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C A T H O L I C S on the H I L L
The mission of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center is to form the students, faculty and staff of the University of Kansas, and others who wish to join in this mission, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Catholic intellectual, moral, liturgical and spiritual traditions.
LETTER from the
DI R ECTOR
DE A R C AT HOL IC J AY H AW K S,
I have a confession. I’m addicted to sports. Every Lent I know that I should give up KU Basketball as a sign to Him that I love Him more than the Jayhawks. But I fail. Miserably most years. My closest friends say I’m a sports fan who happens to also be a priest. Not flattering, but not entirely false either. I’m a weak man. That being said, I’m going to use what I know and love for the Kingdom. KU Basketball plays for National Championships ... nothing less satisfies. I feel the same way about St. Lawrence. I want to be the best. Not for me, but for our new Jayhawks who are dear to all of us. I want to guide the stories of the next generation of Catholic Jayhawks to fly higher than ever, fueled by the spirit and tradition of St. Lawrence. Fr. Vince Krische was a national leader in awakening the Church’s opportunity to form her college students where 85% of them are - at public universities. Fr. Steve Beseau deeply enriched the formation St. Lawrence was able to offer. I want to spend the next three years assembling a championship-caliber team of staff and student leaders, creating an unstoppable home-court advantage, and sending into the world a ‘phog’ of witnesses to the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith.
FR. MITCHEL ZIMMERM A N
Please help me invest in the stories of these Jayhawks, and thank you for your faith in them and in us! Here’s to a championship season! Praying for you and yours always, Director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center
STAFF
Introducing the newest members of our St. Lawrence team!
ADDITIONS WHY ST. L AWR E NCE ?
It was honestly through pure chance that I stumbled upon the open Campus Ministry position at St. Lawrence. Having never been to Kansas, I was a bit nervous to make such a big move. However, while visiting St. Lawrence, I immediately felt a sense of family and of home that
E M I LY
LIUZZ A
I hadn’t felt in a while. While hearing more about the vision and mission at St. Lawrence, it became clear to me that this was a place I wanted to be and a mission I wanted to serve. WHAT IS YOU R OFFICIAL /U NOFFICIAL TITLE ?
My official title is Campus Minister ... my unofficial title is Captain Sentimental. WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE PART OF YOU R JOB?
KYLE
My absolute favorite part of my job, hands down, is getting to
K UC K E L M A N
meet with students one on one. I am deeply moved when a student chooses to confide in me and allows me to enter into a small part of their life. It is truly a gift to walk with the amazing men and women at KU. WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE S P OT IN L AWR E NCE ?
I find myself frequently at Merchant’s on Mass St. either grabbing food with a friend or meeting up with a group for a drink. I love the outdoor seating and the location. I’m looking forward to continuing to explore Lawrence and find some more sweet spots in town. WHY ST. L AWR E NCE ?
I wanted to come to St. Lawrence because of the rich tradition and the amazing staff that Fr. Mitchel has put together. The biggest reason I wanted to work at the Center is the vision that Fr. Mitchel and his leadership team has put out there. It’s something that I believe in and wanted to be a part of! WHAT IS YOU R OFFICIAL /U NOFFICIAL TITLE ?
My official title is “Campus Minister” ... my unofficial title is “web guy”. WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE PART OF YOU R JOB?
Getting distracted at the office because students are around! It’s amazing and annoying and is absolutely the best part
WHY ST. L AWR E NCE ?
I graduated from KU in 2011, and St. Lawrence greatly impacted my faith and
of my job!
discernment. When my community (the Apostles of the FAVORITE S P OT IN L AWR E NCE ?
Interior Life), asked me to come back to Kansas after five and a half
I don’t know much about Lawrence
years in Italy, I was thrilled to return to my alma mater and do ministry
yet, but so far my favorite spot in
in a place that means so much to me!
Lawrence is Clinton Lake fun place to walk around and relax.
