Here is an archive of group activities.
Dinner and Movie Event
We met in the Interfaith Center during our regular meeting time of 5 p.m. Monday night to gather for our free outing to Egyptian 24 Theater at Arundel Mills Mall. We went go see a movie, and eat dinner out together.
On Friday October 31st we went as a group to attend a worship service officiated by Pastor Marie at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Men in Jessup. Afterward we debriefed over dinner and ice cream at Friendly’s. We will plan at least one more trip later in the year.
To help get ready for our visit we discussed themes in our own lives that relate to imprisonment and freedom during our weekly dinner meetings.
For more information on this prison ministry visit http://www.stdysmasmd.org/about/.
dinner and ice cream after
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation invites you to commit on Thursday, September 25 to:
+Pray. Say prayers with special intention for the extreme poor throughout the world.
+Fast. Skip at least one meal in solidarity with the nearly 1 billion people who go to bed hungry each night. (As possible depending on health)
+Witness. Participate in an online advocacy action promoting our government’s fulfilling its promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Go to www.sept25.org to make the commitment …
You are Cordially Invited
To the Installation Service of
The Reverend Marie L. Bunt +
On Holy Cross Sunday
September 14, two thousand eight
At four o’clock in the evening *
Reception follows
3103 Sollers Point Rd, Baltimore, MD 21222
For free transportation please contact Kate at katherinespencer@mac.com.
TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday! The Coffee House kicks off on Friday, September 12 6p.m. at our Lutheran Campus Minister’s, Pastor Marie Bunt’s Church: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 3103 Sollers Point Rd, Baltimore, MD 21222 featuring the Getaways at 7pm.
Open Mike, Good Food, Good Music!
The Getaways is considered one of the Baltimore area’s premier bands – if you enjoy rock music, here’s an opportunity that you don’t want to miss.
As of February 2008, The Getaways have been consistently working on their debut EP. You can e-mail the lead singer, Mike Altner at thegeataways@gmail.com and check out the Getaways’ music at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=123674986
If you need transportation, either sign up on the poster at the Interfaith Center, or see or e-mail either of the LECM (Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministries Team, Kate Spencer or Pastor Marie Bunt @ lecm.umbc@gmail.com
Long-time Ministry Students Graduate
Left to Right, Erica Ostrofsky and Lindsay Morrell — who have been active members of our group since the beginning of their Freshman year, September 2004 — are shown above at their last LECM meeting, shortly before their graduation from UMBC.
Our Students Go to Prison
Labyrinth at UMBC
Ministry participates in Feedmore Project
Proud of our students — Colin, Meghan and Rob — who rode on the Feedmore van to deliver food bags to the hungry in Baltimore. They are pictured in front of mural in Salvation Army warehouse. Other students helped out a lot too, by making the sandwiches and packing the food bags.
Ash Wednesday Service.
On Feb 6th, we offered a full Ash Wednesday service with the Holy Eucharist and the Imposition of Ashes in our usual meeting space — the large rear room of the Interfaith Center. All were welcomed, regardless of religious/non-religious background.
Fair Trade Crafts Sale a Big Success.
On Nov 27 and 28th, just in time for the upcoming holiday gift-giving season, members of the Lutheran & Episcopal Campus Ministry presided over three tables in the Commons filled with beautiful crafts created by artisans in poorer nations. There was an array of games, puzzles, wall art, religious objects, small sculptures, jewelry, ornaments and practical objects for the home.
The very good news is that these crafts and the packets of fair trade chocolate, representing a total value of just under $600, were completely sold out by the time the Fair ended at 2pm on the 28th. The proceeds will be largely returned to the craftspeople and growers who produced them, through a program sponsored by Lutheran World Relief. This assures that skilled artisans from third world countries receive a fair price for their creations. This is often not the case in the general world market. So in this season which for Christians points ahead toward the greatest gift that humanity could ever receive, we were grateful to be able to bring to campus these fair trade gifts which give double, to the person who receives them and to the craftsperson in a poor country who made them.
Our energetic sales staff is ready to serve you!
These puzzles are not so tough–or are they?
Even fair traders have to eat lunch
Students Lead Lunch Programs.
Last year officers helped select the lunch programs, but this fall semester our officers actually presented them. In the past this has been a chaplains’ responsibility — and will likely be at times again in the future — but it’s great to have motivated and committed students take on this leadership role. So far, discussions have included “Does God Know Everything About Us, Including Our Future?“ and “How Does God Feel About War?” Good presentations and great participation in discussions!
