UNC-Chapel Hill Campus Ministry

Wrote this brief assesment for a class on Campus Ministry at the Pacific School for Religion (one of my sister seminaries). It's not very in debt.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina is known as the liberal strong hold of North Carolina in what has historically been known as a predominately conservative state. The last election may signal a change as the state voted for President Obama and voted Republican Elizabeth Dole out of the Federal Senate.

UNC—Chapel Hill’s population at the time of my attendance (2005-2008) was eighty-eight percent in-state students as mandated by the state constitution, and about sixty percent of the student body was made up of women. Campus ministries of all strips thrive here running the gamut from Intervarsity and Campus Crusade to UUs, Quakers, Bahia’s, Hillel, as well as many fringe groups such as the Self Knowledge Symposium. Greeks organizations, Social Activism, Environmental, LGBT, Dance, A Capella and Professional clubs all abound here. In addition, Chapel Hill is a college basketball fan’s dream. Cheering for the Tar heels against Duke is a universal social and ideological leveler of sorts. The fervor of Basketball fanaticism for alums and students alike boarders on religious zeal.

The campus is also predominately upper middle class white, but has a substantial African American, Hispanic populations, as well as a very vocal Muslim Student Association. Despite the liberalness of much of the campus, reminders of the Antebellum South as well as the Tobacco’s influence are everywhere. Monuments to both abound. Residence and Lecture Halls are named after prominent members of the Antebellum and Segregationist South with at least one Klu Klux Klan leader so honored. Theaters are adored with ornate tobacco leaves.
My Unitarian Universalist Campus Ministry is a church led organization. The Director of Religious Education (DRE) of the UU Church facilitates the ministry directly. The core group is 10 to 15, with the entire group growing to a robust 30 for special occasions. The current DRE has been involved with the University mission for four to five years, prior to that a different Seminarian or Intern ministered to group (a different one every year), but the group never grew past 5 members during their collective administrations. The current church effort spans eleven to twelve years in total.

The programming of the campus ministry is predominately run by two student co-chairs: typically one male and one female, so as to attract males to the group. Regardless of sexuality, UU circles tend to have a very heavy female ratio if steps are not taken to include males. Females out numbered males two to one while I was apart of the ministry. Couples typically don’t form within the group. Usually, a UU will end up pulling their significant other into the meetings. Oh and I should mention that at least a third of the group didn’t identify as UU, but nonetheless attended meeting regularly.

The Community Church of Chapel Hill has only been UU for about 12 years. It has a unique history in that it was created when a Methodist pastor was defrocked for trying to integrate his church in the 1950s. The pastor took 60 families with him and formed a non-denominational church, which become a UU congregation in the 1990s. So, the church has had a UU mission to the University for nearly it’s entire UU existence.

The typical format for the group: 15 minutes is devoted to snack / social time, thirty minutes of activity, games, or discussion, and the last 15 minutes is the “worship.” The worship follows a ritual chalice lighting, sharing of personal joys and concerns, with a closing song. The song is the same song sung at the end of the regular church worship services. Student that have attended services at the church have commented on how the song helps them fell connected to the church.

The Church also sponsors two regular retreats to the beach, graduation services, and a student led worship. All of these events give the congregation members a chance to get to know the students.