awakening the buckeyes

i know that i'm a little behind on posting but i've got a few posts that i'm currently working on. getting them finished and posted is another matter. to prove that i've been busy with all sorts of other things, here is the transcript from a presentation that i gave last weekend about our work at the newman center here at ohio state university. keep in mind that the audience was a catholic men's group but i think it gives you a little glimpse into what we're doing here in ohio. enjoy...

"Howdy. My name is Andrew Robison and as John mentioned, I am the director of development at the St. Thomas More Newman Center. Usually when I say that I’m a fundraiser, I see people’s hands instantly go to guard their wallets…but don’t worry, I am just here to talk with you about some things going on in campus ministry and why you should be excited about the future of our Church. Well, first let me tell you just a little bit about myself. I grew up in Houston, Texas as the third of four children (but the only boy). My dad was a deacon at our church so I basically grew up in the sacristy of the church. Altar serving, donuts after Mass, name it and I was there. When I was in the sixth grade, my parents pulled me out of public school and enrolled me in the nearby Christian school (the Catholic schools were great but really expensive and on the other side of Houston). I received a great education but was one of about three Catholics in my high school. Let’s just say that many of my particular Catholic beliefs were not always supported or encouraged. After graduating, I spent two years at a junior college, a year and a half in the mountains of Colorado “finding myself” and then transferred to Texas A&M in January 2003. During my time in Colorado I “took some time off of church.” But when I started at A&M I knew that I needed to get back in the pews. The friends that I made however were all very involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. I genuinely think that they got extra credit for inviting Catholics to their programs so I got to do all sorts of fun things with them. But I still made it to St. Mary’s (the Catholic campus ministry at A&M) every now and then. My older sisters are both graduates of A&M and both went on this retreat called Aggie Awakening. So when they announced signups one Sunday at Mass, I thought that I better sign up. Well, I did, I made it on the list and attended AA #67. It was one of the most amazing experiences and certainly changed the course of my life in many significant ways. Fast forward a few years and here I am living in Columbus, Ohio, working for the church and helping my wife raise our beautiful new baby girl. I very much learned that when you open your life up to God, sometimes he gives you a whole new one to work with.

So what are college students doing these days? First of all, where are they? There are approximately 4,300 public colleges and universities in the US and 1,600 private ones (of which only 200 are Catholic). This means that at least 90% of Catholics attending college do so at a non-Catholic school. What are they doing? Hopefully, they are studying. Take Ohio State University for example. Ohio State offers over 12,000 courses and 160 different undergraduate degrees. Students come from all over the world to earn a degree from OSU and it takes dedication and hard work to succeed. What else? They are connecting. Football games, student government, clubs (OSU has over 900 different student groups to join). In fact one student was just telling me about the Tri Bacon club where the members gather regularly to cook and eat bacon. Wow. But they are not just doing this connecting in person. Social media is huge. Take Facebook for example. About 90% of all college students have a Facebook profile and 75% check it at least once a day. Virtually every student has a cell phone and if any of you have a teenager, you know what they primarily do with those phones – text. This week my barber was telling me that his teenage granddaughter sent or received 3,500 texts last month! This younger generation is becoming increasingly more comfortable communicating digitally and increasingly less willing to communicate in person. But however they are doing it, they all hunger to be part of something. They all crave community. I was walking my dogs last week and looked up to see a single goose flying above me. I instantly thought about how bizarre that seemed. Geese belong with their flock – especially when its 20 degrees and snowing outside. They need the rest of their flock for warmth in the cold, security from predators, direction on their journey and overall companionship. Not unlike humans. And not only do geese need a flock, but they need to be with other geese. How much would it have helped that goose to be cruising around with a bunch of pigeons? Our job at the Newman Center is to be there to address all of these issues. To offer catechesis (or teaching) of the Catholic faith. To offer groups and organizations where students can learn valuable leadership skills, proficiency in interpersonal communication (or talking and interacting with each other), what it means to serve God and their fellow man, and in between how to have a good time in safe and responsible ways. And ultimately, to build a community of Catholic college students that will educate, support and nurture the gifts and blessings that God grants to each one of us (and each one of them).