WHAT IS YOU R OFFICIAL /U NOFFICIAL TITLE ?
SR. RUTH KUEFLER
My official title is Sr. Ruth, AVI, spiritual director, member of the Apostles of the Interior Life ... my unofficial title is Best Cookie Baker on staff! WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE PART OF YOU R JOB?
Meeting one on one with students and being allowed into their lives, their hopes, their dreams, their worries, and witnessing with awe how God is guiding their stories with His grace. WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE S P OT IN L AWR E NCE ?
La Prima Tazza on Mass Street: best coffee in town! I also love taking walks in the beautiful neighborhoods surrounding campus.
LU K E
MURRAY
WHY ST. L AWR E NCE ?
STAFF
ADDITION I am most excited about coming to work with students. After being in academia the past few years and focusing on research and publishing, I am looking forward to working with students again, both inside and outside of the classroom. The combination of offering academic classes for college credit combined with missionary outreach to KU’s faculty and students was an opportunity that I could not pass up!
WHAT IS YOU R OFFICIAL /U NOFFICIAL TITLE ?
My official title is Berkel Chair of Theology ... my unofficial title is Dr. Snake Charmer, after capturing—and releasing—a big snake that invaded a recent leadership retreat we held at Perry Lake. WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE PART OF YOU R JOB?
Talking theology and philosophy with interested college students, followed closely by playing pick-up basketball at outdoor courts in Lawrence.
MINISTRY
WHAT IS YOU R FAVORITE S P OT IN L AWR E NCE ?
Walking Mass Street and hitting all the different parks in town with my family.
UPDATE
Good Company
This semester has been full of new faces as our campus ministry, recently rebranded as Good Company, continues to welcome students every Sunday night for a free dinner and every Friday morning for free coffee and bagels. We are gearing up for our first Good Company Trivia Night, offering students an opportunity to brush up their on their trivia knowledge, for a team, and compete for a $500 grand prize! We are very excited to not only be developing the social aspects of our campus ministry, but also the areas of Truth, mercy and justice. This month our mercy and justice scholarship students have begun to develop an event featuring neurologist Dr. Laurie Heap. She will be speaking on campus about how sex, birth control, and cohabitation affect the human brain. In addition, our mercy and justice team will be kicking off a weekly opportunity for students to volunteer at local nursing homes. The pro-life team is hard at work getting together our trip to Washington D.C. this January for the March for Life! Spiritually, Good Company put on its first retreat for students this past month. It was focused on providing the students a space to put down their phone and take time to rest, pray, and allow our God to speak to them in the silence. As usual, our Tuesday nights of adoration and music are still underway, attracting new faces each week. We are abundantly grateful for the many new faces as our St. Lawrence family continues to grow!
Institute for Faith & Culture
MINISTRY
UPDATE
The Institute for Faith and Culture here at the St. Lawrence Center is in full swing for the semester! The Institute is putting on seminars, classes, lectures, and events for students of all ages and phases of life. All events, classes, and seminars are aimed at integrating the Catholic faith into the whole person. Dr. Luke Murray is teaching a course on Sacred Scripture and conducting a seminar on Thomas Aquinas and Modern Philosophy both of which are geared towards undergraduate students. Dr. Patrick Callahan is teaching a course in the Great Books Program, or Humanitas, which is also focused on our undergraduate students. Both are involved in teaching a graduate-level seminar on the Reformation and Secular Society. This seminar in particular has fostered some incredible discussions among students and faculty. The IFC began the year with its annual Colorado trip the week before school resumed session. Students and faculty enjoyed poetry, Mass, mountain-climbing, and time to be in community with each other during that week, all focusing on starting the year off right. Other events such as a guest lectures, trips to the Nelson Atkins Museum, and stargazing are giving students and faculty alike numerous opportunities to grow in faith, community, and culture throughout the semester. Additionally, the students are greatly looking forward to the upcoming trip to Italy in May of 2018 organized by the Institute. With ten days full of Italian food, art, and history, it will truly be a pilgrimage of the mind and soul.
