& Connecting faith & knowledge with all of life.
Life is not meant to be a collection of disconnected dots. IN CHRIST, ALL All THINGS Things HOLD TOGETHER. Your interests and pursuits; what you love and what you think; your work and your beliefs each is an integral part of you, forming your character. The mission of Anselm House is to help University of Minnesota students and faculty and the surrounding Twin Cities community connect the dots of study, life, faith, and relationships to each other. We want to see the world and approach our lives as God created them to be: whole.
THERE IS A PROBLEM IN OUR CULTURE TODAY: Nowhere is a divided life more pronounced than at the modern university. Compartmentalizing our lives has become normal. We either don t know how to or don t want to connect what happens at home to our office to our entertainment to the church pew. So we operate with different personas in different settings. This divided living leads to fragmented work and narrower ideas, less-nuanced relationships and a less-robust faith. Our culture increasingly operates out of pre-packaged categories instead of acknowledging complexities and it s stunting the development of character. Learning is now compartmentalized, too. Study has become so departmentalized, so professionalized, that students no longer see knowledge as part of a larger whole. Political correctness threatens to keep conversations about faith or virtue out of the classroom. Christian students are left ill-equipped to connect their deeply held beliefs to their studies and learning for all students is undermined as it s divorced from a moral framework. Increasingly, a university is judged by whether it leads to a high-paying job rather than to learning and growth. University graduates are taught that post-college jobs are something to get rather than a context in which to serve and live with character.
For Christian students and faculty, the university can be lonely at best. At worst, it can foster an irreparable divide that causes people to walk away from their faith forever. Campus ministries create space for Bible studies and training in evangelism and yet, even this model usually keeps faith as extracurricular, separated from studies and the rest of life. Monica Youssef 4th Year Medical Student I ve always had a great passion for the health sciences and really enjoy seeing, learning, and understanding things holistically. When I compartmentalize my life, when my studies become devoid of faith, that disconnect is demotivating and exhausting. Learning about the body from a microscopic to macroscopic level, it becomes so clear to me how perfectly our Creator orchestrated our bodies. In this, I think medicine is a very spiritual study and at Anselm House I ve been able to delve into that belief with greater understanding. 85% 70% The percentage of Christian young people that go to secular Universities are more professional and universities. glittering than ever, but in some ways there is emptiness deep down. Students are taught how to do things, but many are not forced to The percentage of young people reflect on why they should do them or what we between the ages of 18 and 22 that are here for. They are given many career options, but they are leave the church. - LifeWay Research, 2007 on their own when it comes to developing criteria to determine which vocation would lead to the fullest life. - DAVID BROOKS, the New York Times, October 6, 2015 The U of M is a driving force of this region... 6th largest employer in Minnesota 4th largest public university in the U.S. Graduates hold top leadership positions as senators, CEOs, TV personalities, educators, culture-makers but every year, roughly 12,000 U of M graduates go out into the world, BRINGING THE DIVIDED LIFE INTO THE CULTURE THEY MAKE.
In Christ, we have the opportunity to live lives of wholeness at the university and beyond. To work toward this wholeness, secular universities need communities equipped for the intellectual and moral demands of following Christ. We need communities that integrate all the parts of our lives thinking, faith, daily life, relationships. In fact, integration is at the core of the concept of university: the Latin word universitas means totality, entirety, the whole. University. Derived from the Latin word: uni ver si tas n. 1. ENTIRETY 2. TOTALITY 3. WHOLE OUR VISION Whole faith where all aspects of life are open and ordered to God s calling & Whole people whose loves and desires, thoughts and words, studies and work are integrated & Whole university where knowledge is unified in the pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty
Anselm House is a new kind of campus community connecting faith & knowlege with all of life. Each year, Anselm House builds relationships that challenge students, faculty, and community members to ask life s big questions and live into the answers. Public Events Through events large and small, we annually convene more than 3,000 people to engage and & be challenged by wide-ranging ideas and perspectives. COMMUNITY ATTENDANCE: 1,300 STUDENT ATTENDANCE: 1,500+ FACULTY ATTENDANCE: 150+ TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 3,000+ SPEAKERS FROM: health & medicine science & engineering, education, law & public affairs liberal arts, business, & more Fellows Program Each year, small cohorts of students participate in our Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program, an intentional community living life at the intersection of faith and study. Through shared meals, staff-led conversations, retreats, worship, and thoughtful Christian curriculum, the program equips students to integrate their education and faith in ways that strengthen both moral and intellectual character. 30 FELLOWS 10 FELLOWS LIVING TOGETHER IN INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY Study Center Anselm House is not just a community but also a physical meeting place. 3 CURRICULAR TRACKS At our Study Center, located on the west side of the St. Paul campus, you will always find coffee brewing and conversations underway. Students gather for weekly espresso hours, study in quiet corners, and host discussions with faculty over dinner. Our academically trained staff are on-hand and our library is always open. PAST SPEAKERS HAVE INCLUDED: ANDY CROUCH JEAN BETHKE ELSHTAIN MAKOTO FUJIMURA KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR MARK NOLL JAMES K.A. SMITH Community Discussions Through semester-long reading groups and weekly community meals that gather people from across denominations, we foster ongoing conversations and long-term relationships where faith and knowledge can be integrated with life.
