No Longer Strangers, but Saints

I wanted to share with my blog audience this wonderful documentary about St. Teresa of Avila (Roman) Catholic Student Center at Valparaiso University.  I was actively involved in this center's ministry throughout my four years as a student at ValpU.

Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU8SuXDHvVE

(This video is approximately 20 minutes long.)

Kudos to Amanda Master for her job well done in producing it.  She is a current a ValpU student, and also a friend of mine from my days there.

This documentary is masterful in telling what St. Teresa's is about through a variety of perspectives.  There's Kaitie, a current ValpU student, who has been at St. Teresa's with her family for years as part of the larger group of adults and families from the local area who are part of the community.  She has been witness to its growth.

Father Doug Mayer, former chaplain, also offers some unique perspective on the growth of St. Teresa's, and how its ministry to students has changed.

And, of course, Father Kevin shares about some of the major changes the center has undergone in the past couple of decades, and what it's like today.

Then, there's Zach, a recent graduate of ValpU, who was involved in at the center as Peer Minister, one of 4 students selected for the program that basically functions like an internship.  He offers perspective on the person who came to ValpU and became engaged in its ministry--and I have actually been of witness of his involvement from when he came as a freshman.

While St. Teresa's serves a ministry to nourish the faith of Roman Catholic students at ValpU, it also ministers to students who are not Roman Catholic.  And Nathan Albert represents the effects of that beyond-Roman Catholic outreach that St. Teresa's engages in.  This kind of outreach is so masterfully done with the Annual Advent Student Mass and Dinner, which is brought up in the video, and is a memorable evening for the students at a hectic time of the first semester.

Ultimately, no matter the background of a student at ValpU, St. Teresa's provides a welcoming environment that comes alongside the students and enriches their college experience.  This comes through spiritual experiences, but also opening up a space like the student lounge for people to hang out.

The song played in the video, "No Longer Strangers", is extremely fitting, as it describes how we, the people of God, are drawn together from many different places and backgrounds, and are made one people, one family, joined together as the Church, the Body of Christ.  St. Teresa's, in its ministry to college students, both Roman Catholic and non-Roman Catholic, as well as adults and families in the local area, richly exemplifies this tenet of the Christian faith.

As I watched this documentary, as a recent graduate, I smiled inwardly, realizing that I was, and still am, part of something very special at ValpU.