Ministry Celebrates Graduation of Long-Time Members.
On May 7, at our final meeting of the year, LECM celebrated the graduation of three of our “old faithfuls” — (L to R) Kathleen McCrory, Jessica Drew and Megan McCrory. Jessica, a past president, has been a part of our group since it began with Pastor Sandy Alexis in Spring Semester of 2004. Kathleen and Megan, Secretary of the group this year, saw us meeting outside at the pond on a glorious spring day in 2005, and have been with us ever since.
Officers Elected for 2007-2008 Academic Year.
At the May 7 “going off to summer party,” we elected officers for next year. Rising Senior Lindsay Morrell was chosen to be President, Rising Junior Joel Drew to be Vice President, and Rising Sophomores Kelly Gilbertson and Alex Kolb Secretary and Treasurer. (Lindsay and Joel are pictured above).
Stimulating Videos for Discussions
Two videotapes from the series “Questions of Faith” provided the basis for April lunch programs on prayer and the bible. On April 9, “What Good Is Prayer” showed a variety of well-known religious leaders discussing the varieties of prayer and how they can work to bring us closer to God — the comments were often personal and insightful. Then on April 23, Christian leaders and a rabbi presented their own perspectives on how the bible can be both God-inspired as a whole and not literally true in every passage or detail. With both videos, we followed our practice of watching only a short clip, then reacting with discussion, before we watch another short clip. A great time was had by all!
Quiz: Can you name the world religion for each symbol below?
“Visitors-in-Faith” Day brings Personal Religious Exchanges
On November 13th our Lutheran & Episcopal Campus Ministry invited guests from various world religions and Christian denominations to attend our weekly lunch meeting. Advertised through campus mailing lists and posted flyers, the event encouraged visitors to come and make a personal statement of what they especially liked or were inspired by in their own religious community. There was a good response, as eight student visitors, a University administrator and a professor joined the ten student members of LECM present that day. Including Lutheran Chaplain Rev. Sandy Alexis and Episcopal Chaplain Menalcus Lankford, there was a total attendance of 22 — definitely a three pizza day! As representatives of Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Eastern Meditation, along with several Christian denominations, shared what they loved about their faith groups, others asked follow-up questions and — in many cases — talked about how they could relate, from their own religious experience, with what had just been shared. The session ended with the Muslim students present inviting everyone to join in one of their prayer events during the week. Also, everyone was invited to attend the interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner, sponsored by the Religious Staff Council on Nov 20th, 5-7pm.
Quiz answers: L to R, top row: Sikhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism; bottom row: Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
September 24. Planning Dinner for Officers and Chaplains Yields New Program Suggestions.
On September 24 a planning dinner was held at the home of Episcopal Chaplain Menalcus Lankford to make program choices for the coming semester. In addition to Menalcus, wife Valerie and dog Prince, the dinner was attended by Lutheran Chaplain Sandra Alexis, President Doug Drummonds, Vice President Joel Drew, Secretary Megan McCrory, Treasurer Pranab Mitra and President Emerita Jessica Drew.
After watching a short video on campus ministries and eating dinner — including a high energy dessert course — we continued working from a three page master list of program suggestions. We came up with a complete program schedule for our Fall semester lunch meetings and considered new opportunities for service projects, workshops and field trips–though on these no final choices were made. We were also able to designate certain programs for the Spring semester, with specific dates to be determined later.
The dinner came about due to the decision by the group members last Spring to pursue more varied, issues-oriented programs at this year’s lunch meetings. This requires considerably more planning and topic research, but we left the dinner feeling that we had taken a solid step toward this goal.
May 1. New Officers Chosen in Annual Election.
On May 1 we had in the Lutheran & Episcopal Campus Ministry not a workers’ revolt or a pagan celebration of spring, but our annual election of officers. President Doug Drummonds ran on a definite platform involving some new ideas for weekly programs and for outreach–and was re-elected. Three other officers needed to be replaced, due to an upcoming semester in South Africa, a transfer to the University of Maryland Nursing Program and a major schedule conflict. Our new Vice President is rising Sophomore Joel Drew, our new Secretary is rising Senior Megan McCrory and our new Treasurer is graduate student Pranab Mitra from Calcutta, India. Since Pranab is a PhD candidate in Statistics, it was felt that he could handle our group’s high finances.
April 6. Labyrinth Walk.
