ARRAN KEARNEY Staff Writer
July 1, 2020 was not the ideal date for Pastor Michael Unruh to begin work at his first College ministry.
“I just feel like I’ve been trying to keep my head above the water. The Coronavirus has had a dramatic social and spiritual impact on the College,” Unruh said.
This may well be an understatement. The spiritual life at Bethel College is reliant on the students, staff and faculty taking time out of their busy schedules to come together in peace and contemplation. The coronavirus put a decisive end to all that. Right from the start of term we have seen face–to–face contact curbed, restrictions on movement imposed and access to facilities on campus closely controlled. While we can readily agree that all this was necessary in the interests of public safety, Unruh has observed the spiritual and mental impact that the shutdown has had on the campus with great concern and planning
“Making connections in the campus community is a lot more difficult. This is also preventing many students from reaching out,” Unruh said.
The new pastor is determined to direct his ministry towards alleviating the problems that students are facing in these unprecedented times.
“I’m tackling the challenges and opportunities that this unique year provides, planning to get the basics first, starting with weekly chapel services on the Green,” Unruh said.
Each week Unruh has put together a chapel service and creates a safe environment for students. These opportunities for collective activities on campus are still very scarce, and the services on the green are helping to bring the students and faculty together in a refreshingly original and spiritually engaging way.
This is only a small sign of the future that Unruh envisions. He has had plenty of experience in building a dynamic and engaging spiritual life from the time he spent as the executive director at Camp Mennoscah, a Christian summer youth camp. With that experience he wants to build on chapel experience at Bethel.
“We want to create a space where people from many backgrounds will be able to attend and feel engaged,” Unruh said.
Unruh wants to engage the student body above all else, and he wants to promote greater awareness and support for the work of the on campus ministry. He describes the student chaplains, who have worked closely with him over the past few months, as simply fantastic and sees the expansion of this side of the ministry as key to achieving his goals. New positions in the student chaplaincy have already been made available this term.
Overall Unruh is determined to make spiritual development a major feature in the learning of every young person at Bethel–something which he feels will be just as important as academics and athletics to the students in the long run.
