FREQUENT FLIER

 Lauren has a deep appreciation and love for music. If she isn’t making music, then she is probably listening to it. Music has also been a connection for her at the University Lutheran Center, as she is one of the student musicians for our weekly worship service.

As Lauren looked back on her first year of college, she remembers it being a whirlwind. She knew she wanted to find a community of faith to belong to, but she wasn’t actively seeking it out. She wanted a place where she felt like she could be herself and not be judged. She remembers thinking that the ideal place would be “somewhere I wanted to take the time to go.”

Then, she was invited to the University Lutheran Center by a friend from the music department. She knew she had found her place after attending her first campfire. “From the second I got here, everyone was interested in what I was doing with my life, interested in what I was doing day to day.” She emphasized that the community is what makes this place so unique. At the University Lutheran Center, people invested in getting to know Lauren, just as they do with everyone.

The community here is consistently “loving, open, and caring,” she states, “and that has been here since the second I got here.” Lauren remembers feeling like this was a place “you can bring all of the yous into here.” At the University Lutheran Center, Lauren could lay down her other responsibilities and leadership roles and just be herself. “I’m not the most frequent flier at this place,” Lauren admits, “but I have never been somewhere where I felt more support and inclusion, but also equally being in a space where I can be myself.”

We are so thankful for your support of the University Lutheran Center. For students like Lauren, your generosity makes it possible for our community to be a place where students can truly be themselves. Thank you for being part of this shared ministry.