to the KU students of today. Be not afraid of your potential! Be not afraid of your freedom, and your calling! Be not afraid to live your faith, through which you are invited to bear fruit that will transform the world! I know I am tired of the fear and blame that have dominated for too long. I know you are tired of it. I know our students are. So let’s do something about it! Thank you for your prayers and support of the mission to KU. Let’s go Jayhawks! Be not afraid!
Fr. Mitchel Director & Chaplain St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center
525 840 56,809 “I
Students engaged in our formation funnel to belong, believe and become students in the database for the 2020-2021 School Year Hours spent with students during our 30 weeks on mission
plead WITH YOU—
NEVER, EVER GIVE
UP ON HOPE, NEVER DOUBT, NEVER TIRE, AND NEVER BECOME DISCOURAGED.
BE NOT AFRAID.” —Pope John Paul II
MEET THE NEW STAFF MEMBERS Nick Labrie
Molly Hackett
“Hey y’all! My name’s Nick Labrie. I grew up on the beaches of Florida, but most recently moved to Lawrence from the swamps of south Louisiana where I worked with Family Missions Company, an apostolate which trains and sends lay families and singles as foreign missionaries. With over a decade in ministry, I carry a deep passion for reaching the unreached. I’m coming to St. Lawrence with my wife Paeter (rhymes with ‘later’) and our 3 kids (3.5yo John Mark, 18mo Éowyn, and baby #3 due Oct 28). We are excited to reach the campus with the Gospel!”
“I am a born and raised Kansas girl. I love my state and my alma mater Kansas State University but I am slowly beginning to cheer for the Jayhawks. My favorite activities involve spending time with friends and family, traveling, and watching sports. I am also newly engaged and enjoying the start of wedding planning with my Fiancé! I love telling stories and I cannot wait to help make an impact on the KU Catholic community.”
nlabrie@kucatholic.org
mhackett@kucatholic.org
Misty Stephenson
Focus
“Hi, I’m Misty. I was born and raised in Kansas and attended Benedictine College and majored in Youth Ministry and Religious Studies. I have spent most of the last two decades living all over the world and raising our four children with my military husband. I am thrilled to be back to tending my Kansas roots. When I am not at the St. Lawrence Center, I am busy keeping up with my kids, cooking, and sneaking in a chapter or two of a good book.” office@kucatholic.org
Sean Clennan, Kellie Flemming, Erin Kasprowicz, Sarah Wessel, Emily Lucido, Judah Lucido, Eden Lucido, and John Michael Lucido “I am looking forward to getting to know the students at KU better. One of my favorite things to do is learn about the activities or hobbies that people are passionate about and join them in doing them. As a missionary, I hope to bring a welcoming presence to everyone I meet. I really want to provide a space where people feel a sense of belonging. I’m also excited to see what sort of praise and worship opportunities I can become involved in.” -Sean Clennan, First Year FOCUS Missionary
CATCH UP WITH STUDENTS & ALUMNI
Annie Gardner CLASS OF 2020
What are you up to these days? I moved to Houston, TX after graduation to work as a Flight Controller for the International Space Station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center!
Max McElroy
I have been so blessed to get my dream job out of college, and God has certainly been taking me for a ride through it. Outside of work I have been doing a lot of cooking, reading, singing in the choir at my parish, and trying to get involved in the Catholic community here in Texas.
a good spiritual director, but either way, God will not be outdone in generosity. God called me to this new place in this new job for my particular holiness and vocation, so who am I to pine after what I think is best for me? It’s been a real test of trust, but one that is making me grow more and more into who God created me to be.
What were you involved in at St. Lawrence? I was involved with almost every aspect of St. Lawrence in my five years there. My favorite things were classes at the IFC and being spirituality coordinator for Koinonia. I would mostly just hang around the center and hope people would also be avoiding homework, so there were always shenanigans going on.
“Return to your schedule and what you spend on frequently and ask, is this making me a saint ?”
