MC Awarded 2002 Campus Ministry of the Year
Release Date: July 9, 2002
 Monmouth
College was named the recipient of the 2002 Campus Ministry of the Year Award for the Great
Lakes Region from the National Campus Ministry Association at its annual convention held in
Chicago June 28-July 2.
The Great Lakes Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and all of Central Canada. The award recognizes one "effective
and innovative" ministry in the region each year. Monmouth's ministry was recognized for its
service to the college community and various area agencies and churches, as well as its
contribution to nurturing the spiritual life of college students throughout the country.
Launched in 1999 by MC's chaplain, the Rev. B. Kathleen Fannin, the student chaplain program
was one of the key factors leading to the award, according to the NCMA. Student chaplains
sponsor a number of programs on and off campus to nurture the spiritual life of the campus
community and to serve persons in need in Warren, and Knox counties.
The experience participants receive in the program sometimes leads them to pursue careers in
ministry. A former student chaplain, Jennifer Rund '00 of Decatur, Ill., is now in her third
year of study at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. A current student chaplain, John
Huxtable of Viola, Ill., is the licensed lay pastor of the Knoxville (Ill.) United
Presbyterian Church, where he has served since July 2001.
Other campus ministry programs have included sponsoring an "angel tree" for clients of
Monmouth's Warren Achievement Center each December, volunteering in various after-school
programs sponsored by Jamieson Community Center and area churches, the college's annual
Christmas convocation, Monmouth Christian Fellowship, Bible studies and "Wonder and Other
Survival Skills," a special series of spiritual life retreats begun in 2000.
In April, students from Monmouth College wrote the liturgy for and led the closing worship
service at the Midwest Student Christian Gathering at Lake Geneva, Wis. As a result of this
service, Monmouth College's campus ministry was asked to serve on the worship planning team
for the NCMA conference in Chicago.
Fannin and four of the college's student chaplains also authored God at the Center: A Lenten
Devotion Guide for College Students, which was published by the Higher Education Ministries
Arena in January and distributed to college students around the world.
Fannin is Monmouth College's seventh chaplain, having served in the position since 1998.
Released
by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330
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