After months of evaluation and planning by the Ark Five College Episcopal Chaplaincy Board of Directors, an exciting new structure for campus ministry has been launched.
With the goal of greater service to the Diocese as a whole, campus ministry is left its thirty-five year home in Amherst to move from a single, building-based model for campus ministry to a multi-campus, parish-based model designed to more comprehensively address the higher education needs of the Diocese.
Canterbury Pilgrims
Students, Staff, and Young Adults in the Five College/Western Massachusetts area and all others interested in exploring an Ancient/Future approach to the Christian faith wherever you are in your pilgrimage with God. Read more ...
Campus groups for Anglicans and Episcopalians are often called Canterbury Clubs. This name honors the importance of the city of Canterbury, England and its bishop for the growth of Christianity in the English speaking world.
More then 1400 years ago St. Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to convert the Anglo-Saxons. Ever since then there has been ample evidence that the church is made up of sinners and saints (and that they are the same people!)The present day is no exception to this truth. So in the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA we’ve kept the “Canterbury” but we’ve lost the “Club” with all its overtones of either Golf or student council meetings. Instead we’ve chosen to identify ourselves as pilgrims for a few reasons.
On the first Wednesday of every month we also have a Taize service at St. John’s church near the Smith Campus. This is an extended period for prayer through singing and meditation. For more on the Taize community check out: taize.fr/en Sunday services at most Episcopal churches have two parts – the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Chris' office has been moved to St. John's, Northampton, where he is responsible for campus ministry on the adjacent Smith College campus, as well on the Amherst campuses by way of an ongoing evening student service at Grace Church and his richly developed ministry network at the University of Massachusetts.
In the spirit of the Bishop's vision for regionalized Diocesan ministry, it is the goal of the new higher education paradigm to more comprehensively address the mission and ministry of the numerous college campuses throughout the Diocese, and particularly to nearby parishes that seek to engage them.
It is Chris's conviction that campus mission represents an unusual opportunity: not only to meet the needs of students and faculty engaged in the vocation of learning, but to infuse new forms of ministry and Christian experience into parishes themselves. Chris can be reached at St. John's, 413-584-1757, or by e- mail at carlisle(at)comcol.umass.edu. He looks forward to hearing from you!