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Campus minister focusing on students’ mental health

Topeka Capital Journal - 8/22/2020

Students are in a storm, according to Patti Lyon, a campus minister at Washburn University. She and others who minister to young people are going to face many obstacles as they try to help them weather it.

“We are in the storm. Our campus is in the storm, our country is in the storm,” said Lyon, director of the Washburn Catholic Campus Center. “This is going to be a very challenging year for any campus ministry, for any student organization, because we are so limited.”

Every fall, student ministries put an emphasis on meeting new students and reestablishing contact with participants after the summer vacation. They are highly visible in schools and on campuses as they try to promote their programs. The pandemic has changed how they will operate, as well as their approach to outreach.

Lyon is one of countless student ministers across the country trying to figure out just how to provide spiritual support to young people at a time when they probably need it most.

More than 1,400 students in the Topeka area have a connection to the Young Life ministry. Young Life staff and volunteers frequent campuses to foster relationships, hold meetings and attend school events. They have a presence in 12 middle schools and high schools in the area, touching every district

While some of the branches use Young Life properties and other facilities, the majority traditionally meet within school buildings. Most of such gatherings won’t be possible for the time being, forcing area director Kyle Brown and the Young Life staff to get creative.

“Our highest value is going into the schools, coming alongside the administrators and teachers, instilling the same values that they are instilling,” Brown said. “Obviously, this year is going to look very different, but honestly I’m very excited about it.”

Brown said the schedule for starting up each branch will mirror the school’s reopening plan.

“We typically operate in and around school,” Brown said. “With the coronavirus, it’s not safe. They don’t need more bodies inside the school.

“We want to be helpful and come alongside what the schools are doing. So all of our staff are trying to customize their plan to what’s helpful to the specific school.”

Brown said part of the responsibility of the Young Life organization is to ensure the health and safety of its more than 100 volunteers.

Lyon said the needs of students this year are different than in the past. She is concerned for their mental and emotional health, which is closely linked to their spiritual wellbeing.

“We’ll have as many activities as possible, so that students know, ‘Hey, I’m not going through this alone. I have somebody I can talk to,’ ” Lyon said. “We want to bring to campus a sense of compassion. My prayer is that through the body of Christ, any student who is depressed, anxious, feeling isolated, rejected, that they would be comforted.”

Brown expressed a similar concern for middle school and high school students, many of whom have been cut off from their social outlets.

“The greatest need right now is the mental health of our students,” Brown said. “We are trying to help with the socialization of students being around each other — anything we can do safely. How do we move kids from isolation to socialization, both with their peers and with a caring adult?

“We’ll try to give them a hope for better things to come, and maybe to take their attention off the coronavirus — not to ignore the hard things, but to divert their attention to things they are grateful for.”

Young Life chapters in Topeka will meet in some unconventional formats, Brown said, including breaking is large “club” gatherings, which can attract more 100 students, into smaller groupings, as well as meeting outdoors.

“No matter what the conditions are, we’re excited to see students,” Brown said. “The heartbeat of what we do is one-on-one relationships and small groups, and we’ll generally be able to do those safely as soon as the school opens.”

Lyon said reaching new Washburn students is of the utmost importance, but in-person outreach on campus is extremely limited. She said the fellowship is reaching out electronically to new students whose names are provided by Catholic schools and organizations. It is also hanging up banners, putting flyers in residence halls and chalking sidewalks to inform students about its programs. She added that older students need to spread the word.

“I tell my student leaders to go back to their freshman year and look back on what it was like,” Lyon said. “Realize that these freshmen are not going to have that same experience. They are away from home, they’re not able to be involved face to face in all the things that others were.”

With a chapel that can only accommodate about 14 people under social-distancing guidelines, the Washburn Catholic Campus Center will only be used for one-on-one and small-group gatherings for the time being, Lyon said.

In order to accommodate as many students as possible, all campus Mass celebrations will be held at Mater Dei Catholic Church, 934 S.W. Clay St., until further notice. Lyon added that, in order to be accessible close to campus and to gather larger groups, the Washburn Catholic Campus Center will hold some events outdoors.

Lyon said any student in need of counsel or who wants to learn more about the Washburn Catholic Campus Center may email wucatholic@gmail.com.

To learn more about Young Life ministries in the Topeka area, contact yltopeka@gmail.com.

Todd Fertig, Special to The Capital-Journal