How do you live the theme “be not afraid” in your life? I know it seems obvious, but being an adult is very different from being in college. Making friends, especially ones who are serious about holiness, is pretty hard. I am a naturally extroverted person, but I have found myself more hesitant than ever before to talk to people and pursue friendships. Because of that, God has been saying “be not afraid” to accept what I need from him, especially if it requires some action on my part. Maybe it’s as small as asking someone to get coffee or as long term as finding
Ministries involved in at SLC? I have been involved in a lot of different groups at the St. Lawrence Center. Some of those are the small groups, Alpha, Koinonia and SLC Sportz!
How do you live the theme “be not afraid” in your life? I try to live the theme “be not afraid” by challenging the isolated culture of college. It can be very lonely, and I try to engage with students in my classes and on campus to get out of this lonely environment. St. Lawrence has been a place that I have been able to go without being afraid and has broken down those walls of isolation.
What would your life at KU look like without St. Lawrence? Without SLC, I would still be looking for a place to belong. It was the people at the center that showed me God has already accepted us, and even if my faith isn’t in a good spot, I still know I am in a place I belong.
How do you recommend others live the theme of “be not afraid” while in college? I encourage everyone to get off of their phones and take out their headphones when they walk to classes! It’s a very small thing but can make a difference by either engaging with people or just enjoying the beautiful campus!!
JUNIOR AT KU
Hometown: Olathe, KS
How do you recommend others live the theme of “be not afraid”? I firmly believe that holiness is forged through prayer and friendship. Therefore, those must be our priorities. The problem is, everything else on the planet is demanding to be above those things. So don’t be afraid to accept what you need from God. Get a spiritual director (this was the single best thing I did in college, I’m serious), spend time in Adoration, get coffee with people you want to be friends with, get enough sleep, etc. Return to your schedule and what you spend on frequently and ask, is this making me a saint? If it isn’t, change it! Be not afraid to be holy, unique, and wonderful.
Samuel Klingenberg JUNIOR AT KU
Hometown: Kansas City, MO Ministries Involved In at SLC? I have mostly been involved with FOCUS my last two years at KU. What would your life at KU look like without St. Lawrence? Without St. Lawrence, I would be without the best faith community I have ever experienced. The people that I have met here have challenged me to cultivate an amazing friendship with Jesus Christ. St. Lawrence has been the best part of my KU journey and I couldn’t imagine my college experience without it. How do you live the theme “be not afraid” in your life? I think I live the theme be not afraid in my life by trusting that no matter what stressors come
Owen Toepfer CLASS OF 2019
What are you up to these days? My wife and I recently celebrated our one-year anniversary, we are expecting our first baby (named Lawrence!), and I am starting my third year of law school at Notre Dame. What were you involved in at St. Lawrence? I was at St. Lawrence just about every day, but I spent a lot of time doing things with and for the Institute for Faith and Culture. The people and classes associated with the IFC did more than anything else to help me mature in my faith. How do you live the theme “be not afraid” in your life? Not as well as I should, probably—but I do try! I think, for a Catholic, being unafraid is often synonymous with trusting in God’s providence and knowing that God’s will for me is better
than anything I could dream up for myself if left to my own devices. Often, being unafraid means doing things that are counter-cultural and that bear witness to the abundant love of God—for example, welcoming a child into the world before finishing school. How do you recommend others live the theme of “be not afraid”? American novelist Edith Wharton once wrote: “Life is always a featherbed or a tightrope. Give me the tightrope.” Take the tightrope! It’s hard to think of something as antithetical to the Catholic life as a featherbed. When God calls us out onto our respective tightropes, being unafraid doesn’t necessarily mean casting off all uncertainty. It means knowing that God wouldn’t have called us out if He did not plan to steady our balance and catch us when we fall.
about, in the end God’s plan for me is to be a saint. For example, I signed up to go on a mission trip to Peru, and had never been out of the country, without knowing how I would be able to fundraise. He made it happen and the experience I had there was one of the most amazing and influential times in my entire life. How do you recommend others live the theme of “be not afraid” while in college? For other students to live out be not afraid I would recommend you put yourself in situations that might make you uncomfortable and to be willing to say yes to things in your faith life that you feel unprepared for. If you are glorifying God in whatever you are doing, then He will give you the grace you need to continue his mission.
