SECTION II. Approaches for Getting Started A. DEVELOPING THE PARTNERSHIP In a joint endeavor we are successful only if a strong relationship or primary connection is established. The following steps have been helpful to persons starting a relationship with colleges in different parts of the country. You may find a process that works better for you. If so, fine! Just let us hear about it so we can share it.) But if you'd like to get started, and could use help in planning the steps others have found effective, here they are. We're assuming that the parish is the initiator, that an ecumenical program is necessary, that the campus is no further than ten miles from a community, and that the main objective is a broad-based, ongoing relationship of mutual respect and enrichment. Step I Involvement of the Religious Community a. Attend a regularly scheduled meeting of the community's ministerium (ministerial association, council of churches, appropriate ecumenical body of interdenominational leadership). b. Share with them the possibilities for mutual enrichment through examples of what's happening elsewhere. Use illustrations already shared in Section I under "connections". Summarize and copy the examples for distribution. c. Tell them that only three meetings will be needed to search out the possibilities and that proven tools are available to help. d. Request authorization of an interfaith committee to explore the possibilities further. Step 2 Involvement of the College Community a. Meet with the President or a Dean as a representative of the community-wide interfaith group. b. Show the possibilities through examples of what's happening elsewhere. c. Point out that only three meetings will be needed. d. Request appointment of liaison person(s) to work with the interfaith committee in arrangng the final details of the exploration to determine areas of mutual interest and potential connection. Step 3 First Meeting of Joint Group in a Design Session a. Review the goal of identifying those ways in which the parish communities and the campus community can be mutually resourcing and enriching. b. Consider the tools that might be used or created to help the search. (Study suggested tools that follow.) c. Outline a Day of Conversations between the two communities. d. Determine a date, invitation list, and assignments. Step 4 Second Meeting of Joint Group and Others in Mutual Exploration (See Section B. Mutual Exploration Tools) a. Agree on an agenda and a time to adjourn. b. Using tools you've created or adapted, mutually consider the main areas of concern and service involving the college community (students, instructors, administrators, and the public) and the main areas of concern to the church community relevant to this meeting (such as leadership development, community service, cultural and artistic enrichment, Values clarification, career counseling, etc.) c. Don't frustrate people (if you can help it) but do focus on defining areas for mutual work rather than developing solutions. Step 5 Third Meeting of Joint Group for Mutual Evaluation and Recommendations a. What areas of college community might be enriched by the church community? b. What areas of the religious community might be enriched by the college community c. Recommendations for ongoing task force(s) to work toward some of the goals identified. B. MUTUAL EXPLORATION TOOLS You will get the best results by developing tools to fit your own circumstances. The following examples are intended to help you and your colleagues avoid having to re-invent the wheel, but you'll still want to fit them to your special needs. The following questions are examples of the kind which will help uncover the sort of opportunities that exist in current programs before you devote time and energy to building new programs. Another set of tools are the forms that suggest ways you can organize what comes out of the conversations for review in the Evaluation and Recommendation session. You may of course, wish to add some items or leave some out as you prepare them for duplication. 1) Building New Relationships If you are part of a new venture exploring possibilities never before attempted, then local pastors will have a two-fold purpose: 1. Homework about the colleges 2. Exploring how we can be resourceful to one another and to the community These questions will assist local pastors in doing both the homework and the first stages of exploration. Interview Aids for Local Religious Leaders The religious leaders involved will need to collect basic data about the various functions of the college. The following are questions which may give your committee some ideas about what you want to ask in your dialogue with the personnel in each division. Admissions - Could we have data on the students enrolled, such as age, sex, race and economic groupings? - Are there new groupings of students beginning to attend? - What is the policy for the educationally disadvantaged? - Is there a high percentage of students from certain communities or high schools? - What is the religious breakdown? Counseling - Is there a particular philosophy of student personnel or of counseling you work with? What are its features? - How many counselors are there, and do they also relate to particular groups of students, such as veterans and minority groups? - Do you have adequate staff for remedial work? - What are the primary areas of need of the students? Student Activities - What philosophy of student personnel do you work with? What are its features? - What are the most popular programs at the campus? - Are there service clubs and/or issue-oriented clubs (ecology for example)? - What are the issues facing the student government? Credit Curriculum - Are there courses offered here for credit that you feel are unusual? - What are the criteria for determining whether credit will be offered for a course and how much credit is given for it? - Do you offer continuing education units? If so, for what courses? Continuing Education/Community Service - Is there a distinction between continuing education and community services at this college? If so, would you clarify it for us. - Have you conducted a survey recently on the needs and interests of the surrounding communities? - Are you planning to expand the services or scope of the continuing education program and/or community services? Do you foresee any reductions? Governance - Who determines which courses will be offered, and how is the decision made? - Who decides, and on what basis, the cost per course, and other fees? - Is there a quota operating in terms of admissions? - What is the financial position of the school in the community? - What do you see as the avenues and boundaries, the acceptable relationships between the communities churches and its college? - What would be the most welcome gesture of support the church community could offer the college community? What might seem "meddlesome"? 