The mission of the church globally and locally is to be present as the body of Christ to all ages. College students are often forgotten by the church. Most of them are away from home and therefore from their parish families. They are at an exciting and stressful time of their lives. They are seeking to explore their spiritual lives, to find their truest selves, and yet to be in community with others. The Episcopal ministries to college and university students provide welcome safe havens where students can be together, worship, have meals, share ideas and concerns, and reach out to others. The ministries are a way the church can witness to its young college students that they are loved and held close.
Ministries around the Diocese
In Lexington, R. E. Lee Memorial has the oldest established ministry, to cadets at VMI and students at Washington & Lee. The focus of the ministry is a weekly Sunday evening Eucharist followed by dinner and time for reflection and fellowship. The ministry is fully integrated into the life of the parish, and students and parishioners participate together on the ministry steering committee, choir, youth programs, Sunday School and as leaders in worship. Parishioners also serve as host families for cadets as they enter VMI.
In Blacksburg, the Episcopal campus minister is the Assistant Rector of Christ Church, half of whose time is devoted to serving students and faculty at Virginia Tech. Canterbury House, owned by the parish, is a separate building which is both a gathering place for students and a home to six students who live there during the school year. The focus of the ministry is a weekly (Wednesday evening) Eucharist with dinner and fellowship. The ministry also has a strong emphasis on social outreach.
In Radford, Grace Church supports the ministry at Canterbury House adjacent to the Radford University campus. The director provides a weekly Tuesday evening prayer service, dinner, and fellowship time, as well as a Wednesday noon-time "pizza and conversation." The rector of Christ Church, Pulaski, comes twice a month to provide communion at the Tuesday night gatherings.
The diocese also supports two smaller program-based ministries, one at Ferrum College and one at Hollins University, and provides funds for an ecumenical outreach program to community college students in the geographical boundaries of the diocese. This year (2008) the diocese is sponsoring a start-up ministry to college students in far southwestern Virginia.
