“Attention rectors and youth ministers! If you have students heading off to college in the fall, help keep them involved in the Church by sharing their names and email addresses with the Episcopal chaplains at the colleges they will be attending.”
This is the heartfelt request of the Rev. C. Matthew W. Wise, Campus Missioner, Texas A&M University, of diocesan clergy and youth ministers in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and elsewhere. He talked about what those doing college ministry in the Diocese of Texas have identified as two of their biggest challenges.
“One, we are somehow missing connections with many of the students who graduate (high school) from your parishes as they are coming into our universities and two, we each only have a few connections with alumni from our universities that are in your parishes, usually only a handful of people we already know personally. These are two large gaps that affect our college ministries as well as your parish ministries. We’d like to work on these challenges together.”
The same challenges are faced by college chaplains across Texas and the nation.
Wise wrote, “This `handoff” (if you will) is a critical step in keeping our students connected with the Church and we are committed to doing it well. Please contact one the College Missioners listed on the sheet attached with this letter and let us know who from your congregations and ministries is headed our way!”
He specifically requested that students headed to Texas A&M University and Blinn College fill out an online form.
Once completed, this form will automatically be sent to Wise and will enable him to “reach out to each student to welcome them to College Station, share with them about all the opportunities at Canterbury, and invite them to coffees, meals and other fellowship events at the beginning of the semester.”
With the exception of Tarleton State University, campus ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is still a work in progress. The Rev. Curt Norman of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Stephenville has an active campus ministry at Tarleton State University. Information is available here.
Students heading to Texas Christian University or Texas Wesleyan University should contact the Rev. Andrew Wright at Trinity Episcopal Church at 817-926-4631 or trinity@fortworthtrinity.org. Students planning to attend the University of Texas at Arlington can get information here.
Find information on some other Texas schools.