Ministry Notes | LuMin St. Cloud

Letter from Pastor Courtney Young

5/18/2020

Dear LuMin in St. Cloud,

This month I gave the LuMin in St. Cloud board notice of my resignation. My official last day will be May 31st.

Over my nearly five years as campus pastor, I have frequently and proudly introduced myself as bi-vocational, both pastor and stay-at-home mom. For nearly five years these two vocations of mine have lived together in harmony. The Covid-19 crisis has brought a startling end to that arrangement.

As St. Cloud State University entered its second and then third week of spring break while at the same time my children’s school closed, and then both education institutions launched distance learning for their student bodies, my life changed dramatically. As a pastor, it felt like the ministry had left as students returned home. As a mother of a kindergartner and a 1st grader and a wife of a community pharmacist, my work at home suddenly became much more demanding and crucial. Since opening schools on all levels looks like it will be a slow and tricky endeavor, it seems to me that the ministry to which I was called has reached an end and a new ministry is emerging, one that I cannot venture with because I need to dedicate my attention and care to my children so that their home feels calm, happy, steady, and safe.

Though this is certainly not the way that I thought that this call would end, that does not diminish the gratitude that I have for this call and all the communities that came together in hope around this ministry and welcomed me in. Thank you students! Thank you SCSU faculty and staff! Thank you St. Cloud community! Thank you Great River Conference! Thank you Southwestern Minnesota Synod! Thank you LuMin Network! In different ways and different places we have come together to dream, to lament, to laugh, to study, to worship, to rest, to play, to pray, and to try and try again. I am grateful to have shared those moments with you. As my first call, this is the place that I officially became a pastor. You have been a part of the group of people who has helped form me into a pastor that is always looking to make a faith in Christ more accessible and personal. I thank you for your support and commitment.

I think one of the hardest things about leaving a call now is being unable to say good-bye in the ways that we all are accustomed to and yearn for. Information about ways to say good-bye in digital spaces will be announced as they are arranged. If you are so moved, cards or emails are always a lovely way to reach out. My email address is [email protected].

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or the LuMin in St. Cloud board president, Marcia Kleven, at [email protected].

In faith, hope, and love,

Pastor Courtney Young

Newsletter - September 2019

9/10/2019

Weird and Faithful: Community
Each year LuMin in St. Cloud scouts out a person, lay or ordained, who is doing something that is both weird and faithful in ministry and brings them to St. Cloud to share their experiences with students, alumni, and supporters of campus ministry.

This year we’ve invited Pastor Lenny Duncan, ELCA mission developer and newly published author, to join us on September 27, 2019 at 7pm to share portions of his book called Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US and engage us in conversation about how to form and maintain communities that have enough space to hold people’s many diversities. Find the event and more details on our Facebook page, LuMin in St. Cloud. If you can’t make it, but would still like to show your support for LuMin in St. Cloud, check out ways to give on the "Support Us" page here or like our Facebook page.

Questions from a Past Project
As I look forward to incoming applications for new student ministry projects, I wanted to share with you some of the work that a student completed for his project last spring semester. He applied to take some of his friends on a retreat to discuss how technology is changing the practice of religion. Though we hit some metaphorical bumps in the road, we made it up to Luther Crest Bible Camp in April for relaxation, good food, and great conversation. I think the student even surprised himself with how well the weekend went! Here are some of the questions that he crafted for our time together. I hope they spark some good conversation for you as they did for us.

Can the religious systems of the past work in the tech world of the future?
Do you think the advancements in social networking technology are helping people connect more or less?
In what ways do you think future technological advancements will change the way people learn religious ideals?

Newsletter - June 2019

6/5/2019

Roots and Branches
Since LuMin in St. Cloud’s ministry review was completed this past winter, I keep coming back to the image of a tree with thick, full branches and deep, sturdy roots. The hope of the board is that this ministry would be able to grow longer branches to provide a place of spiritual enrichment for more students, but to be able to do that we need to have a more established root system. Developing a root system will be the focus heading into the next academic year. The two areas we are concentrating on that will keep LuMin in St. Cloud well-supported and standing tall are consistent worship and reliable space.

Rooted in Worship
For the 2018-19 academic year LuMin in St. Cloud committed to gathering for more consistent worship. That commitment took shape as Second Sunday Dinner Church. Dinner Church is a liturgical and casual form of worship where a full dinner is served, communion is shared, and the sermon is conversational. The students and I enjoyed getting to engage the Gospel of Luke thoughtfully together, share homemade food, and lift up each other’s prayer concerns. To the right, the students and I are stamping pendants with a word that each person has chosen to guide them for the coming year, which is called the “one word” practice.

