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S P R I NG 2018 – k u c a t h o l i c . o rg
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.
FR. MITCHEL ZIMMERM A N
letter from the
di r ector
There’s No P lace L ike Home. It’s not just a corny line from the Wizard of Oz. We remember this line because there’s a lot of truth in it. When we meet someone, we immediately want to know where is home for you? You’re reading this newsletter because at one point, St. Lawrence has been home for you or a loved one. It’s true - there’s no place like home. My story was dramatically guided during my college years by St. Lawrence. It was my home . . . and still is! Please help me to make St. Lawrence home for more and more Jayhawks. We love this hill and the experiences, relationships and learning that happen here. We know that better stories are written when students call St. Lawrence home. St. Lawrence has learned a lot as we celebrate our first 60 years. The opportunity for us to guide 6,000+ Catholic students is unimaginable. The cost if they are inoculated to the faith catastrophic. To this end, our urgent strategy is to create the strongest home-court advantage in the country, by investing in our physical facility and the development of staff and student leaders who have the precise heart and skills to reach this generation. I desire that the next 60 years of great Catholic stories written from this hill will be even better than ours. Don’t you?
Director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center
CULTURE OF HOME
From the Development Office
JEN M EI T L
CONR A D
It’s 3pm on a Tuesday in the St. Lawrence Center. Things are picking up as they do everyday of the week as students finish with classes and head to the Center. Ripples of laughter waft through the air and conversations about faith, life, and love are being fostered through food, coffee, and authentic friendship. In just a few hours there will be a Bible study meeting in the social hall, a theology course (for credit!) being taught in the conference room, a pro-life meeting happening in the classrooms, and praise and worship adoration happening in the Chapel. A pianist is practicing in the choir room, while students are studying in almost every nook and cranny of the Center (including Father Mitchel’s office!). Conversations during study breaks range from talking about friends studying for the Priesthood to their roommate who is going to the Mumford and Sons concert next weekend in KC. The culture of home is alive and well at St. Lawrence! The Center has served as home to so many of us throughout the last forty years. Within the walls of this Center, each of us had a unique opportunity to seek out the Truth with and through authentic friendships that, in many cases, are still sustained today. This generation, perhaps more than any generation in years past, seeks authenticity with an intense passion, and desires beauty and connection without perhaps knowing at all what that really looks like in the world today. Over 1,000 students walk through our property from Daisy Hill each day on their way to and from classes on Mount Oread. Archbishop Strecker and Monsignor Krische’s vision for St. Lawrence to be the center of KU (both spiritually and physically) has come to fruition; our programming is the best in the country and, with the central campus development and west campus expansion, we are literally right in the middle of everything happening at KU. To take advantage of this fact and meet even more students, we need our facilities to reflect the personality that we have taken on: one of genuine hospitality and authentic friendship. Our plans will create an outdoor patio space for study, relaxation, and holy leisure. There will be better sidewalks and lighting for students walking during the evening hours. Interiorly, we will knock down the walls of the classrooms to create a more open and welcoming entrance, giving space for even more authentic conversations about life in Jesus Christ. Our new plans seek to welcome in those who are wandering, and lavishly welcome students into these walls that so many of us have called home. If you have yet to join with us in our mission, now is the time! I cannot tell you how excited I am for the future of St. Lawrence under the leadership of our students, and we simply cannot do this without you! May God bless you and your families always, and know that you are in our prayers. Jen Meitl Conrad Director of Benefactor Relations
Lent at St. Lawrence
MINISTRY
REPORT At St. Lawrence, Lent was not only a time to better oneself, but to invite others into the season. On Ash Wednesday, students packed into the church and the student union for Mass. Seeing so many students come home to the Church for Ash Wednesday was beautiful and inspired me to dive full force into Lent. Welcoming all people home to the church was a priority on Ash Wednesday, so student leaders volunteered to be greeters, embracing a mentality of constant warmth and hospitality.
This mentality continued the rest of Lent at our 5-week Rise series. Students were invited to St. Lawrence on Wednesday nights for Rise, an evening full of talks, community, praise and worship. Rise was a great way to invite people into the St. Lawrence community and most importantly to hear the truth about Jesus’ love. Each week, Rise only improved as new people gathered into the social hall for an hour full of truth. It was easy to feel God’s presence at Rise when I looked around to see friends and strangers alike worshiping with open hearts.
