A wing and a prayer

Serridge hopes to bring consistency to the office of campus ministry

Published 10/22/98

Here's the church, here's the steeple. Open the door...

But where's all the people?

For the past year, it was appropriate that Point Park College sing this revised version to an old tune. After the Rev. Joe Linck took flight from Point Park's campus ministry's office, the college has been without a person of the cloth.

Linck, who came to Point Park in 1996, attempted to establish a regular Sunday Mass in the JVH auditorium, but it was plagued with poor attendance. Linck told The Globe last November that one reason he was having trouble drawing a crowd was because people prefer to celebrate Mass in a church rather than an auditorium. Another reason was that many students have a local church that they regularly attend where they live and were not interested in a college Mass, Linck said.

This vacancy needs to be filled, if not with an ordained minister then with someone who will consistently be around to give students spiritual guidance. The Globe hopes that Point Park has found that with Amy Serridge.

Serridge is the director of campus ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, and she's attempting to take up part-time residence at Point Park.

Serridge already tries to reach out to students by holding a Monday night Bible study and dinner at the First Presbyterian Church, located along Sixth Avenue. She is also planning to continue having a coffeehouse social in the church's basement on Friday nights. And in November, Serridge said students can attend a "RSVP" conference, which will deal with issues facing students today, including marriage and homosexuality.

Until furniture is moved into Serridge's office, located on 709 Lawrence hall, she can be found in the Point Cafe Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. After her office is open, Serridge's tentative schedule will be noon to 2 p.m. on Mondays and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursdays.

Religious leaders are faced with many obstacles on how to keep people coming regularly to church services. Over the years, an overall decline in religious practices has been documented. People lose interest in religion and find others activities to take its place.

Although religion may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's important to have a place or person to go when a student needs some sort of guidance.

By having a fixture like Serridge at Point Park, a student might feel more comfortable in their environment, and the college might be able to retain them - an issue that not only crosses spiritual lines but financial ones as well.

Even though Point Park may not be as religious as other schools, such as Duquesne University, it's still important to have some organized form of worship.

Cartoon by Jamie Jones.

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