Here Come The Hawkeyes Black and Gold and Lutheran!
Black and Gold are decidedly the autumn colors of downtown Iowa City. Shops and University buildings are decked out in their Hawkeye best to welcome students from around Iowa and from across the globe. St. Paul’s is an active part of the University’s Welcome Week, hosting incoming freshmen, returning students, their roommates and hall mates, and new international students and families.
Welcome Week is a busy time in campus ministry. St. Paul’s began its Welcome Week activities with the International Student Ministry Pot Luck on the Friday of opening weekend. Favorite dishes from home countries were sampled as volunteers and internationals renewed friendships and formed new ones. The Divine Service on Sunday is always the highlight of opening weekend. Upper classmen did a tremendous job welcoming freshmen, helping them navigate the quirky staircases and half-hallways in search of the sanctuary. A picnic on the chapel front lawn is always a favorite activity, and this year’s Welcome Picnic on Monday evening was a huge hit. Chicken dinners were devoured, a football was tossed around, and acquaintances began to grow into friendships. Even the weather was welcoming, and the coolness of the evening invited everyone to linger outdoors. Welcome Week activities wrapped up Friday afternoon with the annual “Softball ‘n Slop” event, a perennial favorite of the chapel crowd. The group played blooper pitch softball (which is not as easy as it sounds) and then headed over to Pastor Mons’ home for a sloppy joe feast.
Welcome Week is an important time of campus ministry. The activities center on fun, but they also provide a foundation for future relationships. There’s a lot of joy in celebrating being Black and Gold and Lutheran, but most importantly, the goal of campus ministry remains to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel message during their time in Iowa City.