Sacred Liturg y & Music
The ministries of Sacred Liturgy and Music have been off to a great start this school year, with over 110 student liturgical ministers, including fifteen Choral, Sacristan and Organ Scholars. There are twenty-one choir members in the 11:00 choir, seventeen in the 5:00 pm and an initial six in the new mixed choir at 9pm with at least ten new people expressing interest in the choirs. Our organ scholars cover all our Masses and our eight Choral Scholars provide a rotation of cantors for 4:00 pm and 9:00 am masses, along with their respective choral masses at 9:00 am, 11:00 am and 5:00 pm. Also, student Maggie Werth is re-forming the St. Lawrence Children’s choir which will be singing at select daily masses and at Lessons and Carols. Speaking of which, “Lessons and Carols” is—outside of the Mass itself—the longest running annual event in the Center’s history. Our 29th Annual Lessons and Carols will be Saturday, December 9th at 7:00 pm this year. The celebration is an outreach to the wider community as well contributing to our St. Lawrence community. Including the choir of thirty, multiple readers, ushers, organists, instrumentalists and reception helpers, Lessons and Carols has more than 50 people involved each year with an attendance of over 200 last year. Finally, no article about liturgy and music would be complete without mentioning our student Sacristan Scholars. The Sacristans are vital to Mass going smoothly as they set-up, find needed liturgical ministers for open spots, and in general give space for our priests to concentrate on celebrating Mass with minimal distractions.
ALUMNI
STUDENT
PROFILE
UPDATE Justen and Anne Phelps IMAGINE A YOUNG MAN, his freshman
year in college, putting on his best Tommy Boy impersonation after praying a rosary in a friends dorm room and throwing on a smaller friends coat to complete the look. This was Anne Phelps’ first impression of her future husband, Justen. It wouldn’t be for another few years that Anne agreed to go on a date with Justen but the two originally met through a mutual friend here at KU and were both actively involved in the St. Lawrence Center. Anne took part in the catechetical classes and traveled to Washington D.C. for the March for Life and Justen claims in all sincerity that he was “involved in everything but the choir” at St. Lawrence. After KU Anne worked as a graphic designer while Justen attended Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They have four children, Jared (11), Mary (9), Rose (5), and Peter (18 months). They currently live in Wichita where Justen practices law with Gilliland & Hayes, LLC. Anne homeschools their children and is a full-time wife and mother. When looking back on their time at St. Lawrence, Anne and Justen recall, “Christ, through the people that we met at St. Lawrence, transformed our lives and gave our lives direction and a true purpose. St. Lawrence introduced both of us to the reality that Christ touches every aspect of our lives and calls us to sanctify even the simplest of our daily activities.” When it comes to how the Center impacted their vocation to marriage, Justen believes “the lifestyle that we learned to live at St. Lawrence serves as a foundation for every day of our family life.”
Sister Sophia Grace SR. SOPHIA GRACE GRADUATED FROM KU and the St. Lawrence Center
in 2003 as Kimberly Huschka. She joined the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R. in 2007 and just made her solemn profession of vows in July 2015. Sr. Sophia Grace is currently living at their motherhouse in Toronto, OH, and serving her community as Postulant Formator and is also the Local Sister Servant (Local Superior) of their Formation House. Sister’s experience of St. Lawrence could be described best by her comment, “Basically by my senior year I used a locker in the basement and practically lived there!” She was involved in almost everything the Center had to offer - from attending classes and spring break trips to volunteering at the front desk and Sunday Suppers. She also led the March for Life trip her senior year. When asked to describe how the Center impacted her life and vocation she replied, “St. Lawrence is where I took my faith to be my own. The friends I met at the St. Lawrence Center and the community in general helped me to see that living our faith could be full of life, authentic life, not the life that the world tries to give.”
