Thursdays at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are pretty much like any other day of the week. Students shuffle between buildings on campus or take advantage of a cool Arkansas afternoon to study outside. In the library, tables are littered with open notebooks, both of the digital and spiral variety, as kids work their way through their assignments. Stroll through the student center, and you will see small clusters of students eating, relaxing and talking.
Among the discussions of that day’s psychology exam and next weekend’s social agenda there also sits a group of kids virtually indistinguishable from those around them. But get close enough to hear their lunchtime discussions and they begin to stand out. Prayer, faith and the daily role Catholicism plays in life are all on the table, framed by the field of view of 18- to 25- year-olds.
Welcome to the UALR Catholic Campus Ministry, a group that gives collegians of all faiths a glimpse into the minds and hearts of the Catholic faith as it applies to daily reality, even the daily reality of a college student.
“We’re here to show people God’s love and the love his Son has for us and what he did for us,” said Caleb Baumgardner, president of the group. “That’s our primary mission. We’re also here to give people a place where they can go to find friends, to belong and to find a deeper relationship with God. More than anything, we are here to be the presence of the Church on campus.”
A diocesan organization, Catholic Campus Ministry has been around for almost 20 years. Besides the weekly meetings, the group sponsors a monthly Mass on the UALR campus and features other activities as well. Last year, the group participated in the diocesan retreat at Subiaco Abbey, which was well received and will be repeated in November. The group has also developed a music and praise ministry, which played at last year’s Catholic Campus Ministry state convention in Little Rock.
The group averages 15-20 members at its weekly meetings and various events and has already added four new members during the fall semester.
Unlike their classes, there are no lectures at Catholic Campus Ministry’s weekly lunchtime discussion or at Refuge, their Monday night gathering. Following the year’s overall theme — simply, “Faith” — a discussion leader brings a relevant topic to each meeting to get a dialogue started. From there conversations can and do follow almost any course.
“We want our members to have a safe place, a place they can share with others the things that are going on in their lives,” said Jennifer Cordell, CCM vice president. “I think the thing that surprises people most about us is how we have such a good time doing it. There are a number of situations which are just funny and even though we sometimes discuss serious questions, it’s a very lively, very social kind of thing.”
While topics of faith and religion aren’t necessarily the first things that occupy the minds of young people in college this is, of course, an important time in the development of their spiritual lives. Members don’t pretend to be perfect or advertise themselves as having all the answers, although for many who attend the gatherings, questions abound. Through discussion and shared experience, answers are incubated communally.
“I think young Catholics aren’t as lost as they think they are,” said campus minister Susej Thompson. “Sometimes they think they have a faith crisis and they don’t. It’s just sometimes hard to reconcile one’s faith with the college scene.”
Thompson is a woman uniquely qualified in her chosen profession. Born Catholic, she attended Mass regularly growing up and even made Search before hitting a rough stretch during her teen years. At 19, she eloped with her boyfriend and came face to face with the harshness the real world holds for being young, married and completely unprepared.
It was, in hindsight, a pivotal moment and occurred at the same age as many of the young people with whom she comes in contact through Catholic Campus Ministry.
“All of our trials prepare us for something,” she said. “Working with the kids here at UALR, I’ve discovered they respond to someone who is transparent about what they’ve gone through. They don’t want someone who’s has it all together.”
In that regard, the officers mirror their advisor, each bringing a unique spiritual backstory to the group. Baumgardner, a third-year graduate student with his eye on law school, was raised Southern Baptist then, disillusioned, he detoured into agnosticism before converting to Catholicism in 2005.
Cordell, a junior piano performance major, was raised Catholic, but the faith never really caught fire for her until she got involved with Catholic Campus Ministry last year.
“Before coming to Catholic Campus Ministry, my whole spirituality was go to church on Sunday and that was it,” she said. “Now I shift my focus away from things that aren’t important and my whole week is turned toward God.”
Neither said that their faith has made them a target for ridicule, but there are many misconceptions among their classmates about Catholic practices and beliefs. Catholic Campus Ministry gives them the chance to not only find the answers for themselves, but to give them facts to share with others. It’s also what attracts students of other faiths to the group, which only enhances the whole, they said.
“We’re there for everybody, Catholic or otherwise,” Baumgardner said. “I remember what it was like to be 18 years old and in college just looking for a place to belong. Our door is wide open.”
Catholic Campus Ministry is always looking for volunteers in various capacities. For more information on the group or to get involved in its activities, contact Thompson at (501) 772-2512 or susej_thompson@yahoo.com.
