*4 Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five - W- , I - CAMPUS MINISTRY: . Religion comes to student soul By ANN MUNSTER Although religious and secular institutions have concluded a ! "separate peace" in this country, the struggle to unite the two goes on. The University has proved, through the work of its own Of- fice or Religious Affairs (ORA)- as well as through unquestionably secular action fostered by discus- 4s sions at quasi-religious indepen- dent bodies--that attempts to bridge gaps between the two ideologies are difinitely worth-. while. Indeed, there is a snowballing effort on the part of churches and other religious-sponsored or- ganizations to become relevant to the campus and to take a major part in social action. And there is an increasing ef- fort both among campus religious associations and even by the Uni- versity itself to fulfill the despe- rately felt need of students whose search for a meaning in life must continue, despite the separation of church and state which the University so zealously upholds. Student and faculty initiative in stimulating religious inquiry has never been lacking. But until 1956, when the Office of Religigiis Affairs was established, the Uni- versity as an institution played a relatively minor role in the religi- ous life of the campus. And it had no formal agency for dealing with the role of religion in a sec- ular university. As an agency of a state-sup- ported university, the ORA adept- ly steers a straight course, avoid- ing both allegiance to particular religious faiths and the intellec- tual sterility and stagnation that frequently accompanies such a cautions-intellectual role. The ORA offers an extensive program of lectures, book discus- sions, films, and conferences, aimed at raising. and discussing religious and "value" issues rele- vant to contemporary social and political affairs. One of the most vital functions of the ORO is undoubtedly coun- §eling. Although its counseling " services are not intended to pro- vide comprehensive vocational guidance of intensive psychothe- rapy, they serve a multitude of students besieged by every con- ceivable kind of problem. And many of these students are ag- nostics and atheists who have " literally no one else to turn to. The ORA is also very involved in draft counseling. The ORA is by no means the only agency available specifically intended to serve the religious needs of the campus, or to aid students in their general search for meaning and their manifold personal problems. There are other organizations galore, and each with a different approach to dealing with the in- credible challenge posed by the University community. Probably the oldest and perhaps the most active of these is the Guild House, located at 802 Mon- roe Street. Guild House is an issue-oriented campus ministry, whose purpose is not to minister to particular denominations or to Christian stu- dents who might happen to come along, but to the campus, in what- ever way it can. Though Guild House has always been one of the places where the "action" was, it has broadened the scope of its activities enormously, both scheduled and unscheduled. An estimated 800 to 1000 people enter its doorway every month, for one reason or another. The meaningfulness of discus- sions held there can only be measured in secular terms by their applicability to daily life. Many resistance groups have a core of Guild House regulars, the searching, emotional techniques of religious discussion. It it safe to say that for some at least, reli- gion on the campus retains ap- plicability to the secular no mat- ter who is dead. All of the regularly scheduled activities of Guild House are un- der the direction of the Guild House Council, an open student steering committee. They select topics of current interest for three weekly series of noon luncheon discussions, plan two weekend re- treats per year, host Friday din- ners, which frequently feature in- ternational cuisine and related programs, and a resident guest program, which brings a well known person to the guild to lead activities and just to be available. The Guild House staff which includes campus minister J. Ed- gar Edwards, associate campus minister Ronald'Tipton, and cam- pus associate Hildegard Cum- mings, is involved in a whole host of action-oriented activities. And their contacts have stimulated many scheduled and unscheduled activities for the Guild. One extremely important func- tion of the Guild House, as of all campus religious organizations is counseling. The counseling serv- ices available at Guild House run the gamut. But both campus min- isters specialize in draft counsel- ing and are very involved with the Draft Counseling Center. The Canterbury