 "Photo: Manitou Messenger")
As students of the esteemed St. Olaf College, you have no doubt heard the phrase “college of the church” tossed around. Whether it’s during admissions, whilst attending daily chapel or while finally graduating from these beloved halls, the phrase will continue to elicit cheers and jeers from all over the Hill.
One thing many of us can say for certain is that the idiom “college of the church” is just that– an expression, a tag. Most fancy locutions like this don’t even bat a questioning eye. After all, if it sounds good, why bother with further interpretation?
We Oles, however, can’t be let off the bat that easily. Sorry to ask so many questions, but it’s almost time for finals, so whaddya say we warm up with a little in-depth analysis of the college mission statement? Don’t worry, we’ve consulted a cheat sheet known as Pastor Benson.
So, let’s get to work. St. Olaf– A College of the Church. What exactly does it mean? What implications does it carry? And most importantly– how does it help define us as Oles?
The mission statement begins, “St. Olaf [is] a four-year college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ...”
The ELCA was formed in 1988, combining three Lutheran congregations including The American Lutheran Church, which Olaf had been associated with since 1960.
Colleges previously associated with either of these three combining churches were asked to choose their affiliation. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges regionally and nationally that associates with the ELCA (including Gustavus, Augsburg, and Concordia).
What this “association” means that while the college receives funding from the ELCA (which Pastor Benson assures is “a very small percentage of the school budget”), the church also gets to be involved in the appointment process of the Board of Regents and the college president (the president and 60% of the Board's members must be member of the ELCA). An ELCA representative attends every Board of Regents meeting and reports back to the higher ups.
Don’t think for a second that the ELCA dictates everything the college does. Being “associated” with the congregation simply means they “reviewed our application” and thought it’d be a worthy investment to pin their flair on our vest.
Next, “[St. Olaf] provides an education committed to the liberal arts, rooted in the Christian Gospel, and incorporating a global perspective.”
The implications surrounding the college of the church partnership are outstanding. Since the ELCA is a national congregation, students hear of and attend Olaf from all over the country and across the world. Compare Olaf sports teams and musical groups to other colleges that are associated with more regional congregations and organizations and you’ll realize that Olaf just might be the most inclusive college within a very large radius.
Your professors aren’t dictated by the ELCA, either. St. Olaf strives to give the best education to all its students and therefore, it strives to hire the best faculty for the job. Pastor Benson promises that “the school wants the best, just like any other college. It’s not going to go out and look for a math teacher who looks for crosses in plus signs.”
While both the Olaf/ELCA partnership doesn’t exactly invite professors to bring up topics of personal faith in the academic setting, it hopes that faculty members will be comfortable in discussing the matter should it arise. Just like the college, the church wants students to receive a well-rounded education that entices us to ask more questions and find satisfactory answers.
You may counter that with the notion that students are forced to take two religion classes and an ethics class, which may not reach every student’s definition of a “well-rounded education.” The mission statement adds, hoever, that “the college intends that its graduates combine academic excellence and theological literacy with a commitment to lifelong learning.”
This ongoing conversation between what Pastor Benson describes as “the academy” (the academic consortium) and the church offers students the opportunity to understand and discuss religious theology that subtly or blatantly is present in their everyday lives.
So how does all this make us “Oles?” The mission statement puts it plain and simple, albeit while asking the reader to take the words with a grain of salt: as a college of the church, St. Olaf invites students to “[focus] on what is ultimately worthwhile and [foster] the development of the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.”
Just like the symbolic architecture that combines Rolvaag, Buntrock and Boe, Oles are nurtured in a connection of mind, body, and spirit. The religion and spirituality that our school associates with exist all around us –from daily chapel to the art we create to the community we support.
Without the college of the church, St. Olaf would not be able to deliver its promise through the mission statement that students will spend four years in a distinctive environment that integrates teaching, scholarship, creative activity, and opportunities for encounter with the Christian Gospel and “God’s call to faith.”
Eds.: This is an updated version of an article that appeared in the May 8, 2009 issue of the Manitou Messenger.
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