Lent was topped off with 24-hour confessions and adoration to kickstart the Triduum. As a senior at KU, I can honestly say that this Lent at St. Lawrence was one for the books. God’s grace was evident as new students felt Jesus’ love for the first time, old students flourished outside their comfort zones, inviting in others, and staff sacrificed numerous hours to make it all run smoothly. Kelsi McLaughlin, Class of 2018
March for Life
Humanitas The Center offers multiple college-credit courses aimed at integrating the Catholic faith into the whole person. This semester, Dr. Luke Murray is teaching an ethics course, which is an introduction to key figures and ways of thinking about ethics from a Catholic or Christian perspective. The course provides a broad overview of Western perspective and aims to answer questions such as how to lead a good life, how we should act and what it means to be human. Students learn the teachings of Plato and Aristotle, along with an emphasis on St. Thomas Aquinas’ teachings. Additionally, they study modern and postmodern philosophies, as well. Dr. Murray believes, “Discussions are the best part of the class. Students ask questions about everyday life, and we talk about how people would respond and then what we can learn from them today as college students.” Along with our Intro to Ethics course, Professor Callahan is teaching two forcredit classes on Introduction to Rhetoric and the Catholic Imagination. The Catholic Imagination course surveys the best in Catholic literature, art, music and philosophy, examining the fundamental questions of the human experience. The course aims to instill in students the methods and desire to continue on a path of Catholic learning and questioning. The course on Rhetoric is structured on the classical forms of rhetoric and recovering a mode of discourse that can often be lost in our current culture. It teaches the history and the practice of speaking and is aimed to create the ability for students to understand a God who is Word and to share that word. Anna Pankiewiecz, Class of 2017
If I had to describe the March For Life in one word, it would be incredible. I had never thought about going on it until I was asked to help plan the trip with Faith Biermann and Emily Liuzza. It far surpassed any expectations that I had with how well it was both historically and religiously tied together. The March For Life started with a rally in the morning and I was amazed about how many people were there. The speakers were all great in their own way too. President Trump acknowledged the March and became the first President to ever do so. Sr. Bethany Madonna shared how she has impacted women contemplating abortion and how beautiful their lives have become with the children they saved. Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler really moved everyone. She gave a heartfelt testimony of how her own daughter wasn’t supposed to live long after birth and how she and her husband still decided to go on with the pregnancy after doctors suggested abortion. She said all of this with her daughter standing right there. It was hands down the most touching moment of the day. During the March itself, everyone was so peaceful and in prayer. No one was screaming or chanting mean things about the opposition. It really was a perfect example of peaceful protest. During the whole thing I really felt I was apart of something so much greater than myself. It was really cool to see how many people made such an effort to be there. Aidan Setter, class of 2020
ALUMNI UPDATE
STUDENT
PROFILE
Sr. Peter Marie
Drew Kanne
Sister Peter Marie, formerly Laura Chrismer, graduated from KU and the St. Lawrence Center in 2000. She joined the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn. and currently serves as Vocation Director.
YE AR & MA JOR AT KU? I’m a freshman currently deciding my major.
Sister Peter Marie, a dance major, found her way to the St. Lawrence Center during her junior year, as a friend invited her to the Sunday evening Mass. Throughout her “re-conversion,” Sr. was touched by two things, in particular: the witness of the familiar faces she saw each week at Mass, and the realization that when the priest held the Blessed Sacrament, it was truly Jesus.
WHAT AR E YOU INVOLVE D IN AT ST. L AWR E NCE ? I’m involved with as much as I can be! I have been helping out with our RISE ministry, and I’m in a FOCUS Bible study as well. I’ve been going to RCIA, but most of all I just love being a part of the daily life at SLC.
