community
Through a combination of Advanced Placement (AP) credits and lots of hard work, Emily
managed to complete her degree at Penn State a year early. In just three years on campus,
Emily faced some difficult times including adjusting to college, coping with a cousin’s death, and
dealing with an ongoing illness.
Finding support and community at college was not easy at first. “As you randomly meet people
around campus freshman year you don’t know if they share your values.” Eventually, another
student talked to Emily and a friend about Lutheran Campus Ministry. There she found others
who shared her faith and values. “Brooke told me and Aunica about worship on Thursday and
we just loved it from the start. It was just awesome that first night.”
Coming to college, Emily hoped to grow in faith. Finding Lutheran Campus Ministry was key “I
feel like this group allowed me to grow more in my faith and gave me more purpose throughout
the week to think about God’s word. I loved the sermons so much. Now I am much closer with
God and Lutheran Campus Ministry was a catalyst.”
Emily truly realized she’d found her home that first year when a group from Lutheran Campus
Ministry volunteered at the Penn State Arboretum Pumpkin Festival. “I thought, ‘I love this. It’s
definitely going to be part of my college journey.’ It was so simple and fun helping with the
pumpkins, then just having dinner together and talking with everyone who was there.”
The community was there for her in hard times, too. “When my cousin passed away so early in
that year, it was such a hard time. The first time I came back to worship I felt very supported. I’ll
always remember that.” When Emily was in the hospital the next year, Lutheran Campus
Ministry students made get-well cards for her. “The other day I found those cards and they
reminded me of how much support I had from everyone and how grateful I was to have that in
my life.”
Your generosity to Lutheran Campus Ministry at Penn State makes it possible for students to
grow in faith and find community that helps them the challenges life throws at them during
college.
starting out
Brady is an avid golfer and a very reliable person. He likes to be someone that his friends and family can depend on. When he began college this fall, he knew he would have less time to golf as he focused on his biology/pre-med work. Though Brady doesn’t think his courses are actually designed to “weed out” students, by the end of the first year, some of his classmates will choose different majors. Student groups for pre-med may look good on a resume and provide external gratification, but don’t offer the kind of connection and internal gratification Brady is looking for.
Right away, the first week of classes, Brady came to worship and dinner with Lutheran Campus Ministry. He was looking for an inclusive community where everyone is welcome. It was even better than he expected. “I’ve only been coming for a little bit, but it’s a close-knit group of people you can rely on. It feels authentic. Everyone is open and comfortable sharing. It feels like a family setting, without hierarchy, and you don’t find that much around campus.”
Brady values the connection and support he’s found in the LCM community. On a big campus like Penn State, it is easy to get lost. At weekly worship, Brady and the other students share their thoughts and perspectives, helping make faith relevant in their daily lives. “It has really centered me and takes the edge off of lots of classes.”
Your generosity to Lutheran Campus Ministry at Penn State makes it possible for us to gather and support students through the challenges at the start of their college years, and all the way through.
more than music
Kelly initially came to Lutheran Campus Ministry at Penn State as a pianist for Thursday
Evening Worship. “At first I thought, ‘Cool! I get to make money doing this thing I love to do.’”
Quickly, though, this weekly piano gig grew into something much more for Kelly.
The free-flowing conversation about scripture, life, and faith at the center of worship drew Kelly
in. “It’s impossible to not have your ears perk up. I think about how much I have, at first
accidentally, grown spiritually just by being exposed to the love and the light that is so abundant
at Lutheran Campus Ministry.”
“I really love sitting together as a community, learning and sharing and being vulnerable with
one another. This is so important for me as I develop into a functional adult and realize that
everyone around me struggles.”
Kelly found in Lutheran Campus Ministry a safe place of sharing and support. A place where
God’s love and acceptance were abundant. “I have loved the fact that this community is so
welcoming of any questions – and I’ve brought up many!”
“I feel so much more connected and willing to have discussions about faith, and well-versed in
the teachings of Jesus. It’s very cool to have that knowledge now. Having general knowledge
of the Bible is a skill that I never thought I would have and really appreciate.”
For three years, Kelly played piano and was an important part of the community’s life together
until she graduated. “From the beginning, it was clearly understood when I show up to that
space that I’m appreciated as a musician, but first and foremost, I’m appreciated as a person.”
Thank you for investing in the lives of young people like Kelly and providing safe communities of
faith where they can be open and grow as people of faith. Your support means that every week
students experience the love of God in community while exploring questions and discovering for
themselves God’s presence in their lives.
stirring
For Libby, Penn State was a natural choice. Her parents and grandfather were all proud Nittany Lions, and
Saturdays meant tailgates and cheerleader outfits. But once on campus, finding her place took more
discernment. She found it at Grace Lutheran Church’s 10:30 a.m. worship and Lutheran Campus Ministry’s
Thursday evening Holden Evening Prayer. Campus ministry became her anchor—offering deep, safe
conversations and the space to explore faith and calling while navigating the challenges of college life.
In 2018, she joined a campus ministry trip to Germany for an alternative spring break. Libby jumped at the
opportunity to return to the roots of the Lutheran church, walk in the steps of Martin Luther, and learn
more about the history of the Reformation. Standing in a candlelit German church, leading Holden Evening Prayer with students from around the country, Libby felt a stirring that would shape her future.
Back home, she found herself imagining sermons during worship and talking with mentors and friends about a possible call to ministry. That trip had lit something—confidence, clarity, and courage to follow where God was leading.
Libby entered United Lutheran Seminary in 2020 and, after graduating in 2024, accepted a call as pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, PA. Reflecting on her path from the College of Agriculture to the pulpit, she said, “If you have enough faith, things end up in the way they’re meant to, even if they aren’t the way you expected to.”
In 2027, Libby plans to lead her own trip to Germany—returning again to the roots of her faith and her calling.