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In this first decade of the twenty-first century, United Methodist congregations as well as United Methodist-related universities are rediscovering the significance of hospitality as a Christian practice.
Offering
Hospitality under the Cross and Flame
United Methodists and Higher Education in Indiana
By Michael G. Cartwright
Photos by UI, DePauw University, UE, and Matthew Oates
Each day just outside my window, hundreds of students walk by the University of Indianapolis student center with its large Cross-and-Flame emblem signifying the university's affiliation with The United Methodist Church. This symbol reminds some of their home congregation, the company of disciples of Jesus Christ with whom they have grown up and with whom they learned to walk in the way of the cross. For others, this symbol will not be as meaningful immediately, but over time they too may come to have good associations with it and the church it represents.
All of which raises an important question: how should United Methodists want students to understand the relationship between the church and its three universities in Indiana that is signified by the Cross and Flame? My hope is that all students, both Christian and those of other faith groups alike, would see our church's emblem as a symbol of genuine hospitality. I don't simply mean the kind of "Hoosier hospitality" for which the citizens of this Midwestern state are justly famous, but a holy hospitality!
Christian Hospitality
In
this first decade of the twenty-first century, United Methodist congregations as
well as United Methodist-related universities are rediscovering the significance
of hospitality as a Christian practice. One of the most eloquent explanations of
the generative power of this practice can be found in Henri Nouwen's book
Reaching Out. he writes: "Hospitality means primarily the creation of a free
space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.
Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can
take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer
freedom not disturbed by dividing lines. It is not to lead our neighbor into a
corner where there are no alternatives left, but to open a wide spectrum of
options for choice and commitment." United Methodist clergy and laity who are
concerned about church-related higher education would do well to ponder the
profundity of Nouwen's remarks.
At a time when United Methodist congregations in Indiana are advertising they have "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.," as part of the Igniting Ministries campaign, we need to take seriously that if such claims are to be plausible, we need to display hospitality in all our behaviors.
Too many congregations are so deeply embroiled in the ongoing "culture wars" of American society, such as conservative vs. liberal and evangelical vs. social justice, that to advertise themselves as having "open doors" is to engage in wishful thinking if not outright self-deception. At the same time, for congregations and universities to offer strangers the kind of hospitality that conveys "freedom not disturbed by dividing lines" is to run the risk of being misunderstood by those on either side of these cultural divides.
The Challenges to Hospitality
The
faculty, staff and students of our three related universities in Indiana find
themselves no less challenged than the clergy and laity of Hoosier United
Methodist congregations to display excellence in giving and receiving
hospitality.
Some of these challenges are demographic. For example at the University of Indianapolis, approximately the same number or 11 percent of full-time students (Christian and others), who enrolled at the university this year, come from international contexts as come from the United Methodist congregations of Indiana. The percentages are different at the other two United Methodist-related schools -- DePauw University at Greencastle and the University of Evansville but both of those universities also have significant numbers of international students.
Although there is no question that Christians remain the religious tradition of the majority of students on the three campuses, in some cases, there are more Catholic students than any one group of Protestants. In addition to congregational-based ministries in Evansville, Greencastle and Indianapolis, students have the opportunity to participate in various para-church ministries such as Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Small but significant numbers of Hindu and Muslim students walk to and from classes alongside Protestant and Catholic students. The population of Jewish students at the University of Indianapolis is also small, but within the past year has grown large enough to form a Jewish Student Union.
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Three hundred years after Wesley's birth, we are still seeking educational excellence while offering educational opportunities to meet the needs of both church and society. |
Some of the challenges are logistical and practical. How do United Methodist-related universities go about "making room" for other faith groups on its campuses in the midst of fiscal constraints and limitations of space? How do United Methodist-related universities continue to foster freedom of religious practice on campus so that they can participate in the church's mission "to make disciples of Jesus Christ" while assuring those of other faiths that they are also free to practice their religious traditions?
Some of the challenges are ideological. How do United Methodist-related universities go about meeting the challenges already noted without having skeptics question the authenticity of their efforts to be hospitable to those of other faiths, or having Christians with narrowly focused theological and political agendas question a university's dedication to the church's mission "to make disciples of Jesus Christ?"
Inspiration from the Past
The early eighteenth-century Methodists on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in America and England also faced skepticism from those who thought it was impossible to "unite the pair so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety." Then, as now, unimaginative rationalists and irrational anti-intellectuals wanted to separate faith and knowledge. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, did not let the skeptics of his day deter him from creating ventures that were hospitable to the integration of "head" and "heart."
For
example, when Wesley founded Kingswood School at Bath, England in 1748, he
boldly aspired to create the kind of educational opportunities that would exceed
what was offered at both Oxford and Cambridge while providing the kind of
extravagant hospitality that made it possible for impoverished urban youth to
discover their identities as children of God who were "ordained to be
transcripts of the Trinity." Kingswood School was where such hospitality in
education began and continues today, but the challenges of overcoming the
obstacles of class and other forms of prejudice, including the prejudices of
secular fundamentalists, remain for church and university alike.
