St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center reaches out with parent and alumni societies
SALT LAKE CITY — The St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center has created two new organizations to help students and their parents at the University of Utah, Westminster College and Salt Lake Community College connect with the faith life available to Catholic students on campus.
A parents’ society was organized in recent months. It grew out of outreach efforts of Newman Center members and supporters who sponsored a homemade Thanksgiving dinner in 2019 for students who were unable to travel home for the holidays. The event was open to all students and their families. The Newman Center also provided breakfast and a sack lunch for students the following day.
The Thanksgiving dinner put on this year was greatly appreciated, said those who attended.
“I had a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of wanting to see people and interact over the holiday,” said Matthew Solomon, a U of U freshman who attended the dinner. “I was a little bit worried about just spending my day in my dorm, not really being able to go out. So, it really means a lot to me to be able to come out and spend my time with others.”
“For some of us being away from our family for the first time for the holidays, it’s nice for us to have somewhere to go, rather than not doing anything or being by yourself,” agreed Sara Gillett, a sophomore.
“We’ll do this every year as long as students need a meal,” one of the organizers, Meredith Mannebach said.
The 2019 Thanksgiving dinner’s success led Newman Center leaders to evaluate how they could further serve Catholic students on the three college campuses; assisting their parents, many of whom live out of state, is also a concern, said Evan Beranek, St. Catherine’s assistant development director.
Along with a forum for parents to have their questions about the Newman Center answered and for them to provide suggestions and input, the parents society could be a catalyst for further engagement with the parish, Beranek said.
Having a dialogue with Catholic parents is critical for the Newman Center, because they often are involved with the decision about where their children attend college, said Dominican Father Cody Jorgenson, director of campus ministry. “They want to know if this is a place of prayer that will support their child in faith in this critical moment of stepping into the next phase of their adult life.”
Members of the parents organization receive regular emails and other communications from the Newman Center about the activities provided to Catholic students. Their intentions will also be remembered at a monthly Mass.
Along with forming the parents’ society, the Newman Center has organized an alumni society to help those who have graduated remain connected to the Catholic community and the Newman Center in Utah.
“We realized we could do it fairly easily, and we knew a lot of people who are already supporting us, who are a part of the community whether they come to St. Catherine’s or not,” Fr. Cody said.
The alumni also receive regular emailed newsletters from the Newman Center and their intentions will be remembered at monthly Masses.
Establishing these connections will make it easier for them to stay involved, Beranek said.
“They can have a way of getting in touch with each other after college, maintaining that, but also know what’s going on at the Newman Center, new developments, things that are happening; and stay partnered with us,” he said.
Beranek and Fr. Cody envision future activities for both organizations, including some where parents and alumni mentor students. Fr. Cody sees the societies as a way to get the message out that students who become involved in Newman Centers stay actively engaged in the Church for the rest of their lives.
“It’s an intense moment of conversion,” he said. “Newman Centers show young people what could be possible in the life of faith and then they go on to a regular Catholic parish and they will be there, involved. They take the experiences of their deepening of faith in college at Newman Centers and they go out and start being a part of the Catholic culture.”
Intermountain Catholic editor Marie Mischel contributed to this story.
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