Deacon Ron Stager has a simple message for the Catholic students of the University of Arkansas Little Rock: you are not alone in your faith. As the recently named head of Catholic Campus Ministry there, he wants to trumpet that message to any and all who are open to it at a most crucial point in their spiritual development.
“This is the age we tend to lose Catholics, either temporarily or forever,” he said. “Other faith communities are active on campus recruiting as well as World Religion classes, which may or may not tell the story straight. If we are not there to help answer their questions and be present to them the other side certainly will be.
“This is a battle for souls and we belong anywhere there is even one at stake. It is what Jesus would do.”
Stager steps in at a time that is crucial not only for the group’s members, but for the organization itself. UALR Catholic Campus Ministry has foundered in recent years in the face of several challenges that have affected participation and therefore, the group’s impact on campus.
“The biggest problem is most students live here locally, not on campus,” he said. “Many barely have time for classes, homework and a job of some sort and find it hard to make it to the meetings.
“We also have no permanent home. UALR tries to work with us on meeting space, but we are low priority and often get bumped from one room to another or find ourselves without a meeting space at all.”
Despite these challenges, however, Stager said this year’s membership have shown a remarkable resiliency that begins and ends with a desire to be increasingly outward about their pride in being Catholic. When you are outnumbered, Stager said, something as simple as an organizational T-shirt becomes a way to make a statement to the larger community around you.
“Although we have not set it for a final vote, the T-shirt they are designing will have a rosary somewhere on it. They are hoping this will cause others to take notice and inquire about our faith,” he said. “These are brave young folks. They have a real desire to share their faith with anyone willing to talk.”
Stager stresses the latter point as especially crucial in the group’s staying relevant for the college population. He describes his role as one of being “present for the young people — answer questions, share experiences and most of all, keep them interested in the faith.”
“These are young adults and you have to give them a good reason to attend,” he said. “The free lunch helps, but the fellowship is what they stay for.”
Although the new school year is barely underway, the group is already working to make itself heard and seen. Members manned an information booth during three days of orientation to reach out to new students and maintain two Facebook pages. Plans are underway for more evening events this year to allow commuter students to attend in addition to the regular meetings held Thursdays at noon in the campus student center.
Big events on the horizon include planning a monthly event nicknamed MADD — Mass, Adoration, Dinner, Discussion; attending a statewide fall retreat in November slated for Little Rock and the possibility of a permanent meeting home at the diocesan House of Formation opening soon on the Our Lady of Good Counsel Church grounds in Little Rock.
The importance of a stable home in establishing one’s identity is something of which Stager knows the value. He and his wife Kathy have raised four children, two of whom were adopted, during their 41 years of marriage. They currently share their home with seven foster children. His interaction as a role model to children not of his own has helped shape a resolute philosophy when it comes to the campus ministry.
“You never know who will pass your way,” he said. “My goal is to lose no Catholics who come our way while on my watch.”
Stager is a senior programmer and system administrator by trade and has been in the field of data processing since 1978. He was ordained a deacon in 2002 and is currently assigned to St. Patrick and St. Mary churches in North Little Rock.