so how are we doing this at the Newman Center? Well, many ways. We just sent 18 students to New York over winter break for a week of service. Over Spring Break we’ll be taking another 30 to Memphis where they will have a chance to learn about the civil rights struggles of 50 years ago from people who marched with Dr. King. And last October we launched our very first Buckeye Awakening. You remember that I mentioned how Aggie Awakening changed my life? Well, we took a group of students all the way down to Texas last summer (during the hottest week of the year of course) so that they could experience Aggie Awakening for themselves. And they did and it was amazing. I have a story of one of their experiences that I think sums up the trip. “After the first night we gathered all the students together to discuss where they were (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc). They all were beaming and excited to see what the next two days would hold for them – all except for one. This student pulled me aside after we broke up that night to tell me he was still a bit unsure where this was all going. He was trying to hear God but was confused about why his experience was not quite at the level of the others in the group yet. His problem reminded me of the story of Elijah who was alone in the wilderness trying to get away from God. When God decided that Elijah was ready, he spoke to him. But Elijah didn’t hear God's voice in the storm, the earthquake or the fire. It wasn’t until it got quiet and he heard a still, small voice that he realized what God's was trying to tell him. By the end of our weekend (and our two day drive back to Ohio…), this student had heard God and couldn’t be more thrilled about the manner in which he heard it. This story shows that listening for God can be tedious and frustrating sometimes, but he knows exactly when to talk to us and call us forward." Oh yeah, our drive back to ohio was pretty awesome too. you would think that driving through texas, oklahoma, missouri, illinois, indiana and ohio would be lame, but it was not. We got to see the world’s largest peanut, the world’s largest fork and a giant fire-breathing dragon. Very cool stuff.

Buckeye Awakening #1 was the beginning of a very exciting new chapter in ministry at Ohio State. It has been incredible watching the student leaders throw themselves into this project with such enthusiasm simply because they want to offer the same transformational experience to their friends and classmates. It is encouraging to see these young men and women show up on Friday not knowing anybody and leave on Sunday with lifelong friends and supporters. And even though we’ve only done one Buckeye Awakening, it is so exciting to see that light come on in so many college students who know there’s a God who loves them but truly sees and understands it (in some cases for the first time ever) in the faces of those praying for them, crying with them and stumbling through this thing called life right alongside them.

another way that we are hoping to serve OSU is through a potential major redevelopment of our property. Nothing is set in stone yet and we’re still actively working out what exactly this project will look like, but our hope is that in the next 2-3 years, the Newman Center will be able to offer students attending OSU a faith-based residential experience. A catholic dorm. Well, sort of but much more. As a parent, how great would it be to know that your son or daughter was going to have the option to pursue a degree from a world-class university like OSU but be able to live in a community that was actively supporting their faith development? Our hope is to partner with the University Baptist Church next door to the Newman Center and build a faith-based residence hall which would be free of many of the shenanigans that happen in so many off-campus residences and full of opportunities for students to study, grow and live their faith. And working with the Baptists gives us a tremendous opportunity to show an ecumenical partnership in action. We are still working out many of the major details that must be in place to go forward but already we have the support of OSU President Gordon Gee, his administration and Bishop Campbell. I don’t want to go into too much more detail at this time because I know that I’m running out of time and many of our plans are preliminary. I’ll be around after if you would like to ask more questions but right now I want to leave you with a thought. John Henry Cardinal Newman, the patron of Catholic campus ministry, believed in a university setting in which a student’s intellect was formed and his soul was nurtured. I believe in my heart that campus ministry is where the future of the Catholic Church is. For many young men and women, it is when they leave home and venture to college that they are first presented with the need to make some pretty major decisions. They may not even realize that they have to make these decisions but they are at a fork. At the Newman Center we are busy putting up those road signs that will hopefully be recognized and used as these college students journey down the road of their life."