I can’t believe how fast the summer is going by! I feel as if May was only yesterday with June nowhere to be seen. As July nears its half-way mark, campus ministry is preparing to go full steam ahead which is both exhilarating and nerve-racking. The first two weeks of school are critical weeks for ministry as many new students are quickly transitioning from a life guided by parental wisdom, to a life ruled by the self. Numerous are the parents who have come to me over the summer while tabling on campus pleading with me to contact their son or daughter because they are witnessing a sense of rebellion toward anything that resembles “parental insight.” In a sense, we are the hope to these parents that we will do everything in our power to contact them and continue to build upon the foundation they have laid.
We obviously take this call seriously as it can easily become a life or death situation. To that end, we are preparing dozens of students to pound the pavement come August 18th to lend a helping hand to new students as they move in, to introduce them to the family of St. Thomas, and to invest in them so that when times get tough—which they always do—they have a friend to turn to. With just under 6,000 new students coming to CU this year, we are inviting every student of St. Thomas to help with this ambitious mission!
With all available students on campus, this leaves us with little assistance for events at the Catholic Student Center. Our goal is to offer daily events during the week preceding school so that the students of St. Thomas will be able to offer a concrete invitation to each student they meet on campus so as to introduce them to the family of St. Thomas.
All of this may sound familiar as I have written on the topic of parish and alumni support a few weeks back. While I only received a few responses expressing a willingness to volunteer, I did not expect much since I was unable to give specifics to our fall outreach efforts. I come to you now with a concrete plan and a hope that we may obtain the 100 volunteers I wished for in the previous column (you may find that column on our website). Please prayerfully consider volunteering for one of these events:
1) Open House BBQ: August 18th, 20th, and 22nd from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
a. Looking for three sets of 10 volunteers to setup at the Catholic Student Center, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up.
b. This will be a time to meet new students and show them around the Catholic Student Center.
2) Student Mass BBQ: August 23rd from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
a. Hoping for 15 to 20 volunteers to help setup, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up for the big new-student welcome party immediately following the first Student Mass of the semester.
3) Open Air Mass BBQ: August 30th from 7:30 p.m – 9:30 p.m.
a. Hoping for another 15 to 20 volunteers to help setup, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up following the BBQ.
4) Cookie Baking: Cookies Due Between August 21st and 23rd
a. Looking for 10 people who would each be willing to bake 100 cookies and place them into little baggies in pairs of two.
b. These go as gifts to the new students we visit in the dorms during the first week of class.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email. If you are student and would like to volunteer for on-campus outreach, please contact Hilary Rowe at hrowe@focusonline.org for more information. For those of you who are graciously willing and wanting to take time out of your day for the sake of campus ministry, please contact me with the particular event you would like to volunteer for. If you are reading this in the pew then please sign up on your way out. You can find the signup sheets on a table in the narthex. Thank you for the sacrifices you all make to ensure this ministry reaches those who need the healing touch of Jesus Christ! May God be Praised!
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