March 4, 2011
New VU campus minister meeting students and faculty
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
“It’s a work in progress,” said the new director of the Newman Club at Vincennes University in Vincennes.
Michael Loner, 26, began his ministry Jan. 31, meeting with diocesan directors and campus ministers for starters.
Campus ministry is supervised by Steve Dabrowski, diocesan director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Loner met with Dabrowski, and with Chris Hoehn and Mike Roesch.
Hoehn is the Catholic campus minister at the University of Southern Indiana; Roesch, at the University of Evansville.
After his orientation period, Loner began meeting faculty, staff and students at VU, scheduling Mass and other events — all without an office on campus, with his cell phone as his only piece of office equipment.
Loner has assistance from Father Jason Gries at Sacred Heart Church and Father David Fleck at St. John the Baptist Church, “who are both very supportive.”
Father Fleck has offered Loner some office space at St. John Church, useful for Loner, but he is eager to have a location on campus that won’t require him to be “so nomadic” from parish to parish to university.
Mass is celebrated by one of the priests from the area each Sunday evening in a chapel on campus.
On Thursdays, Loner has arranged lunch and discussion for interested students with a priest, in the dining hall on campus. That arrangement — with a priest in a Roman collar — allows the students to see the Catholic presence on campus.
A “Soup and discussion” session is also hosted on Tuesdays, and Loner is hoping to get some students to organize a Wednesday movie night.
“I’m just trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t work,” Loner said. He’s been “meeting lots of people on campus, the dean of students, faculty, people involved with student affairs” and others. He is looking forward to being able to introduce himself to more students during the next orientation session on campus later this year.