“He has already won the battle. We’re always safe in His grace!”
that bar and will start my law practice in both business and humanitarian immigration. My husband, William, and I have 2 year old Lily and 7 month old Lucas who are growing and doing new things every day! What were you involved in at St. Lawrence? I became Catholic at St. Lawrence in 2015 and was involved in Koinonia most semesters. How do you live the theme “be not afraid” in your life? Recently, God has repeatedly asked my husband and I to trust Him in the midst of suffering. In the past year, we lost my sister to drug addiction, became unemployed, and I went through a medically complicated, very painful pregnancy and postpartum recovery with my son. Even when times seem unbelievably difficult, God has proven that He is in control and there is no reason to be afraid. He works all circumstances for our good, and He has already won the battle. We’re always safe in His grace!
Aly Englander CLASS OF 2018
What are you up to these days? I just started work at an immigration firm in Kansas City! I also just learned that I passed
How do you recommend others live the theme of “be not afraid”? We can’t triumph over our fear alone. We need to be in the loving, comforting presence of the Lord in daily prayer to recommit to trust every day. But we also need good friends to walk the journey with. With good friends to strive for holiness alongside, we feel less alone and less fearful!
Save The Date
November 20, 2021
Join Case and Jennifer Dorman for the Divine Winefest on November 20, 2021 at Fiorella’s in Overland Park! Purchase Your Tickets At DivineWinefest.com
Address Change? Receiving multiple copies? Want to unsuscribe? If so, contact us: 1631 Crescent Rd. Lawrence, KS 66044 (785) 843-0357 kucatholic.org | mhackett@kucatholic.org
Sacrament Celebrations ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD Fr. Brian McCaffrey—June 8, 2021
WEDDINGS Madison Campbell & Meredith (Henderson)—May 1, 2021 Jacob Olson & McKenna (Spence)—May 29, 2021 Faith (Kaiser) & Joseph Andras—June 19, 2021 Nicholas Liese & Sharon (Folk)—June 25, 2021 Nate Hall & Regan (Dimmit)—July 10, 2021 Kristen (Cunningham) & Connor O’Shea—July 31, 2021 Isaiah Cacka & Carla (Bordier)—August 14, 2021
BAPTISMS Elijah Theodore Law of Nate & Kaitlyn (Gingrigh)—July 17, 2021 Josephine Rose Basgall of Frank & Jessie (Daniel)—August 29, 2021 Sophia Caeli Skoch of John Mark & Kelsy (Bob)—August 15, 2021 Joseph Jacobs of Brock & Felsie (Kiss) Elias Jerome Gabel of Calvin & Kim (Meyen)—June 26, 2021 Joseph Patrick Cunningham of Sam & Haley (Feldt)—April 25, 2021 Patrick Feeney of Matt & Maria (Thorson)—July 18, 2021 Josephine Rose Basgall of Frank Basgall and Jessie (Daniel) —August 29, 2021
Staff Fr. Mitchel Zimmerman Fr. Dan Morris Sr. Elena Morcelli, AVI Sr. Ruth Kuefler, AVI Sr. Raffaella Cavallin, AVI Stacy Cretors Ellen Flood Kyle Kuckelman Nick Labrie Molly Hackett Nicholas Liese Misty Stephenson Mark Wertin John Michael Lucido, FOCUS Sarah Wessel, FOCUS Sean Clennan, FOCUS Erin Kasprowicz, FOCUS Kellie Flemming, FOCUS
Elias Gabel Baptism
Elijah Law Baptism
UPCOMING EVENTS For More Information, Check Out KuCatholic.org
November 20, 2021
Divine Winefest Fiorella’s in Overland Park DivineWinefest.com
@KUCATHOLIC
October 15-17, 2021:
KU Homecoming & Matching Gift Weekend & Mass KuCatholic.org/Give @KUCATHOLICS
Follow us on social media and help us spread awareness by using #KUCATHOLIC
Sophia Skoch Baptism
Josephine Basgall Baptism
Fr. Brian McCaffrey Ordination
Liese Wedding
O’Shea Wedding
Spence Olson Wedding