Walking with Students

By Jon Fredricks, Executive Director, Campus Ministry Coordinator

Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry

Spamming students…and fulfilling our mission

It is always amazing how God works in our lives to bring us together.  Sometimes the connections can be profound—akin to a blinking sign seeking our attention—but at other times, the spark of the Holy Spirit drawing us together in Christ can be delivered in a much more mundane way…like in an ordinary can of Spam.

When you think of ‘spam’, you probably think of the obtrusive email solicitations you receive, sent out to the thousands of people who may (or more likely may not) wish to receive them.  Others might recall Monty Python’s Spamalot, a musical comedy adapted from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

However, spam is also the name of a product made right here, close to home in Fremont, Nebraska. Spam, or ‘spiced ham’ is a canned meat product.  The first can of Spam luncheon meat was produced in 1937 and it quickly became the USA’s biggest seller. When America entered World War II, so did Spam. Allied troops in Europe were given 15 million cans of Spam each week to keep them nourished.

One day this summer, Rev. Jeanne Madsen, who serves Our Savior Lutheran Church in Wayne, Nebraska, noticed a couple of Wayne State College students at a local supermarket.  They were in the grocery isle, holding a can of Spam, and counting their change to see if they had enough money to buy it.  In visiting with the students, Rev. Jeanne found out that they often purchase Spam because it is a low-cost, easy to prepare protein, that can be included with just about any other food item to make a meal—a plus for any student who is short on cash and limited in their culinary expertise.

Needless to say, Rev. Jeanne purchased the Spam for the students, and everyone went on their way.  This chance meeting, however, sparked an idea within our Wayne campus ministry that will continue to invite people to Christ through addressing food insecurity.

The LuMin Center, our Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry in Wayne, hosts “Monday Night Meals”.  Local congregations often provide home-cooked meals to share. Other weeks, students will join together and prepare a meal for themselves. This gathering offers students not only an opportunity to feed their body, but to also feed their faith in and connection to Christ Jesus.  This year, thanks to a One-Another Grant received through the Nebraska Synod and a gift from Wholestone Farms in Fremont, students will have more chances to gather around the table, welcoming all to share a meal.  Food and faith-filled fellowship will provide opportunities to talk about the highs and lows in their lives; seek the support of a caring community and share in celebrating the good news of the day. After their time together, students will also take with them a care package of food items for later in the week (yep, with Spam included!) that they can either use themselves or share with someone they know that is in need.

Over the past decade, food insecurity among college-age young adults has become far more prevalent.  Each of our campus ministry locations across the Nebraska Synod include ways to provide for this need.  Food and hygiene pantries, weekly meals, and partnerships with congregations help to provide students with these basic needs. 

Caring for others, inviting the stranger, working together with our siblings in Christ for the love of God…this is a day in the life of campus ministry! We are indeed Church for the sake of the world. And that’s just a small taste of what campus ministry is.  (All packed up in a can of Spam!)

Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry is an agency of the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that facilitates and manages campus ministry across Nebraska.  Its mission is to invite people in academic settings more deeply into Jesus Christ and the community that bears His name, so they can discover and fulfill their vocation as disciples.  Its vision is to be the presence of Christ and the invitation of Christ to the entire academic setting. For more information, or to make a gift in support of this ministry, go to www.nelcm.com.  Thank you for your heart for all we serve together!