Three hundred years after Wesley's birth, we are still seeking educational excellence while offering educational opportunities to meet the needs of both church and society.
Today, church-related universities face a different set of challenges than the ones Wesley faced, just as The United Methodist Church faces a different prospect than the earliest Methodist societies confronted. Both the church and its related universities need to continue the conversation that began in the eighteenth century as Wesley and "the people called Methodists" attempted to overcome divisions that were deeply embedded in British society. To do so will require that we re-engage one another in the awareness of changes that have taken place as well as the opportunities that now exist that Wesley other Methodist leaders could never have dreamed might be.
Church and University Re-engaging One Another
Fortunately, such re-engagement has already begun to take place. I see three kinds of hospitality displayed by United Methodist-related higher education in Indiana that clergy and laity should appreciate, encourage and support.
Vocation
Exploration: At a time when Protestants and Catholics alike are having to
reconstruct a "culture of call," United Methodists can appreciate the ways in
which the three universities are creating mentoring environments for students to
listen for -- and respond to -- God's call in their lives. For more than a
decade, University of Evansville has offered students the opportunity to
participate in the "Search" Retreat offered each fall. DePauw University has
hosted the Bishop's Convocation on Youth, and the University of Indianapolis
offers a curriculum of courses through its Lantz Center for Christian Vocations.
Leadership Development: Students at the three United Methodist-related universities also have abundant opportunities to grow as Christian leaders. United Methodist Youth Leader Scholars at the University of Indianapolis have the opportunity to learn leadership skills in the context of Covenant Discipleship groups. At University of Evansville, students can choose from a wide array of offerings at Neu Chapel. And the new partnership between Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church and DePauw University makes it possible for students to learn the practices of the Christian faith in the context of a congregation that has a long history of leadership.
Conversations
about Mission: All three universities have found ways to engage church leaders
in conversation about their respective missions. Where conversations have
continued, participants appreciate the fact that the universities not only have
contributed to the church's mission in the past, but also continue to do so in
the present. Many clergy and laity in the North Indiana and South Indiana United
Methodist conferences are graduates of DePauw, Evansville, and U. Indy. Faculty
and staff at the three universities offer leadership to congregations, districts
and conferences. Conference-sponsored Schools of Christian Mission, the
Extension Course of Study and other kinds of district and conference gatherings
meet on the campuses of these institutions.
Both-And Thinking
In the first decade of this century, the three Indiana United Methodist Church-related universities face a variety of challenges, ranging from the rise of Internet and "distance" education to the declining financial support from United Methodist congregations. Such challenges call for imaginative thinking on the part of all concerned. University of Indianapolis President Jerry Israel displays such thinking when he declares that the relationship is "not about money." The basis of the relationship between church and university must be located in terms of our overlapping yet distinctive missions.
It
would be so much easier for all concerned if we knew that it was simply
impossible for universities to contribute to the church's mission to make
disciples of Jesus Christ while offering hospitality to those of other faiths on
their campuses. The problem is that we do know that it is possible because all
three United Methodists-related universities in Indiana are already doing just
that -- both making disciples and offering hospitality.
With the active support and encouragement of United Methodists from the North and South conferences, we can do even better. Instead of mirroring the "either-or" logic of the culture wars, Hoosier United Methodists need to develop the habit of "both-and" thinking. There are signs that some church leaders are making the shift.
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John Wesley, founder of Methodism, did not let the skeptics of his day deter him from creating ventures that were hospitable to the integration of "head" and "heart." |
For example a few weeks ago, one of the members of the Covenant Discipleship group that meets here on Monday mornings offered an encouraging word when she shared a wonderful Chinese proverb: "Let those who say it cannot be done not interrupt while others are doing it." This is what I often find myself wanting to say to those who claim that it is impossible for United Methodist-related universities to make disciples of Jesus Christ while being hospitable to those of other faiths!
It
remains to be seen what those who pass by the Cross and Flame located on the
wall outside my office window will remember about their years at this particular
United Methodist-related university. I am reasonably confident that at least
some of these students will graduate from here equipped with the skills to be
hospitable to strangers.
In
the mystery of God's providence, these students may find themselves carried to
places near and far. Years from now, some may find themselves serving Christ in
United Methodist congregations in Indiana. While some, both Christian and those
of other faiths, may be offering hospitality to Christian and other strangers in
places around the world. Hopefully, they will remember that they began to learn
to offer one another "freedom undisturbed by dividing lines" in the context of a
United Methodist-related university.
Michael G. Cartwright teaches at the University of Indianapolis as Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion and oversees religious life at the university as Dean for Ecumenical and Interfaith Programs. He is an ordained Elder of The United Methodist Western Pennsylvania Conference. Reach him at mcartwright@uindy.edu or by phone at 317-788-3233.