FOUND GRACE
Grace is a unique piece of God’s creative energy: a lover of the outdoors, a part-owner of a ceramic shop, a juggler, and she even went to high school in the zoo! If that last one has you confused, she graduated from the School of Environmental Studies in Minnesota, which is housed at the Minnesota Zoo.
During her freshman year, Grace felt lonely, but not alone. She actually quite enjoys her alone time, but also likes being around people in community. Her floormate and friend had been active at the University Lutheran Center and often invited her to come along. Grace was glad for the invite, but was pretty strong in her opinion that she was never going back to another church after the religious trauma she experienced in her teens. The invitations were relentless, and eventually, Grace took her friend up on the invitation, mostly because there was a campfire. “It was less about church,” Grace remembers, “and more about it being a campfire. I love campfires!” Maybe Grace didn’t actually find this place, but this place found Grace.
At the University Lutheran Center, Grace found healing. “It’s shown me what Christianity really should be,” she states, “and reformed my anger about organized religion from my teens.” She felt grounded here within a community where people knew her name and accepted her. She met people with different perspectives who were not afraid to be their authentic selves, too. She heard us claim that all are welcome here and then listened attentively for proof of that claim. “Pastor Cassandra is a powerful representation of a woman in church leadership,” Grace proclaims, “and she practices what she preaches.”
Grace’s experience at the University Lutheran Center has given her more confidence. “I can be myself,” Grace proudly affirms, “and be a productive leader. I have grown exponentially because of this place.” Her involvement in this community has renewed her faith by showing her “church without judgment,” she stated, “I don’t think without this place I would have ever come back to church.”
We are so thankful for your support of the University Lutheran Center. For students like Grace, your generosity makes it possible for college students to heal and reform their faith. Thank you for being part of this shared ministry.