Friends, thank you for being part of some exciting ministries happening here! While I’m feeling much more settled into campus ministry, there is still so much to share. One thing you may have heard is that we have “adopted” the ELCA students at Iowa State after they lost their campus minister in March of 2024.
Last fall, Pastor Erika Uthe reached out to Pastor Lee to explore partnering with—or including—the ELCA students in our campus ministry. Since then, Erika and I have met weekly to talk about how we might support students together. As I meet students and learn more about their backgrounds, I pass along the names of those from the ELCA tradition. Together, we are reaching more students than either of us could alone.
I had already begun hosting Bible studies and naturally welcomed any ELCA students I met along the way. Erika then wondered if we might host the Holden Evening Prayer service one night each week. I’m familiar with Holden Evening Prayer from a Lenten preaching rotation with Story City and several ELCA congregations. As an added bonus, Erika plays the piano and can cantor—so we knew we were in good hands!
We began with just two or three students and have grown to as many as eight gathering together.
If you’re not familiar with Holden Evening Prayer, it follows a simple booklet and includes singing the same songs each week. Most of the students didn’t know the music at first, but we sang our way through anyway. Now we have students stepping up to cantor, and they are doing a wonderful job.
We continue to invite new students to join us and encourage those who come to bring their friends. Building relationships is the key. Many students arrive early at 6:30 pm for Bible study and stay to visit until 8:00 pm, when we begin Holden Evening Prayer.
So if you hear music while you’re in a meeting on Thursday nights, it might just be a group of college students gathered in Nichols Chapel. It’s a beautiful space for a small group to worship together.
And the blessings continue.
Pastor Jena
