The Fringes
When Kelly arrived at Winthrop as a Freshman 4 years ago, she was tentative about attending college. “She didn’t feel she had a lot of options,” shared Olga-Maria Cruz, the Campus Minister for WELCM, “but she trusted that God had something for her here.”
Kelly had grown up in a church. Sadly, because Kelly is gay, the campus ministry program run by her denomination caused her to feel more closeted than accepted. “She left that church and the campus ministry program questioning if she was okay with God and if God was okay with her.”
“When I met Kelly,” shared Olga-Maria, “it was a couple of years later. I was serving on a panel discussion facilitated by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Winthrop. The panel was there to discuss the relationship between the gay community and the church. Kelly was in attendance and her girlfriend was on the panel. I was describing a God who had love for everyone and a God who had love for Queer folk who could be fully welcomed.” Hearing this message of love and acceptance made Kelly and her girlfriend want to connect with WELCM.
After getting connected to WELCM, Kelly served as an intern with a peer mentorship. She served as an intern at HOPE of Rock Hill and connected to dozens of members of Grace Lutheran in Rock Hill. They started coming to church and Sunday evening prayer service. She graduated from Winthrop and feels more connected to God and hopeful she can find a church family and welcoming service. “WELCM has impacted my life,” Kelly shared, “because before finding this affirming space, I did not know that my identities as Christian and queer could both be present and accepted in one community.”
“The church talks a lot about wanting young people,” shared Olga-Maria. “Campus Ministry is where the church keeps it’s baptismal promises to walk through life with you – your whole life. At Winthrop Campus Ministry, I have zero cradle Lutherans. Instead, we have 20+ young adults, like Kelly, seeking a spiritual home and trying to build a faith community. None of us, including myself, have a Lutheran background. Instead, we are finding a place in the ELCA because we hear Good News. We can preach to those who have been alienated. We are nimble. We exist on the fringes and the margins to find young adults who need to hear the Good News and to meet them where they are.”
WELCM (Winthrop Ecumenical Lutheran Campus Ministry) is pronounced “Welcome.” It is financially supported through the generosity of individual donors, Grace Lutheran in Rock Hill, SC and the South Carolina Synod of the ELCA.