YE AR & MA JOR AT KU? I’m a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering
Annie Gardner
WHAT AR E YOU INVOLVE D IN AT ST. L AWR E NCE ? I am primarily involved in the Great Books Program/ Institute for Faith and Culture as well as Kiononia and 9 p.m. Mass choir, but I’m pretty much always around :) HOW WAS YOU R SU MME R? My summer was a lot like my semester. I spent both working at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA doing engineering work on the X-56A project. It was an amazing experience to take a little time away from school to work in the industry and gain some incredibly valuable skills. HOW HAVE YOU SHARE D YOU R FAITH IN THIS PAST YE AR? While it was hard being away from my community for much of the last year, it gave me a unique opportunity to share my faith and passion with a whole new group of people and grow in new ways. Because these people were strangers for most of my time with them, sharing my faith took subtle but important approaches like inviting other interns to Mass with me if we were spending the weekend together or simply having conversations about why having a good spiritual life is important to me and my development as an engineer. HOW HAVE YOU G ROWN IN YOU R FAITH SINCE B E ING AT ST. L AWR E NCE ? I cannot accurately describe how much my faith has grown here at the St. Lawrence Center because it is simply too much to capture. I immediately got involved in the Great Books Program, which gave me a philosophical outlet to my strenuous engineering classes and helped me keep my education in the greater perspective of my faith. I began going to spiritual direction, which I came to realize was completely necessary to continuing to grow in my relationship with God. I went on and was then a team member for the Koinonia Retreat which really solidified my community and gave me friendships that have pushed me to grow, know, and love more, no matter where we are in the country or world. DE SCRIB E ST. L AWR E NCE IN 3 WOR DS: Home. Community. Genuine.
Congratulations!
SACRAMENTS CELEBR ATED
BAP TIS M S + Hyacinth Faustina Kemnitz, daugher of Matt and Olivia Kemnitz, March 19, 2017 + Inigo Antonio de Leon, son of Ireneo de Leon and Nerissa de Leon, April 29, 2017 + Aengus Andrew Peterson, son of Theodore Peterson and Jillian (Rush), June 15, 2017 + John Carl Dill, son of Michael and Grace Dill, June 25, 2017 + Micah George Monroe, son of Tyrone Monroe and Erin (Scheckel), July 16, 2017
MAR RIAG E S + Kenny Boyer and Olivia Loney May 19, 2017
Hyacinth Kemnitz Baptism
+ Thy Nguyen and Lucinda LaCour May 27, 2017 + John Rosa and Allison Rohman June 24, 2017 + Michael Kopper and Theresa Amante July 14, 2017 + Justin Wilson and Maria Carvajal August 3, 2017
Arends-Reagan Wedding
+ Mitch Arends and Sarah Reagan September 13, 2017
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED OUR 3RD BOOTS & BBQ BARN PARTY
John Dill Baptism
boots &
bbq • M I L DA L E FA R M •
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OUR
60th Anniversary Party ARROWHEAD STADIUM NOVEMBER 10, 2018
Address Change? Receiving multiple copies? Want to unsuscribe? If so, contact us: 1631 Crescent Rd. Lawrence, KS 66044 (785) 843-0357 kucatholic.org | scretors@kucatholic.org
NON PROF I T ORG . U. S . P O S TAG E PA I D L AW R E NC E , K S PE R M I T NO. 19 1
STAFF Fr. Mitchel Zimmerman Fr. Scott Wallisch Sr. Elena Morcelli, AVI Sr. Debbie Li, AVI Sr. Ruth Kuefler, AVI Patrick Callahan Jen Meitl-Conrad John Cramer Stacy Cretors Alex Gordzica Linda Hornik Kyle Kuckelman Emily Liuzza Luke Murray Brian Nelson Steve Putthoff Stephanie Giltner, FOCUS Matt Flanagan, FOCUS Jacob Morales, FOCUS Sarah Stratman, FOCUS Anna Taylor, FOCUS Chad Pirotte, School of Faith Mike Scherschligt, School of Faith
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