Rooted in Place
LuMin in St. Cloud is working toward securing rental office space on or near campus by the start of the 2019-20 academic year. Stay tuned for more information about our new space in the next newsletter! We hope that this space will make it easier for students to connect to the ministry and feel better supported in building community with one another and pursuing their student ministry projects.

Newsletter - February 2019

2/4/2019

Student Ministry Projects
Fall semester I had the joy of guiding three unique student ministry projects: one student wanted to host a space to explore how faith and science can be in conversation, a second wanted to lead a Bible study on faith and doubt, and a third wanted to organize a retreat. To see some thoughts from the students’ self-reviews, click over to the Student Ministry Projects tab. You will see two projects were completed within the semester; the third will be completed this spring.

It has been a joy for me to encourage and empower these students to put their faith in action. I get to witness them ask important questions of themselves and others, make connections between faith and daily life, and build their confidence.

End of FY 2018
We finished our first fiscal year on the Southwestern Minnesota Synod’s budget where we expected to be and on track with previous years. You will notice a new support category this year: ELCA Churchwide. In previous years, that money had been pooled and dispersed from Lutheran Campus Ministry - Minnesota. We now receive their support directly.

A Time for Reflection and Review
For decades, in-depth ministry reviews have been a cornerstone of how the ELCA cares for its campus ministries. This past December, LuMin in St. Cloud underwent such a review for the first time since we have embarked on our building-less ministry model in 2015. It was a great time to reflect on how far the ministry has come and a time of invitation to consider where the ministry might need to change course or go further. In the future, the board and I will be sharing highlights from what we’ve learned from the experience on our blog and how it has shaped our vision and hope for the ministry.

Newsletter - September 2018

9/12/2018

Weird and Faithful 2017 with Pastor Margaret Kelly

Give Your Information
While you are exploring our website, you will find a link to a form at the top of the “Support Us” page. If you would, please take the time to fill it out to help us make sure we know how you fit into the LuMin in St. Cloud community. When the ministry transitioned from belonging to a congregation to being a ministry embedded in campus life, we were unable to retain critical information about our alumni.

Weird and Faithful 2018
In 2016, I announced the beginning of a new annual event - Weird and Faithful. Each year LuMin in St. Cloud will scout out a person, lay or ordained, who is doing something that is both weird and faithful in ministry and bring them to St. Cloud to share their experiences with students, alumni, and supporters of campus ministry. For one afternoon, people from all areas of our church’s life can share a meal and consider how God might be nudging them outside of their boxes.

On October 14, Dr. Jake Sorenson, a practical theologian and researcher who finds joy in bringing scholarly attention to ministry especially experiential ministry, will be coming to Salem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, MN to present on his latest research project. He set out, along with Dr. Roland Martinson, to discover exactly what Lutheran Campus Ministry looks like across the country and what it offers to students and the larger church alike. The research has taken over two years to complete and is the largest study of its kind. Come and hear what Jake has discovered about the character of campus ministry in our Church.

Newsletter - June 2018

6/7/2018

The End of an Era
In October I was a part of a group of faithful lay and clergy who had undertaken the work to dissolve Lutheran Campus Ministry-Minnesota (LCM-M), which was an organization that had provided a place for fellowship, accountability, and cooperation between the nine campus ministries in the state for many years. This year will be the last that they will appear as one of our contributors. Now LuMin in St. Cloud has been moved on to the budget of Southwestern Minnesota Synod directly. I have been working with Bishop Jon Anderson, the synod council, and the other Southwestern Minnesota Synod campus ministers to begin the work of creating a new space for accountability and cooperation.

We are thankful that our synod has made the commitment to maintain the level of funding that we had received from LCM-M over the last few years.

2017 Sources of Support
We finished the year well, but continue to build a stronger base of support so that we can engage more students. As the board anticipated, we were able to increase my time from 20 hours/week to 25 hours/week. The additional time meant I was able to use my hours on campus to more intentionally focus on supporting students including the roll out of our new program to sponsor student ministry projects.

The Start of Something New
LuMin in St. Cloud sponsored two student ministry projects - the first was a potluck to fundraise money for a local backpack program and the second was a Bible study where the student had the opportunity to develop their own curriculum and study with their friends. For the students’ reflections on their experience check out their stories on our website.