2) Strengthening Existing Relationships: These tools might be used for a group that already has a good relationship between the religious and college communities and wishes to review or audit this current relationship and explore new directions. Examples of Questions for Mutual Exploration Student Services 1. How does the college attempt to respond to the widely differing needs of the diverse groups of students: traditional, veterans, returning students (housewife and career change), senior citizens, first generation, academic high risk, handicapped, international, etc.? 2. Do some of these groups have urgent needs that the college is prevented from addressing due to lack of resources or the commuting nature of the college? 3. What services or programs could be expanded or offered in the community that would help some of these student groups? 4. Are there resources the religious community can make available to students or programs that serve the students? 5. Are there resources in the student services personnel of the college or in the student body which can properly be made available to church program needs? Instructional Services 1. Do faculty understand and have available career planning and values clarification tools to assist students in choosing appropriate instructional fields, and if so, to what extent are the tools used? 2. What are the educational needs (instruction and skill development) of the local religious communities and area governing bodies of the churches, and can some of these be properly addressed by the college? 3. Do faculty understand that competent religious leaders could serve as community resources in instances when religious or value issues arise in the natural development of courses such as humanities and social sciences? If so do they use them? If there is little use, would there be interest in knowing the extent and nature of expertise, available? (See F. "Topics for Faculty Presentations.") 4. Does the college have a Speaker's Bureau in operation, and if so, to what extent are the resources available to the churches? 5. Taking into account the diverse interests and needs of the student groups, to what extent does each student receive a wholistic education? Administrative Concerns (Governance) 1. If the institution is a public one, what is the standing of the college with local and state legislators and administrators? 2. What is its financial position in the community, its prospects for maintenance, and its ability to meet the costs of serving new groups or establishing new programs? 3. What methods of cooperation in enhancing programs and mutual participation are acceptable as not compromising the separation of church and state (if it is a state institution)? 4. What lines of communication can be established between college and church leaders that will be mutually useful and supportive? 5. In which areas of public controversy can the college rely on church support? In which can it expect opposition? How can the church help raise questions that may be hard for the college to raise, such as, the role of continuing adult education; such as, attempts by public officials to determine curriculum. Community Services 1. Is the community service division of the college an expanding one, and if so, which new areas are they seeking to serve? 2. How does the college's community service staff monitor community needs, and if studies are periodically undertaken, are these summaries available to the public? 3. Which community service programs that operate in the area are sponsored by local churches or their area associations or governing bodies? 4. What kind of cooperation and communication now exists between the service programs and concerns of the college and the religious communities, and what can be foreseen? 5. What are some groups in the community whose needs have been missed by both the college and the churches? C. EXAMPLES OF JOINT VENTURES: The following examples may stimulate your exploration whether you are establishing new partnerships or strengthening an existing relationship. STUDENTS - Vietnamese students at the college receive individual tutoring in English from members of local congregations. - Students in an introductory hospital administration course participate in a discussion of contemporary standards and values arranged by a local pastor with a psychologist and a hospital administrator from her congregation. - Churches near the campus sponsor "Kids' Days," to provide care for school-age children on "teacher work days" while their mothers attend classes at the college. - School administrators, local pastors, and business leaders work out arrangements for students to park in church and business parking lots to reduce severe parking pressure on campus. INSTRUCTION/FACULTY - Instructors receive an interfaith Speaker's Bureau list of topics and resource persons for free classroom enrichment. - A special course for up-dating clergy on tools and trends in career and life planning is offered by the college. - A local church co-sponsors with the academic community a symposium on cults in our culture. The focus is on informing students and the public in general about the nature of cults and how they