September 25, 2009
Newman campus ministry in full array for the fall
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
A popular event at the Newman Center at the University of Evansville was the opening cookout — the first of a regular Monday evening list of activities, according to Mike Roesch, campus minister.
The opening cookout was Aug. 31. “It was our first big event of the year, and we had a great turnout,” Roesh said. “It’s a good chance for the entire campus community to see what the Newman Center is all about, as well as a good chance for new Catholic students to get to know one another.”
Mass at the University of Evansville is celebrated on Sundays and Wednesdays, “at 1 p.m. on most Sundays (except for a couple of conflicting university events when we move it to 9 a.m.) and 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday nights, both on campus in Neu Chapel.
The celebrants include Fathers Chris Forler, Alex Zenthoefer, John Sasse, Bernie Etienne, Tony Ernst and Claude “Dusty” Burns, all priests of the diocese, along with three Benedictine priests, Father Gregory Chamberlin from St. Benedict Cathedral, and Fathers Anthony Vinson and Adrian Burke from St. Meinrad Archabbey. Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger will celebrate the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass on UE’s Homecoming Weekend, Nov. 8.
“Aside from Mass, we regularly have daily prayer at 12:30 p.m. through the week and Monday Night Dinner and Discussion,” Roesch said. UE students also serve the homeless at United Caring Shelter, and sing with residents at North Park Nursing Home.
Topics and activities coming up on Monday evenings include “What Newman Meant to Me,” given by UE seniors on Sep. 28; an experience of the Fall Festival on Oct. 5, and a panel discussion on vocations and states of life on Oct. 29. UE students once again will orchestrate a Halloween party for the people staying at the Ozanam Shelter in Evans-ville on Oct. 26.
“We also will have a ‘Why Catholic?’ small group, and we’ll be getting a couple of seminarians from St. Meinrad to do their pastoral internships here,” Roesch said. A similar plan is taking shape at the University of Southern Indiana, where Chris Hoehn is the campus minister
The Catholic campus ministries of UE, USI, and Vincennes University will be holding an annual retreat on Oct. 2-3 at St. Nicholas Church in Santa Claus. The speaker for the evening will be Benedictine Brother John Mark Falkenhain.
At the University of Southern Indiana, Mass is celebrated at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday nights; students are also encouraged to attend nearby parish Masses at Corpus Christi and St. Agnes churches.
At Vincennes University, Ron Campbell is the director. Mass is available at local parishes.
Activities include “Free Soup Tuesday.”
The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry represents the Diocese of Evansville to the colleges and universities located within the diocese, under the direction of Steve Dabrowski.
“Through campus Newman Centers and Newman Clubs, we seek to evangelize and catechize the academic community by means of a broad ministry which forms the faith community, appropriates the faith, forms Christian conscience, educates for justice, facilitates personal development, and develops lead-ers for the future,” Dabrowski states on the website of the Officer of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
For more information about campus minstry at the University of Evansville, see www.uenewman.com.
For the University of Southern Indiana, see www.usi.edu/ministry/index.asp.
At Vincennes University, contact Ron Campbell, rcampbell@evansville-diocese.org.
Also see the Campus Ministry information at the Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry at www.evansville-diocese.org/youth/campmin.htm.