Katie Hazlewood (right) Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering I ve held two internships where my coworkers believed work is solely a way to make a living, and enjoyment comes on weekends or vacation. Anselm House has helped me to view this completely differently. I can find fulfillment in my work, because as a Christian, my work looks forward to the new heavens and new earth that will be present when Jesus returns. Anselm House has helped me notice the signs of restoration and human flourishing present in my work, and has encouraged me to see my vocation in a new and hopeful light. Dr. Naty Lopez Assistant Dean, Dentistry Part of my job as faculty and administrator at the university is working with underrepresented groups but I find it difficult to keep a servant-leader mindset. It is so refreshing to have a place and a community in this context that helps students and faculty think and live as Christians. Whenever I go to Anselm House, it is like receiving cooling waters. Chris Macosko Professor, Chemical Engineering Where can a chemical engineer develop a friendship with a professor of higher education administration? Anselm House. Their events provide much-needed bridges across disciplinary divides. Their support keeps our Christian Faculty Network vibrant, because they help connect our academic minds with our faith and that is like a spring of living water to Christian faculty here. Brad Gordon PhD student, Water Resources Science I research vegetation, water quality, eroding ravines, and wetlands and the Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program at Anselm House has challenged me to be conscious of my faith in every aspect of this research. I have greater joy in my research and in my encounters with people in other fields, because this community has shown me how every subject, every field, and every form of work was created for worshipping and glorifying God.
When people are equipped to combat the divided life and live integrated lives THE UNIVERSITY & ITS COMMUNITY WILL FLOURISH. Cecelia Cathcart Class of 2015, Mechanical Engineering Participating in the Colin MacLaurin Fellows Program with Anselm House gave me the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a theology of technology and, more broadly, of work. It gave me the space to explore and consider different approaches to my field with input from a close community. Ultimately, it helped me to distill what a biblical approach to engineering might look like. I have greater confidence now that I don t have to leave my faith at home working in the industry; as an engineer, I am part of the Kingdom of God.
Looking ahead, our mission will take on even greater dimension. The Anselm House Residential College Christian students at secular universities need a setting in which they can be both full-time students and full-time Christians. Anselm House envisions providing a Christian residential education right here at the university that serves as an academic community committed to both intellectual and character formation. Students will live together with tutors and faculty, eating, worshiping, and learning in community. Life for Anselm House residents would include: Connecting with a network of faculty, pastors, alumni, & professionals Service toward the university and one another, often in partnership with local churches across denominations An original 4-year curriculum comprised of biblical study, Christian fundamentals, vocational exploration, and applied topics Shared life, common meals, morning and evening prayers, and outreach events that both connect and commission The Residential College model would make Christian higher education a reality at secular universities.
OUR COMMUNITY WELCOMES YOU. Pray with Anselm House. Learn with Anselm House. Give to Anselm House. Connect with Anselm House. anselmhouse.org Facebook.com/AnselmHouseUMN @AnselmHouseUMN @AnselmHouseUMN hello@anselmhouse.org FAITH Connecting faith & knowledge with all of life. ALL & OF LIFEKNOWLEDGE About our name: St. Anselm of Canterbury was an 11th century theologian and philosopher famous for the concept of faith seeking understanding. He believed that our faith and our knowledge of the world are intertwined. His life of thoughtful faithfulness and critical yet loving engagement with secular learning provides a model for our presence at the university.
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