University of Toronto Christian Reformed Church chaplain Brian Walsh
Local university groups reviving faith programs,
worship services
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
When Cesar Hincapie started at University of Toronto four years ago,
he left behind his weekly attendance at Sunday mass. The demands
of school work took over his time. And the idea of sermons seemed
to be less relevant in a student environment.
But two years ago, a service at the Newman Centre, the Roman Catholic
religious organization serving the university, started Hincapie back
on the churchgoing path.
Newman Centre chaplain Rev. Thomas Rosica addressed relevant questions,
says Hincapie, 23, a phys-ed major and pre-med student. ``Things
like maintaining a balance in life, and having a greater sense of
humanity than what surrounds us in the university milieu.
``It is very easy when you are going to university to become fixated
on the university world, and you sort of start compromising on your
spiritual life.''
From the 1960s to about five years ago, services at the Catholic chapel
were sparsely attended. Now, a standing-room-only crowd of more than
400 is at the Sunday morning Eucharist service, and more than 150
at the Sunday evening service.
Hincapie surrounds himself with other students who lead a religious
life or are trying to become more religious. And he hopes this is
a growing culture.
Some administrators, religious leaders and students involved in religious
programs on campus do see an increase in religion and spiritualism
in Toronto's campuses. They believe there is a reaction against a
culture that values too much materialism.
Others are not so sure.
At Ryerson University, the number of student religious groups has
increased from about four to 11 in five years, says campus groups
administrator Leatrice Spevack.
``With the coming of the new millennium, I think people are looking
for something that will give them more purpose and meaning to their
lives, and certainly religion has always done that.''
Patrick Legris, student relations assistant at York University, also
sees a gradual, but steady increase in the number of students participating
in religious groups at his campus.
``I think that maybe we went through the go-go '80s, and lots of money
changing hands and then the shock treatment of a recession, and people
started thinking: `Is there more to life than just trying to earn
a dollar?' and, `How does the spiritual side of life affect me?' '
'
But Legris does not see a mass explosion of religion on campus. York
remains largely secular, he says, and because it is a commuter campus,
many religious students choose to observe their faith in their own
communities.
Brian Walsh, the Christian Reformed Church chaplain at University
of Toronto, does not believe that religion has emerged in the 1990s
as a major presence on campuses. Universities discourage religious
and spiritual thinking in the classroom, which has an effect on the
students' beliefs, he says.
But Walsh does see the potential for a religious movement.
``Articles come out every few years saying that there is an increased
interest, and I have been around for a few years to know that there
hasn't been a change, but there is a climate for change.
``I would say that the climate of campus would be characterized as
anxiety. It has to do with that old story of economic abundance -
that story is starting to crumble at the edges.''
There is a trend among Christian students to no longer compartmentalize
their faith, Walsh says. They don't hide their religious beliefs in
the classroom. If a student is going to be Christian studying business,
he or she wants to do that in a Christian way.
Some students are starting to write academically responsible papers
that show they are pretty open about their Christian faith, Walsh
says. ``That is a success.''
Effective programs can also bring students back to their faith.
Newman Centres were not a priority of the Catholic Church for a long
time, Rosica says. Now, restoring religious extracurricular programs
was all it took to encourage participation.
``Students want something solid with a tradition,'' says Rosica. ``They
don't want the fleeting trends of this age.''
In many cases, Catholic students are drawn to the centre through the
nearly 40 extracurricular religious programs created since Rosica
became chaplain five years ago.
There is a reflection group on the lives of Catholic saints, for example,
as well as lectures on the saints. Interest in the saints is a telling
reminder that students feel there is a ``lack of heroes and heroines
in our day,'' Rosica says.
The Newman Centre just opened a franchise of the Calgary-based Grabbajabba
commercial coffee chain. Profits help run programs.
``We are just starting,'' says Rosica. ``Students today in the secular
world present the church with an immense change and an opportunity
for hope and for teaching. There is a thirst for spirituality and
for solid teaching. If we offer them something that is solid, that
is consistent, then, we can offer them something for the long haul,
and people will come.''
Jews in Toronto's campuses also run effective extracurricular programs.
Jewish identity and pride is strong on campus, says Zac Kaye, executive-
director of Jewish Campus Services, which runs Jewish non-academic
programs at Toronto-area campuses. At the same time, assimilation
is a concern, as university students experience new ideas seemingly
far removed from their Jewish childhood education.
As a result, Jewish Campus Services is emphasizing programs that link
Judaism and Jewish culture to what students feel is relevant.
``There is a need for an informal Jewish experience that provides
different gateways to Judaism,'' says Kaye.
York University's Jewish Student Federation recently sponsored a well-
attended multi-faith music and story telling program. It also sponsored
a downtown walk to discover vegetation that was referred to in the
Bible. It was led by York University environmental studies student
and federation environmental chair Tally Wolf.
``In the Bible is the concept of tikkun olam or repair the world,'
' Wolf says. ``That is one of the many Jewish calls for action throughout
the Torah.''
Jewish Campus Services also sponsors Jewish programs led by Orthodox,
Reform, and Conservative religious leaders because students want
to get beyond the differences.
One of the largest religious groups at York University are Muslims
who regularly attend daily services. That also is the case at Ryerson;
the university recently decided to open a multi-faith room to provide
space for daily services for its three Muslim associations.
Husein Madhavji, chairman of the Ryerson Ismaili Students Association,
a Shiite Muslim branch, says that 15 to 20 Ismaili students attend
the daily jamatkhane (evening) service. The sense of community for
the small Ismaili population on campus contributes to the attendance,
he says, but the religious values are just as important.
``I always used to think I had to be rich and famous, and coming to
university, all I cared about was getting my career started,'' said
Madhavji, 21. ``And then I just went to jamatkhane, and you just see
people who feel so content with themselves and they don't have that
much.
``I still want to be successful, but not just for myself. I want to
be able to take care of my family and my community.''
CAPTIONS:
ANDREW STAWICKI/TORONTO STAR
GRABBING A JAVA:
Natasha Klukach, left, Cesar Hincapie and Susan Michael at the
Newman Centre.
COLIN McCONNELL/TORONTO STAR
BIBLICAL ENVIRONMENT:
Ran Gilad, left, Tally Wolf and Arie Fish are on a downtown park
walk sponsored by York University's Jewish Student Federation.