Christian communities active on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus were recognized in a short ceremony at Upper House on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. It came at the end of a presentation by UW Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor, on the importance of religion at public universities.
The audience of 50 or so was made up of men and women from 13 different ministries involved in campus ministry on the Madison campus. Those present who had spent 20 years or more in that mission were invited forward to receive gifts in recognition of their service (pictured above).
Many more than just 20 years of ministry have been recorded by these honorees. Jim Tanner and his wife Jacque, for instance, have been ministering with UW-Madison students since 1978.
“An excuse to celebrate you” is a good reason to come together, Reesor said as she began her talk. Her position oversees the various aspects of the student experience on the UW campus.
She said that the campus ministries provide belonging, mentorship, exploring of calling and vocation, and service opportunities, among other things. “You love God and you want student to know God’s love for them,” she said. “Thank you.”
Reesor noted that student involvement in campus activities is almost back to normal after the pandemic but their preparation for college academics is still lagging.
“Every student needs to feel that they belong here and we need different kinds of support systems,” she said. “Religion and faith can be a bridge to finding that place.”
An institution like the University of Wisconsin can be intimidating and hard to navigate for students. “This is a huge place,” she concluded. “We work really had to create small communities. You do that.”
Students don’t always feel that their faith is welcome on secular campuses like Wisconsin. It’s still challenging to be a Christian on campus but changes are happening.
Reesor noted that the University of Wisconsin is the most religiously averse campus she has worked on but she believes the recently created Center for Interfaith Dialogue is helping to get students of all kinds acquainted with the religious currents of our society and willing to dialogue with people who are different from them. “Agreeing to disagree is not working well for us as a country,” she said.
Asked what the campus ministries could do to help her, Reesor said, “Please pray. I mean that sincerely.” The value of a college education is being debated and challenged in society today. She believes the college experience, not just the degree, is still a great value.
The 10-year celebrations continued at Upper House with ceremonies on Sunday at the Blackhawk Church Downtown, which is the church-in-residence at Upper House. Blackhawk Church Downtown has two Sunday morning services at 9:00am and 10:45am in theUpper House space. Matt Metzger pastored the Downtown church for many years and is now the Senior Pastor for Blackhawk Church, on Brader Way in Middleton.
Thursday evening at 5:00pm (January 30) will be one more 10-year celebration, followed by a 7:00pm lecture by Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine. The title of her presentation is “Reimagining Our Moment for Whatever Comes Next.”