The Legacy
The Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU has born witness to our God for fifty years, but the ministry of the Gospel has been spoken to students, faculty, staff ever since the founding of St. Paul Lutheran Church over a century ago. Members of the academic community worshiped in the small frame church located just a block from campus, hearing the Word, receiving the Sacrament, and singing the hymns of faith. Pr. Hashinger is remembered for his "drop-in" ministry in which the parsonage door was open to students to simply drop in and enjoy an evening with the Hashinger's in their living room.|
Contents
Legacy, Challenge, and Vision Downloadable Resources Tech Resources LutheranMountianeer eNewsletter |
On the former site of the congregation, the Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU was established. The old church became a chapel. The old parsonage became a student center with housing for seminarian interns and later students. By 1968, the student body had doubled again. The old church was replaced under the leadership of Dr. Jerry Robbins. Armed with a new, modern chapel, the campus ministry continued to increase in both quantity and quality of participation. Throughout the turbulent 60s and 70s, the Word was preached, the Sacraments administered. Vibrant educational and fellowship programming made the Lutheran Campus Chapel the place to be.
Today, average weekly worship attendance hovers around fifty. The old St. Paul parsonage has been renovated into the Luther House, providing a residence for six students. Campus ministry students respond to natural disasters, lending their skills and time. The chapel remains a place to gather, learn, and fellowship. We are known and respected on campus for our theological integrity, faithful worship, committed service, and constructive engagement. Physically, we are surrounded on three sides by the university, blessed to have thousands of students walk past our distinctive chapel every day.
The Challenge
If the changes of the post-war period and then the late 1960s both necessitated changes in the campus ministry, the same is true today. The student body has grown from 11,000 in 1968 to 27,000 and is expected to grow to 30,000 by 2010. By 2010, 50% of our students will be out-of-state, many coming from areas of greater Lutheran density than West Virginia, and we know from experience that the further a student is away from home the more they participate in campus ministry. Current students also tends to be more appreciative of elders, institutions, and spirituality. While they tend to be less hostile towards the church, they also tend to be more ignorant of its teachings and traditional practices. Increasingly, new and exciting opportunities for mission and ministry.At the same time, expectations have sharply risen. Nearly every building on campus and off is air conditioned. Furniture in classrooms, dorms, and other university facilities are replaced every few years. Dining halls offer multiple entrees, salad bars, and even made to order items. The Lutheran Campus Chapel, for all its wonderful features, is not air conditioned. We sit on metal folding chairs for worship. We serve meals, recreate, study, and fellowship in a room without windows. The new, modern chapel of 1968 is neither new nor modern in the eyes of students born two decades after it was built. The task before us is to build upon our legacy in such a way that we can overcome meet challenges and embrace the opportunities presented.
The Vision
Recognizing the tremendous asset we have in the chapel (and the Luther House), we believe that renovation and expansion is vital to creating a more hospitable environment for ministry. Increased visibility and transparency will make life inside more pleasant and more apparent to those outside. Air conditioning will make worship services and other activities more tolerable at the beginning of the school year, a critical time for drawing new students into regular participation, and at the end of the school year, a time when many students seek spiritual nourishment. ADA accessibility and safety improvements will benefit all. New furnishings will enhance the worship and fellowship experience. Every aspect of the renovation and expansion is designed to make our facility a place which students will want to enter for the first time and return to time and time again. Our chapel will be the place among campus ministries at WVU to hang-out, study, recreate, learn, and relax. At the same time, the sanctuary, enhanced by new flooring, appointments, and environmentals, will clearly say to all, "This is Holy Ground!"
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