A hazy future for WSU’s Lutheran Campus Ministry
Laughter fills the community hall at St. Thomas Catholic church as students take part in the free dinner that follows the candle light service offered by WSU’s Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM).
The Wednesday evening “Breathe” services are aptly named, allowing young adults sanctuary from the stresses of being a student. The services are led by a pastor who is just as dedicated to God as he is dedicated to the students that come to him for guidance.
But behind the smiling eyes of Pastor Randall M. Nicolai is the stress of his flock’s future.
Checks amounting to more than $13,500 sit in the pastor’s office, not cashed due to a bank account currently in the red. The LCM board members recently voted to transfer money from an endowment fund to reimburse Nicolai for his expenses, which have been accumulating since 2005.
But this still won’t balance this year’s budget for the campus ministry, and pledges from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and the Northwest synods for next year’s budget have yet to arrive.
The tentative budget for 2011 is set around $86,000, which will cover Nicolai’s salary and health benefits, Wednesday dinners, student retreats and events like the annual Easter breakfast.
“It [the future] is still in the process of being shaped,” said Nicolai. “I don’t know where it will come out.”
LCM at WSU receives funding from three sources: the church wide level, the regional synod level, and from individual donations from LCM alumni, congregations, and supporters. Funds from the church wide and synod levels have drastically decreased in recent years, and individual donations can’t keep up with demand.
“Church wide and synodical funding has been flat for some time,” said Rev. Bill King, assistant director for youth and young adult ministries for the ELCA and campus pastor at Virginia Tech, via e-mail. “But I think it’s important to point out that, generally speaking, that is true of anything that depends on benevolence.”
While individual donations have increased at Virginia Tech, King notes that all campus ministries are experiencing financial stress, as are most enterprises in the current economy.
On a national level, the ELCA’s funding has decreased by 26 percent from 2008 to 2011 and significant personnel reductions are necessary, according to an ELCA press release Oct. 11, 2010.
Campus ministry has been restructured three times, reducing staff levels. The most recent restructure will cut three of the four campus ministry positions, including King’s assistant director position –he will vacate his post on Feb. 1, 2011, but continue as a pastor for Virginia Tech.
“The real story is actually how hard folks in Chicago and in our synods have, as a rule, worked to preserve funding in trying times,” King said.
During the last two years of church wide budget cuts, the campus ministry’s grant budget of $1.2 million was not cut until this past summer, said Sue Rothmeyer, associate director for youth and young adult ministries for the ELCA, via e-mail.
The church wide role in campus ministry will soon be solely carried out by Rothmeyer, supported by the nine regional coordinators.
Rothmeyer said she plans to launch a program that will provide training and consultation in fund raising to campus ministry organizations.
Nicolai has contacted Gabriel Brannan for advice on the best ways to proceed with fundraising. Brannan is the associate development director for the sciences at WSU, and has firsthand knowledge with fundraising, despite the geographic pitfalls WSU faces, said Nicolai.
“The challenge for LCM is the same for WSU within the PAC-10,” said Nicolai. “We are geographically isolated.”
For the time being, Nicolai will continue to brainstorm ways to increase individual giving to WSU’s campus ministry. Nicolai and the eight other regional campus pastors have pledged to fight for their students and the campus ministries that support them.
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