come to dominate people's lives. - International studies faculty member works with local governing body of a denomination to develop literature on the topic, "Celebrating Diversity." GOVERNANCE/ADMINISTRATION - The city's council of churches publicizes in its newsletter the need to support a bond issue for the state universities. - The president of a local church-related college speaks to the city's clergy association about the role of the church college in society and about the college's relationship to its supporting denomination. - The executives and bishops committee discuss with state legislators the importance of continuing the local community college's "open door" admissions, which is under fire. - Diocese administrators and the college president agree to meet semi-annually with local United Way officials to keep informed about human needs in the community and to consider how their institutions might collaborate to help to meet some of these needs. COMMUNITY - The church-related college agrees to make its gym available on Sunday evenings when it is seldom used for a nearby church's youth group to use for recreation. - The YMCA and YWCA join the university's nursings students to sponsor free blood pressure testing for joggers before an annual "fun run" at the university's track. - College students work with local congregation volunteers to build a "Habitat for Humanity." - The ecumenical council contracts with the Geography Department to provide instruction in Middle East archaeology and anthropology at the annual city- wide Church Education Fair, and to provide lecturers and audio-visual resources for six Sunday afternoons at three locations across the city. There are opportunities in your own community waiting for someone to discover or create them. Look around ... Again! The worksheet on the next page will help you be systematic and thorough in your exploration. D. Mutual Exploration Worksheet CHURCH COLLEGE 1. In what ways can we be resourceful and enriching to the people and institutions of the college community religious community ________________________ Programs __________________________ ________________________ Personnel __________________________ ________________________ Property __________________________ 2. Which key people should be involved? Joint Exploration Team Individuals ________________________ _________________________ ________________________ _________________________ ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Important Groups _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 3. Which existing programs could be strengthened or enriched by collaboration? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 4. What could the church and college do together to benefit the community? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 5. How can long-term leadership and support be provided for the joint venture? _________________________ _________________________ E. Staying Power Drawing on his experience in building relationships between colleges and churches in Pennsylvania, J. Lynn Springer cites five "Factors for Stabilization" that are vital for a volunteer-based ministry. These are key steps in establishing effective and stable relationships between academic institutions and the religious community. 1. Ask and re-ask the right Big Question: "What are the ways in which the college can be resourceful and enriching to the people and institutions of the religious community, and what are the ways in which the religious community can be resourceful and enriching to the people and institutions of higher education? 2. Seek mutual ownership of the developments. Involve a few people who have standing in and access to the governance of the college and others who have standing in and access to the governance of the churches. (Be sure each side understands clearly the mutuality sought, and that neither feels it is a matter of the church just seeking to do something on campus.) 3. Season the center instead of hustling the sidelines. Make your primary focus enriching existing personnel, programs and structures rather than trying to develop new programs. (In volunteer ministries with commuting colleges, the most effective and affective focus of enrichment by religious leaders is probably not the student population but the faculty and administrators, who work daily with the students.) 4. Resolve the identity/visibility question. A volunteer ministries team that focuses on primary ongoing programs will identify more readily with the institution in its own educational goals, while they retain their own identities as people resourcing the college, preserve their independence as critics as well as colleagues, and achieve more with fewer meetings. (A volunteer ministries team concentrating on sidelines must seek maximum visibility, using vast amounts of energy to achieve extremely modest goals, encounter much frustration, and perhaps finally withdraw for lack of support.) 5. Assure the proximity of a professional to aid volunteer teams. The people in both the religious and educational communities need to know that the church is providing long-term professional aid as they may need it in their voluntary collaboration. Stability is extremely important in the relationship, and the professional named should be able to anticipate relating to the ministry for a number of years for continuity. F. Topics for Faculty Presentations The following is a list of topics which might be of interest to church groups. This list could help you explore with faculty programs which they might want to offer. ARTS Creativity and the Imagination: Some Biblical Insights Religious Implications/Themes in "Secular " Cinema Religious Implications/Themes in "Secular" Literature-Drama ETHICAL ISSUES IN... Advertising Health Care Business Politics Criminal Justice Rel. Proselytization Education Television HISTORY The Primitive Church Religious Freedom & the Founding of these United States The Church's Response to Industrialization: The Social Gospel Nineteenth Century Revivalism Economic