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For the second year, our Ministry brought a labyrinth to campus as a service to the entire University community. It was available all day in the UC Ballroom, and was walked by our members, other students, University staff and campus visitors. Like last year, we invited each walker to write an anonymous reflection on the experience in one of the blank books we provided. Again almost everyone chose to do that — probably an indication of the significance it had for them. Here’s a very brief sample: |
March 4. Field Trip to Women’s Prison.
| Interested student members of the Ministry, plus both Chaplains, traveled to the women’s prison in Jessup to learn and worship with a group of the inmates. The informal format of the sermon allowed all in attendance — inmates and visitors — to participate in a wide-ranging discussion. More than any other topic, the inmates raised the issue of Lesbian behavior in prison and whether or not it should be acceptable in a Christian. Since it had not been possible for this group of inmates to celebrate Ash Wednesday on the actual day, there was a Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes. Some of the Ministry students and both Chaplains had done this at UMBC three days before on Ash Wednesday, so this year they got a double-dip of ashes. Maybe some of us needed that. |  |
March 1. Ash Wednesday.
At 8:30 AM in the Interfaith Center, Lutheran Chaplain Sandy Alexis celebrated the Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes.
Feb. 27. Special Video/Discussion on Sex and Religion.
At our regular 11:30 lunch meeting, we watched portions of a video “What’s Religion Got To Do With Sex?”. We interrupted short clips of statements by a number of well known clergy, theologians and religious writers to discuss our own reactions. The speakers represented a range of viewpoints, and this led to a lively discussion among the good-sized group of student members and visitors. However, there was one conclusion that all the speakers agreed on: the Church should not duck this discussion.
Feb. 13. Special Election for President and Vice President.
Jessica Drew, President of our Ministry group for the last year and a half, had to resign her position because of her new Resident Assistant position. She plans to remain an active member of the Ministry, however. In the special election, held at the regular Monday lunch meeting, Vice President Doug Drummonds was elected to replace Jessica as our new President. Lindsay Morrell, who has been active in the group since the beginning of her Freshman year in Sep 2004, was elected to replace Doug as Vice President. Thanks to Doug and Lindsay for stepping up to fill the vacancy. Our regular annual election will be held in May, so that the officers elected then can help to plan for the next academic year.
Dec. 19. Annual Christmas Party Lifts Spirits During Exam Week.
What are twenty page papers and three hour exams to worry about, when there is the LECM Christmas party to remind everyone of the glory of the Savior’s birth! Party food of the season, fun games, a favorite Christmas video, honorary titles given out to reflect the preoccupations of each member (“Missionary to the Waldorfians and Chair of Coolness Studies”, “Dean of Biology for Creepy-Crawly Studies and Head, Spiritual Disciplines and Weight Training”), cards from the chaplains and more…
Dec. 8. “Pantry Raid” Donations Taken to 40 West Assistance Center.
During Thanksgiving break, Ministry students raided their home pantries for non-perishable groceries, added them to other contributions and on Dec 8th delivered them to St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church for distribution by the Assistance Center to the poor of West Baltimore. The picture shows church volunteer Frederick Simmons receiving the groceries from LECM members Lindsay Morrell, Doug Drummonds and Joel Drew.
Nov 28.
Building on our stimulating discussion of the videotape: “What Use is the Bible?” on Oct. 31, we held a special program based on discussion of the video “What Good is Prayer?”. Many theologians, clergy and spiritual writers shared their personal approaches to prayer and the ways to make it real, and we interrupted the tape frequently to share our own responses and ideas. All Christians acknowledge the importance of prayer, but many struggle with how to keep it meaningful. From the video and discussion, we got some good ideas.
Oct. 21-23. First Joint Lutheran & Episcopal Retreat.
Three members of our Campus Ministry group traveled to Camp Raven Rock in the Catoctin Mountains for a great weekend retreat. Well-known retreat speaker Tiffany Thompson inspired the sixty or so Lutheran and Episcopal students and a number of chaplains from nearby campus ministries with her humorous and spirit-filled talks. These were followed by small group sessions, general games and fun, worship and outdoor activities — especially on Sunday morning when the fog lifted and from the top of the mountain you could see forever!
Involvement Fest
Student officers, chaplains, and members alike turned out for Involvement Fest 2005 on Wednesday September 7th, where prospective members came to see what LECM is all about! As theological discussions were held with Menalcus Lankford, Doug Drummonds collected $508.51 from the generous students of UMBC– 100% of which was donated to the Red Cross relief fund for Hurricane Katrina victims.
