Newman Center offers students a Catholic community

Intermountain Catholic

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The first candlelight Mass of the 2012-13 school year at St. Catherine of Siena/Newman Center was Aug. 29. See photo album on Facebook.IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — College is about preparing for the future, and the Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center at the University of Utah offers students a Catholic community in which to make those preparations.

The Newman Center’s mandate is to serve the faculty, staff and students of the University of Utah, Westminster College and Salt Lake Community College. Its ministry is based on three pillars of Dominican life: prayer, community and study, said Jon Dalton, the campus minster. Two evening Masses each week – one on Sunday and the other on Wednesday – are offered specifically for students. Other prayer opportunities are available, such as the Liturgy of the Hours and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Many of the Newman Center’s activities, however, focus on community. These activities run the gamut from weekly meals to occasional outings like the annual Labor Day hike.

This is the aspect that attracts most students to the Newman Center, Dalton said. "It provides them with a sense of home and sense of deeper understanding that is not present in the resident halls. I think the most important thing that college students look for out of the faith community is acceptance."

"This is a home away from home," agreed Sahn Park, who is originally from Korea but has spent the past four years at the University of Utah, three of them active at the Newman Center. This year she is organizing the students who pray the rosary several times each week at the university’s student center. "Most of the students see the community here – the student, young Catholic community – and they are attracted by the community, not necessarily the liturgy," she said. "You can find liturgy everywhere. I think this is best for university students as a community. Some students don’t even come to liturgy here but they’re still involved in a lot of activities."

Brian Saunders, who moved to Utah from Alabama this year, specifically searched for the Newman Center when he arrived because he wanted a Catholic community. "Faith plays a role in everything," he said. "It’s above everything else and it applies to everything."

The Newman Center activities, such as the hike on Labor Day, appealed to Saunders, he said, because "it’s fun getting to know people."

To attract students, the Newman Center has to provide a range of offerings, said Father Carl Schlichte, pastor. "Some will only want to come for social events, some will only come for Mass, some will only come for catechetical things or volunteer work or the alternative spring break. We just try to make sure they have as good an experience as possible whenever they decide to show up and that they can broaden their horizons."

Students who enjoy one activity often become involved with others as time goes by, Fr. Schlichte said. Last year, "a few we had never seen before" joined a group from the Newman Center on a humanitarian mission to Guatemala over spring break, "and now they come to Sunday Mass," he said. "That’s what we try to do."

Trying to meet the needs of faculty and staff, as well as students, is a challenge, Fr. Schlichte said. "The faculty and staff tend to get short shrift because, like at the university, the focus is on students."

To foster the intergenerational community, many activities are open to the entire congregation, not just students, he added, and one indication of success is that some students remain with the parish after graduation and raise their own families there.