The University Episcopal Center (UEC) at the University of Minnesota has a new chaplain: the Rev. Dr. Jerry C. Doherty. Jerry retired recently after sixteen years as Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Stillwater. He is receiving his pension but is far from retired. “I wanted to be a mission priest again,” he says. Ascension Church, as part of support for his new ministry, is providing a grant to pay a small salary. It is a way of sending Fr. Doherty out in mission cooperating in ministry, as stated in the Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy.

Fr. Doherty has always been interested in young adult ministries. He served as the Province VI Youth Ministries Coordinator in the 1970s and 1980s. Besides being chaplain at the University, Doherty hopes to write another book, as well as support and teach about the value of monasticism in the parish setting. His first book, The Celtic Model of Ministry, was about the success of this model in the early Celtic churches and how it can be a way of doing mission today.

In a way, the Celtic model is what the campus ministry has done since May of 2007. A few dedicated lay people on the board and in the ministry kept it open because they were passionate about young people, and they identified the ministry at the University as their mission. “This is really the way of doing mission in the Celtic churches,” Fr. Doherty said. “It is a way of doing ministry especially with lack of resources, which is always an issue in the church.” He is continuing his promotion of this model for a future church.

Main concerns at the UEC are the finding of one location for the offices and services and programs of the UEC, and the development of a program for the fall. The UEC currently has services Sunday evenings at the YMCA and shares offices with the Lutherans on campus. It is an exciting ministry that still needs support.

Heartfelt thanks are extended to the 65 individuals who responded with donations during the UEC’s fall appeal, and to the many parishes that included the UEC in their prayers, on their bulletin boards, and in their budgets. The fundraising goal for the year was met and exceeded by $1,156. Thanks are also extended to the Bishop’s Circle, whose generosity ensures the UEC’s continued presence on campus.

Click here to learn more about the University Episcopal Center.