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| Preparing for Pentecost. Preparing to celebrate the day when Christians, though speaking in many different languages, were able to understand each other through the power of the Holy Spirit, Pranab Mitra (right) reads a prayer in Bengali. Other members read in English, French, German, Spanish and Latin. |  |
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Member honored by University. Stefanie Watson (left) was one of the students honored by UMBC in Spring 2005 for making outstanding use of research in her undergraduate studies. A Senior music major, Stefanie has been researching the process of collaboration between pianist and singer. She says, “This has been a very important part of my education, largely because this is an area I intend to pursue in the future. Discovering more about it now has helped me to be sure that I do want to continue.” Last summer Stefanie studied at a piano institute in Chataqua, New York, and on May 15 she gave her Senior Recital on campus in the Fine Arts Building. She is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church, Sunderland, and is the interim organist at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Hampstead. |
| Welcoming new students. President Jessica Drew (center), flanked by Chaplains Sandra Alexis and Menalcus Lankford, greets incoming Fall 2005 students and their families at New Student Day on April 16. Several students signed on to receive email announcements of our future activities, and many chatted and took brochures.
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Labyrinth Reflections:“A calming experience, to say the least….[My] varying distances from the center reminded me of how throughout life I am close to God and at times how I am far from him.” “Into the comfort of a path unknown but laid out. Guide ahead and around me.” |
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“For me it was a well-needed break in the day. It must be special–I felt like crying.”
“When I reached the center, my mind and body had calmed, and I was able to pray peacefully.”
“A few times I was walking next to someone, and then she turned–like so many people who join us in our walk for a time and then must follow their own paths.”
“The labyrinth has a very deep meaning. It walks you through the entire life you are living–the past that you have been, the present, and prepares you for the future.”
“The warm welcoming light of the entrance to the center. Peace, beauty, magnificence of music. Inner-dependence, inter-dependence. Unity–human, natural, spiritual.”
“Simply take one step at a time, knowing that the path will lead you to the truth and to a sense of purpose.”
“I was skeptical before beginning. ‘Will this labyrinth do anything for me, how could it possibly bring me to God?’ I remember thinking. But I heard others’ experiences…and was almost immediately drenched with the Holy Spirit upon entering. I haven’t felt this close to God…in years.”
“This was a very calm and enlightening experience. Life has the habit of taking random turns, but…I see that it is not random but part of a plan. I do not necessarily need to see where I am in that plan. I noticed that if I looked around myself the twists and turns got mixed together, and I became confused; however, if I just gazed directly in front of myself, the path was clear.”
“Until the last segment, I was not looking forward to the light. There was a joy in seeing the light at the end of this labyrinth.”
“It was calming to come into this peaceful room from my stressful day. I often thought of the people who I really like when I was walking.”
“Each turn…that took me away from the light…caused me to doubt whether I would make it. As time passed, I knew I would eventually make it even though I was moving slowly.”
“The center seemed like the end, coming to God and becoming part of him.”
“A-maze-ing Grace”
Retriever Weekly
3/01/05
The Lutheran and Episcopal campus student group is bringing a labyrinth to the U.C. third floor ballroom on March 9. It will be available all day from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Lutheran Chaplain, the Rev. Sandra Alexis, and Episcopal Chaplain, Menalcus Lankford, expressed their hope yesterday that many students, faculty and staff at the University will take the opportunity to participate in the time-honored spiritual exercise of “walking the labyrinth.”
The particular labyrinth coming to UMBC is designed like the one carved into the floor of Chartres Cathedral in about 1200, which was walked as a spiritual exercise by Christian pilgrims. Yet labyrinths have been used by people of many religions and cultures back into ancient times. The portable canvas version that will be brought to UMBC does not display obvious Christian symbolism and is open to anyone seeking personal spiritual insight. In recent years, outside or inside labyrinths have been installed in many medical centers, as patients have reported their healing effects.
Mazes and labyrinths are often confused. What they have in common is a long, convoluted path laid out in a pattern not obvious to the walker. But the psychology and theology associated with them is quite different. The walkers of a maze can lose their way and not easily find the path home (out). By contrast, in a labyrinth the spiritual seeker cannot become lost as long as he or she faithfully follows the path–it will inevitably lead to the center: “home.” For many this means God, but for others it could be the truest center of the self, or of life or something else.
The plan is to have the labyrinth set up in the U.C. ballroom in an atmosphere of dim light and quiet Taize or chant music. Walkers may stop in the path to pray or meditate–it’s fine for others to step around them.
There will be some printed information available about the history of the labyrinth–including the personal insights of dozens of college students after they had first walked a labyrinth several years ago. Chaplains and students from the Lutheran and Episcopal group will be on hand all day to help or answer questions.