“If I really believe that to be true, then my whole life should reflect that belief. We’re always trying to seek integrity, as persons, and so it just stirred up a lot of questions. And I think that was the Lord’s way in.” While attending a mission trip in Saltillo, Mexico, Sr. Peter Marie found authentic friendships and life-giving conversations and knew that she wanted to continue that once she got back to campus. The mission trip opened her eyes to the community of the St. Lawrence Center, but it also opened her heart to the possibility of religious life. “Monsignor Vince Krische and I were sitting next to each other on a bus ride back to the mission in Saltillo, and he just turned to me in the middle of conversation, and he said ‘You would make such a great sister.’ Though stunned and hesitant at this statement, Sr. Peter Marie returned to St. Lawrence after the mission trip and began having a daily prayer life and attending the sacraments regularly. In the silence of adoration, she began to often feel a call to religious life. Later, when she asked Monsignor Vince about his comment, he simply said, “It was just the Holy Spirit.” Sr. Peter Marie knew that upon graduation, she would join a religious order. Initially, she was drawn to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia because of St. Cecilia, who is the patroness of the fine arts. As she looked further, the authenticity of the sisters and their contemplative charism and to preach the truth for the salvation of souls. “I really think St. Lawrence and what I received here prepared me to receive this charism because my life was changed by coming to know the Lord, and I wanted that for other people.” Before serving as Vocation Director, Sr. Peter Marie taught in several schools around the country as part of the Dominicans’ teaching apostolate. Upon becoming Vocation Director in 2012, she now serves women who feel they might be called to religious life through phone calls and emails, visiting colleges and conferences across the country and hosting retreats at the motherhouse. In these conversations, she shares the beauty and joys of consecrated life and walks with these women as discern God’s will for them and often encourages simplicity. “If God is putting out the invitation, we have the grace to just start responding, just respond to the next grace. The Lord will lead.“
HOW HAS THE SCHOOL YE AR B E E N? School has been great; it’s tough to be as far from home (Chicago) as I am. But I’ve met a lot of great people who have made the transition a lot easier to make. HOW HAVE YOU G ROWN IN YOU R FAITH AT ST. L AWR E NCE ? St. Lawrence has been instrumental in my spiritual growth. Obviously, being confirmed in November at St. Lawrence was huge, and now there are so many people and resources here to encourage me to grow. But above all, just being able to see other people strive for virtue has been so inspiring to me. HOW HAVE YOU SHARE D YOU R FAITH IN THIS PAST YE AR? This past year has been a lot of learning and restoration, as far as my faith goes. And although I don’t always have the words to share my faith with others, I try to share my faith by living into the joy that Christ has given me. Knowing Jesus has made me a more genuine person and has urged me to love everyone better than I do. DE SCRIB E ST. L AWR E NCE IN 3 WOR DS: Place of joy.
Congratulations!
SACRAMENTS CELEBR ATED BAP TISMS
+ Zachary Kelley Williams, son of Edward and Darlene Williams, October 1, 2017 + Augustin Xavier Alexander, son of Richard Alexander and Shanna (Meyer), October 8, 2017 + Peter Pio McNally, son of Martin & Catherine McNally, October 31, 2017 + Mary Imaculee Margaret Burton, daugher of Ryan and Katie Burton, November 19, 2017
Burton Baptism
+ Evamarie Francesca Haring, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Haring, December 3, 2017 + David Patrick Conrad, son of Keith and Jen Conrad, February 4, 2018 + Samuel Stephen Haack, son of Pete and Emily Haack, February 4, 2018 + Marjorie Mary Bennett, daughter of Brian and Margie Bennett, March 3, 2018 + Lincoln James Payne, baby of Zach Payne and Emily (Hutfles), March 11, 2018 MARRIAG ES +J ustin Schmitz and Jordan McEntee, December 16, 2017 + Daniel Munch and Jenne Moore, January 5, 2018 + Isaac Thibault and Erin Collar, April 7, 2018
Justin Schmitz and Jordan McEntee Wedding
Bennett Baptism
Payne Baptism
Save the Date! S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 8 C E L E B R AT I N G
60
Y E A R S O F M I N I S T R Y AT T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F K A N S A S
Divine Wine Fest
T H E N O R T H C L U B AT A R R O W H E A D S TA D I U M W W W. D I V I N E W I N E F E S T. C O M
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 LAW R E NCE , 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
Upcoming Events
For more information, check www.kucatholic.org
April 29th, 2018
May 13th, 2018
November 10th, 2018
S E N IOR HONOR S N IG H T
G R A DU A T ION W E E K E N D
DI V I N E W I N E F E S T
5:00pm Mass + Dinner
8:30am Mass + Breakfast on the Lawn
Arrowhead Stadium
RSVP: kucatholic.org/events
RSVP: kucatholic.org/events
divinewinefest.com
@ K U-C a t hol i c
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