House, unpre- tentiously nestled in an old ware- house on Maynard Street, provides yet another approach to the com- plex spiritual needs of the Uni- versity community. What it does have in common with the Guild, and other such places, is that it is a center for action. It too, is open to every- thing from draft resistance meet- ings to confirmation classes. And it offers general personal and reli- gious counseling. The mission of the Canterbury House according to Rev. Martin Bell, formerly a minister here, is "to witness to the simple identity of sacred and secular." It tries to convey that "There is nothing more important than being hu- man. It does this in a variety of ways. Weekend, entertainment is in- finitely varied, and there is an in- creasing emphasis on providing an opportunity for young per- formers to display their talent. But the unique role of the Can- terbury House is that it is an experiment in molding the con- temporary creative arts into the religious service, in adapting the format of worship to modern com- munication media, to keep it rele- vant to the never-changing con- tent. A somewhat newer place, which is decidedly still in its formative stages is the Ark, at 1421 Hill Street. The Ark also involves the efforts of several denominations in its sponsorship, though the building is owned by the Methodist Church. The Ark was originally estab- lished as a sandwich and coffee place which hoped to promote fel- lowship through its atmosphere. Since then it has developed more and more active and varied meth- ods for doing this. It features weekend entertain- ment by local folk musicians, Wednesday night hoots, inter- national dinners, folk worship services and Thursday night de- bates on issues of current inte- rest. The debates strive to present opposing positions and viewpoints. The divergence of opinions pre- sented is often exceedingly wide. Last year, one of the debates was on "pot," and it featured John Roseveare, author of "Pot-A Handbook of Marijuana," and the renowned Lt. Eugene Stauden- maier of the Ann Arbor police de- partment, who had once arrested Roseveare for possession of mari- juana. Some members of the churches which support the Ark are sus- picious of its open and casual at- mosphere. And the other coffee- housees are not wholly acccepted by their supporting churches. Although the perceptions of some of these critics are frequent- ly based upon very limited con- tact and are generally distorted, one may legitimately ponder the future of the religiously affiliated cofeehouse. Their fundamental human mission must not be lost sight of in the excitement of ex- perimentation. GREAT SHAPE ( 11 I N0,0 .tV, / what subtle. In a-coat, it begins with accent in the shoulders and con- tinues to a suppression of the waist either through a darted front or tracings at the sides. The accent of the shoulder is complemented by a flair to the skirt of the coat where the deep cut \ side or center vents provide for a freedom of movement which makes a coat not only look great, but feel great. We call it great shape, available in a total cloth- ing concept at Wagner's. State Street at Liberty. If one word could summarize the vogue in menswear today, it would be "shape." The word is self-explanatory, but what exactly constitutes this look is some- ,01 I',-. V --h Religious thought often shows secular results U fl~ 4 Hillel Welcome-to-U of M Mich-Week Open House -- Mon.-Fri. (Aug. 26-30)--10 a.m.-5 p.m. Come for coffee and a chat with our New Director Meet student officers, faculty advisors. Sign up for courses, committees, kosher meals. A SEE HILLEL FOR YOURSELF! Welcome Back Mixer -_ Tues. evening --Aug. 27 Dancing Under the Stars to Scintillating Sounds of a Hip Band. New Beautiful Faces-Cool Drinks & Delicacies First Shabbat on Campus- Fri. Eve., Aug.30 Shabbat dinner at kosher koop - 6:30 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat services - led by students - 7:30 p.m. Oneg Shabbat - surprises -'nashes'L9:30 p.m. s rwati4C Is Interviewing on, Campus AUGUST 26-30 ALL THIS AT HILLEL FOUNDATION -1429 HILL ST.®- ANN ARBOR COMING ATTRACTIONS WE NEED SALESMEN The Michigan Daily is one of the few financially independent college newspapers in the nation. We have achieved this status by selling thousands of dollars worth of advertising annually, but we are not satisfied. The growth of the city of Ann Arbor offers us an unlimited potential for our own growth. We are ready to meet this challenge. C4r.a :.-- L4%of - in C."..i...a L .r.. 7L. I" sti .. . .i" L .... - 1 :.-:.41^ .*......Al m /'"1 High Holy Film Se Day Services tries Lectures Rackham Auditorium Israeli Dancing I Photography Guild free Hillel Players Bike Hike Picnics Kosher Koop