Factors in Development of American Protestantism The Holocaust The Ecumenical Movement: Its Value and Future The Pentecostal Movement: A Third Force in American Religion Feminism and the Church HUMAN RELATIONS-PSYCHOLOGY Cults: Why the Attraction? The Nature of Community: Some Religious Insights Jesus: An Analysis of How He Related to Others Is the Term "Sin" Outdated? Insights from Menninger Doubt and Questioning: Necessary Stages in Growth and Faith Human Sexuality: Between Exploitation & Repression How My Faith Has Changed, and The Questions I Still Have Jung: His Contribution to the Religious Community Future Shock: How It Affects Me & My Congregation The Denial of Death in American Culture Caring for the Dying and the Grieving Hospice Centers Women in the Early Church: Repressed or Affirmed? Ministering to Family Problems & Predicaments Non-Violent Approaches to Problem Solving Life: A Passage of Building & Re-building NATURAL SCIENCES Faith, Science & Technology Law of the Sea: A Christian Perspective & Concern Biblical Contributions to the Rise of Modern Science Tensions Between Faith & Science: How I Have Resolved Them PHILOSOPHY-RELIGION What is Religious Existentialism? Deductive Faith or Inductive Faith Dialogue between the Jewish & Christian Communities Eastern & Western Religions: An Attempt at Integration Major Protestant Theologians: An Introduction (Barth, Tillich or Bonhoeffer) Liberation Theology: A Growing Movement Worldwide Opposing Emotional, Economic and Political Repression SOCIAL SCIENCES/ISSUES/ETHICS Civil Religion in America Church & State Separation: Some Divergent Views Conscientious Objection to All... Some ... Nuclear War Ethics: Help or Hindrance in National & International Politics Church & Politics: Is Neutrality Possible... Feasible? The Infant Formula Controversy The Church Confronts Corporation Power The Church Confronts World Hunger My Experience of Racism & Prejudice Today An Introduction to Situational Ethics Educating for the Future: Religious Support for Skill Development in Creativity, Questioning, & Imagining Democracy & Autocracy in the Church The Religious Communities' Concern for Prison Reform RELIGIOUS INSIGHTS INTO THE DEBATE ON... Abortion Environmental Rights Disarmament Gay Liberation Right to Die Nuclear Energy SPECIAL SKILLS Life Planning Value Clarification Career Planning Counseling Creative Problem Solving Conflict Management Children's Creative Responses to Conflict G. A Covenant The following outline may prove helpful to those seeking to formalize the relationship between the academic community and the religious community. It offers ideas that may be included in a covenant. 1. Nature of the Covenant a. A covenant describes a relationship between two groups who share common purposes and convictions. It is a voluntary but tangible device for making explicit the relationship between these groups. b. The parties in this particular covenant shall be the (local) College Ministry to______________________College/University and the congregation of___________________. c. The purpose of this covenant is to establish a commitment between both parties which will allow for mutual support and accountability of their shared ministry. 2. Responsibilities of the Covenant a. The common ground of both parties is their understanding of the church as the Body of Christ which calls them to be in mission to the world. b. The establishment of this voluntary covenant is designed to enhance our common ministry be defining the tasks involved in such a relationship. In this way we can be mutually supportive and accountable to one another. c. The promise to fulfill the following tasks can enhance our commitment to one another: The (local) College Ministry to ______________________ College/University promises to enhance our common ministry by: -ministering to your students, faculty, and staff on the (local) College/University Campus; -informing your congregation of resources and events on the (local) Campus which are available to them; -assisting you in meeting special needs by: ______________________ -arranging special courses through the Community Service Division of the College; -being available as resource persons to your Sunday Morning Classes, in special workshops, or in your services of worship; -serving as the "presence" of the church on campus through counseling and referral and through cooperative programming with various divisions of the college. The local congregation of ___________________________________ promises to enhance our common ministry by - sending a list of those persons in their congregation who are students, faculty, or staff at the college; list should be sent to the staff person or volunteers coordinating ministry on campus; -assigning a representative from your congregation to serve on the College Ministry Council in your area for a one-year term; -supporting actively the Ministry and its continuance by making a financial commitment of $____________ per _________ to the (local) College Ministry 3. Review and Evaluation of the Covenant a. The Ministry Council will discuss and evaluate their relationship during the previous year, assess the fulfillment of tasks, and discuss problem areas or additional needs which may have emerged. b. At the end of each year, a Ministry Council, composed of representatives from local area congregations and the Campus Minister, will review the Covenant and prepare an Annual Report. c. Amendments to the Covenant may be made by a simple majority of the Ministry Council during the yearly review: 4. Formal Approval a. This covenant will be established by a simple majority vote of the Official Board of the local congregation. b. The term of the Covenant will be for one year from the date approved. Renewal of the Covenant will be acted upon yearly by the Official Board and will include amendments that may have been added by the Ministry Council. c. Formal recognition of this Covenant will take place at an annual reception for participating congregations, the Campus Ministers, and the College Ministry.