By Noah Morris, Reporter
On Aug. 29, the end of week two at Aquinas College, Campus Ministry had the opportunity to host a retreat at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Many of the upperclassmen involved in campus ministry had the opportunity to help lead this retreat that was designed to get the incoming freshmen active in the student body, the college headspace and the on-campus Christian community. This opportunity was able to spark many conversations and friendships very early on in the school year.
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Grand Rapids – Photo by John Petty
The retreat started off by walking from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel to the Ministry Center of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. Many members and leaders of the Campus Ministry community volunteered to lead this retreat, including Director Mike Ingram, Fr. Robert Keller O.P. and our new Service Coordinator, Joey Dearduff. Upon arrival, the students were given journals, prayer cards and stickers. All of these were tools to guide them through the following talks, the first set of which were led by Joey Dearduff and Tomas Rampe. Dearduff spoke regarding people and their callings, which was very fitting for his unofficial introduction to the students. To appeal to the new students and alleviate many fears of incoming students, Tomas spoke on his experience starting college and what it was like to be in a new place around new people.
“It is never too late to start a new beginning, in which God calls you to be the best version of yourself,” senior Tomas Rampe said.
A summer day at Wege Pond – Photo by John Petty
Following the first set of talks, Campus Ministry provided students with a pizza lunch.
Leading the second set of talks were Campus Ministry leaders Mike Ingram and John Petty. Ingram spoke about the necessity of freely responding to God’s love. He stressed the importance to the students, now being in college, that they pursue a faith life with their new found freedom. Continuing on the topic of freedom, John Petty spoke on the variety of spiritual opportunities on campus, and the many people whom he has met that have been able to share and confide in.
After another fruitful small group discussion, the third and final group of speakers was our own priest, Fr. Robert Keller, O.P. Fr. Bob spoke on the necessity of community and environment in the practice of one’s faith and formation of habits. Anna Feldpausch gave the last talk of the day, sharing her personal and spiritual growth at Aquinas. She made special note of how the faith community on campus made this growth possible, and she could not overstate the importance of the campus ministry team and their work on campus.
After a final small group discussion, the students walked back to Aquinas, finishing the retreat with a meal at Wege Dining Hall before ending the evening at Mass.
“Going to the new student retreat, I wasn’t expecting much. Having attended multiple campus ministry retreats over the past fall and spring semesters, I doubted this one could measure up to those experiences,” senior Bonfils Matenga said. “But it completely proved me wrong. Not only did I walk away with a lot of great insights that really boosted my spirituality from all the students and staff talks, but I also had the chance to hear stories from the incoming students and bonded with them on a deeper level. Overall, it was an amazing experience and time well spent.”
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