PS - If you know of a student headed to St. Cloud State University in 2018, please send their name to me directly or through the LuMin Network student referral website, which can be found at lumin-networkreferral.org/student-referrals/.

Newsletter - October 2017

10/3/2017

New School Year, New Name
The 2017-2018 academic year has brought a new name for Lutheran Campus Ministry in St. Cloud - LuMin in St. Cloud. The LuMin name was unveiled at the 2016 ELCA Campus Ministry Staff Conference. The hope is that the new name will spark curiosity among students and bring nationwide recognition to the efforts of all of the ELCA’s campus ministries. For more information, check out lumin-network.com.

More Time, More Opportunity for Connection
Starting August 15, my hours increased from 20 to 25 hours per week. As I continue to live into my new schedule, I enjoy the increased intentionality and focus I find I can bring to LuMin events. The increase in hours also means that I have more time to explore new relationships with students, professors, and community members.

Weird and Faithful 2017
Last year, as we celebrated our 60th year on campus, I announced the beginning of a new annual event - Weird and Faithful. The idea is that LuMin in St. Cloud will scout out a person, lay or ordained, who is doing something that is both weird and faithful in ministry and bring them to St. Cloud to share their experiences with students, alumni, and supporters of campus ministry. For one night, people from all areas of our church’s life can share a meal and consider how God might be nudging them outside of their boxes all while supporting LuMin in St. Cloud.

On October 13, Pastor Margaret Kelly, a mission developer in the ELCA who formed a ministry around a food truck called Shobi’s Table, will share her experiences guiding a ministry that may look weird from the outside, but is faithful to Jesus' example of meeting people where they are. Their mission is to “provide food, friendship, faith, and employment skills to the homeless and near homeless people of St. Paul.” Details and tickets are available on Eventbrite now!

Newsletter - February 2017

2/23/2017

Let the Light Shine
Aside from being a type of lamp, a torchiere was a stand used to hold candles. Just as a light is no good hidden beneath a bushel basket, it isn’t very good far from where you need it. Torchieres were helpful because they allowed a person to move their candle, their source of light, right where they needed it. That is what you do for LuMin in St. Cloud. You provide a place for the light of Christ to shine in and on the students of St. Cloud State University, right on campus.

One Year in Our New Way
LuMin in St. Cloud has just finished our first full year with our new pastor and without a church building, which means that we have completed our first year as a fundraising ministry.
Our long term goal is to get the pastor’s position to full-time. More time means more opportunities to meet with students and make sure they have the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical support they need as they learn what it means to be an adult and a Christian in a post-modern world. It looks like we are on track to bump up my hours from 20 hours/week to 25 hours/week at the start of the next academic year.

Exposed
Last year for Bible study, we met in a room adjacent to Garvey. This year the students thought it would be better if we held our Bible study in the cafeteria instead of just outside of it. What a difference it has made! In the midst of talking about Jesus and discipleship, the students of LuMin, our LuMinaries, greet and chat with their friends and invite them to join us. Mostly we end up talking about classes and movies, but I feel LuMin is much more a part of life on campus now that we are exposed and engaged.

Newsletter - August 2016

8/10/2016

Time for a Change
My name is Pastor Courtney Young. I am the new campus pastor here at Saint Cloud State University as of August 15, 2015. Over the past couple of years Lutheran Campus Ministry at SCSU was obliged to change. University Lutheran Church of the Epiphany was officially closed in the fall of 2015. The building was sold, and it continues its life as a place of worship for a new people. When I was called I was given the challenge, honor, and joy of finding a new way of life for this ministry - a ministry without a building in a postmodern and pluralistic world. I don’t have an office. Instead, I meet with students and get my work done in the student center, the library, and the cafeteria. I am where the students are. The students and I are having fun popping up all over campus. We hold our weekly Bible study in Garvey and meet up at the Caribou Coffee in Atwood to chat.

Different Form, Same Purpose
Even though our form has changed, our purpose has not. Just like those who came before us, we are passionate about sharing Jesus with young adults. Our new purpose statement is that we are a safe community at St Cloud State University that welcomes, loves, and affirms others as we walk humbly with God on our spiritual journey. Young adults need trusted companions as they navigate what it means to follow Jesus in an uncertain landscape. I am honored that I get to be one of those trusted companions.

Meet Us on the Road
You are receiving this invitation and newsletter because your name was given to us as a supporter or alumni of campus ministry. I hope I get to meet you in person at our 60th or when I get out into congregations around St. Cloud or the Twin Cities to preach and talk about young adults and campus ministry.