By NICO GENDROP/Staff Contributor
A shrinking student-run ministry based near the UT Tyler campus has received less recognition and is seeking more involvement within its community.
The students of St. John Paul II Catholic Campus Ministry have sought to revive the energy and heart of the ministry since the first year it started.
However, Program Developer Shannon DeCraene has stated that, for some students, it has been hard to find JP2 simply due to its low visibility. Today, the church is located in what was previously a house, with only a small sign in front to represent the ministry and its location.
“I know that schools like UT Tyler just call their ministries University Catholic Center so that you can get the ‘Catholic’ very quickly,” said DeCraene. “ I hope that in the future we can change the name to where it’s like ‘Baptist Student Ministry.’ I mean, the first thing in it is ‘Baptist,’ so it’s straightforward.”
JP2 student leaders Austin Zammit and Stephen Gibel have said that another problem with attendance at the JP2 is student schedules being full with jobs and school work. To address this issue, next year the center hopes to have an organization of missionaries, known as FOCUS, on campus to evangelize and get more people at the ministry.
“It would take some pressure off us full-time students who can’t strictly be focused on growing the center, so with FOCUS, that would be great,” Zammit said.
“The community here at JP2 is tight,” Gibel said. “We are just more laid back and chill, but we also know when to turn it on and have serious conversations.”
Even though there have been struggles in the ministry’s visibility, it doesn’t stop students from making a fun social environment for everyone. In the wake of the Catholic calendar, during the season of Lent, the ministry had weekly activities such as Bible studies and Holy Bean, where students interacted with one another and talked about what’s afoot on campus.
Other events are held at the ministry monthly, like fishing trips at Tyler State Park and game nights every other Friday. To celebrate the start of the Lent and Valentine’s Day season, JP2 student leaders at Harvey Deck gave away saint cards and chocolates to students on campus and invited them to come to the Ash Wednesday mass at the ministry.
“I would like to invite others in a way that relaxes them from the fears they might have coming to learn about the Catholic faith,” Zammit said. “You don’t have to come to JP2 to know and understand what we believe in, but I would like to spread evangelization of what we believe in the true beauty of the Catholic faith.”
JP2 ministry continues to do weekly activities and frequent events for students on and off campus throughout the semester. The church is located at 2603 Old Omen Road. For more information on hours and church service, go to https://tylercatholic.org/.
