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United Campus Ministry papers, 1970-1972

1971-10-01 'A Special Ministry For The Campus' Page 40

PRESBYTERIAN LIFE, Oct 1, 1971
This in an interpretation article on Campus Ministry, focusing on the U. of Kansas team ministry.
By: A. Myrrin Delapp, United Ministries in Higher Ed., 825 Witherspoon Bldg. Philadelphia, Pal9107

A Special Ministry for the Campus
"I HAVE seen the Presbyterian Church bold enough to give people a chance, even those who are not qualified by commonly accepted standards. It is that willingness to take risks that makes me proud of my church." The words are those of the Reverend Rafael Sanchez, Jr., campus minister at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
   Raf Sanchez participates in a team ministry of United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE), the ecumenical campus ministry of ten denominations with which the United Presberyan Church cooperates through the Board of Christian Education. Sharing in the team ministry with him at Kansas University are the Reverend Otto Zingg, another Presbyterian, and the Reverend Donald Baldwin, a Methodist.

RAFAEL'S conviction about the church's willingness to risk for people is part of his personal biography. He was born in a poverty-stricken barrio near Ponce, Puerto Rico, and had to support himself at an early age. He worked in a sugar mill, in a rum brewery, and in a construction project until he was drafted into the army at eighteen.
   "Even high school seemed like an impossible dream at that time," he recalls, "because I had only completed the eighth grade." The army, however, gave him an equivalent of a high school diploma, but only Presbyterian-related Inter American University would take the risk of admitting him as a college freshman. That experience has profoundly influenced Sanchez ministry.
   At Inter American Raf met, and later married, Elvi Roura, daughter of a Presbyterian pastor. Elvi is a graduate of the School of Nursing at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan and, in addition to serving as an instructor in pediatrics and obstetrics at Haskell Indian Junior College, she is doing graduate work in human relations at the university. She also teams with Raf in working with one church in Lawrence, Kansas, on an experiment in family education. The Sanchezes have two children: Gloria, a sophomore at Kansas university, and Richard, a high school senior.
   Rafael has been a campus minister for twelve years. After graduating from Kansas University and Mc Cormick Theological Seminary, he was ordained by Topeka-Highland Presbytery. Like many campus ministers, Rafael served as pastor of two parishes before beginning his campus ministry at Pres House, University of Wisconsin. He has been at the University of Kansas since 1968.
   The United Ministries in Higher Education team at the University of kansas has a varied ministry. It developed the first International House on campus; organized a Faculty Forum for discussion of university, community, and international concerns; and continues to assist students in relating their faith, energy, and convictions to the issues and problems of a complex world.

A NEW project for the UMHE staff is the development of a ministry for student professionals at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. The project will involve students in community clinics in Kansas City and the Westport Area. Students have been prime organizers of the clinics. Student participation in this kind of outreach provides opportunities for students and campus ministers to reflect together about their own lives and life styles.
   The UMHE pastors also planned and conducted a recent Consultation on Theological Reflection for the Future. The consultation was attended by 145 pastors, theologians, and laymen from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Brazil. Resource leaders for the consultation were Rubem Alves, a Brazilian theologian; James Cone, a black theologian; Gregory Baum, a Roman Catholic theologian; and Sam Keen, a Protestant theologian.
   The University of Kansas team shares a style of ministry like that of other campus ministries. It is a three staff team there; in some places there are as many as eight persons on such teams, including Roman Catholics. The team concept enables the staff to specialize in a ministry to people around a specific issue, problem, or concern in the university's life, thus providing multiples opportunities for pastoral care in the misdt of the realities of university life. A team also finds that its ministry is more widely

[PHOTO]
Sanchez (with glasses, center), participates in a study group on theological styles.

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PRESBYTERIAN LIFE

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PRESBYTERIAN LIFE, Oct 1, 1971 This in an interpretation article on Campus Ministry, focusing on the U. of Kansas team ministry. By: A. Myrrin Delapp, United Ministries in Higher Ed., 825 Witherspoon Bldg. Philadelphia, Pal9107 A Special Ministry for the Campus "I HAVE seen the Presbyterian Church bold enough to give people a chance, even those who are not qualified by commonly accepted standards. It is that willingness to take risks that makes me proud of my church." The words are those of the Reverend Rafael Sanchez, Jr., campus minister at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Raf Sanchez participates in a team ministry of United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE), the ecumenical campus ministry of ten denominations with which the United Presberyan Church cooperates through the Board of Christian Education. Sharing in the team ministry with him at Kansas University are the Reverend Otto Zingg, another Presbyterian, and the Reverend Donald Baldwin, a Methodist. RAFAEL'S conviction about the church's willingness to risk for people is part of his personal biography. He was born in a poverty-stricken barrio near Ponce, Puerto Rico, and had to support himself at an early age. He worked in a sugar mill, in a rum brewery, and in a construction project until he was drafted into the army at eighteen. "Even high school seemed like an impossible dream at that time," he recalls, "because I had only completed the eighth grade." The army, however, gave him an equivalent of a high school diploma, but only Presbyterian-related Inter American University would take the risk of admitting him as a college freshman. That experience has profoundly influenced Sanchez ministry. At Inter American Raf met, and later married, Elvi Roura, daughter of a Presbyterian pastor. Elvi is a graduate of the School of Nursing at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan and, in addition to serving as an instructor in pediatrics and obstetrics at Haskell Indian Junior College, she is doing graduate work in human relations at the university. She also teams with Raf in working with one church in Lawrence, Kansas, on an experiment in family education. The Sanchezes have two children: Gloria, a sophomore at Kansas university, and Richard, a high school senior. Rafael has been a campus minister for twelve years. After graduating from Kansas University and Mc Cormick Theological Seminary, he was ordained by Topeka-Highland Presbytery. Like many campus ministers, Rafael served as pastor of two parishes before beginning his campus ministry at Pres House, University of Wisconsin. He has been at the University of Kansas since 1968. The United Ministries in Higher Education team at the University of kansas has a varied ministry. It developed the first International House on campus; organized a Faculty Forum for discussion of university, community, and international concerns; and continues to assist students in relating their faith, energy, and convictions to the issues and problems of a complex world. A NEW project for the UMHE staff is the development of a ministry for student professionals at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. The project will involve students in community clinics in Kansas City and the Westport Area. Students have been prime organizers of the clinics. Student participation in this kind of outreach provides opportunities for students and campus ministers to reflect together about their own lives and life styles. The UMHE pastors also planned and conducted a recent Consultation on Theological Reflection for the Future. The consultation was attended by 145 pastors, theologians, and laymen from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Brazil. Resource leaders for the consultation were Rubem Alves, a Brazilian theologian; James Cone, a black theologian; Gregory Baum, a Roman Catholic theologian; and Sam Keen, a Protestant theologian. The University of Kansas team shares a style of ministry like that of other campus ministries. It is a three staff team there; in some places there are as many as eight persons on such teams, including Roman Catholics. The team concept enables the staff to specialize in a ministry to people around a specific issue, problem, or concern in the university's life, thus providing multiples opportunities for pastoral care in the misdt of the realities of university life. A team also finds that its ministry is more widely [PHOTO] Sanchez (with glasses, center), participates in a study group on theological styles. 40 PRESBYTERIAN LIFE