3/3/22
Back in November, you remember, when Omicron was an obscure letter in the Greek alphabet, we wrote to you to tell you that we did not have resources to call a campus pastor. That was a difficult letter to write. After 96 years, it felt like we might be leaving university students without a dedicated Presbyterian (USA) campus resource.
But you responded with your checkbook. In just two months, you contributed close to $25,000 to support ongoing ministry at the Koinonia Center. Your support not only provided the necessary resources for us to begin the process of calling a pastor, it also gave us a badly needed vote of confidence. You reminded us that we are more than five board members looking for a path: we are a broad but close knit group of supporters who believe that campus ministry has a positive impact on student lives.
Deciding to call a pastor is a big move. We have the resources to support a pastor for one year. By making this move now, we are putting faith in our supporters to hold us up for the following year. A checking account balance does not help students, that’s the pastor’s job. Still, our new pastor will be starting with more at stake than those of us who work behind the scenes. Our work will focus on establishing a budget that supports their ministry for the next four years when the finances for the K14 project begin to provide that support.
This letter is not a request for donations, that will come later of course. (Though if you didn’t have a chance to make your investment in the future of UO campus ministry, we will still be happy for you to make your contribution.) This is an update on the ministry operations and a chance to thank you for your generosity. We are surrounded by those who make it possible for us to call the Koinonia Center a thriving ministry, and we are grateful.
On behalf of the Koinonia Center Board of Directors, thank you for many years of holding our students close, for your prayers, for your financial support, and for your guidance.
Koinonia Center Board of Directors
Gene Heinle
Liz Leavitt
Steve Stermer
Ed Willson
Karen Young
Koinonia Center
1414 Kincaid St, Suite 2
Eugene, OR 97401
ed@koinoniacenter.org
http://koinoniacenter.org/donate/
Koinonia Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, ein 33-1211328
10/25/21
The Koinonia Center, Presbyterian campus ministry at the University of Oregon, has served students since 1925. In that 96 year tenure, we have experienced several financial dilemmas, including scrambling to find $100,000 in 1997 to reclaim a 40% interest in the building, and the loss of a main source of support, The Westminster Foundation, which ceased to exist in 2016.
The K center was very important to me during my time as a graduate student in Eugene. I found friends, found a place of refuge from my academic work, and grew tremendously as a person due to the K center.
Paul Allen, Lewis & Clark
In 2015, the original Westminster House was transformed into K14, an apartment building housing 145 students, intended to fund campus ministry going forward. K14 is an awesome place for campus ministry, and a perfect location to live as a student. The building has also grown in value over the past several years despite the recent upheaval in student population. As it turns out, financing a large project like this has some unexpected plot twists. For at least the next five years, building revenue does not cover the cost of loans taken to create it, meaning that the Koinonia Center is unable to budget for even a half time pastor.
The Koinonia Center was a home for me. When I was a graduate student, I was three time zones away from my Bottom line here is that the Koinonia Center will not have an ordained pastor to serve students for the 2021-22 academic year. The board will continue with limited programming as we are able, with limited being the key word. This leaves the K Center Board feeling a heavy burden to find a way to fulfill our mission. For this year, we are committed to lease the space which students tell us is so important to them, at a cost of $20,000.
Bottom line here is that the Koinonia Center will not have an ordained pastor to serve students for the 2021-22 academic year. The board will continue with limited programming as we are able, with limited being the key word. This leaves the K Center Board feeling a heavy burden to find a way to fulfill our mission. For this year, we are committed to lease the space which students tell us is so important to them, at a cost of $20,000.
My time at the Koinonia Center was critical for me, not only in the development of my future vocation but also for the formation of my adult faith. The bridge between my spiritual experiences as a youth and the more mature, engaged spiritual life I now enjoy was built by my experiences at the K-Center. It was a place of welcome, for me and also for my questions. I don’t know that I would be a minister today without the hospitality and guidance that I found at 1414 Kincaid Street. I strongly believe that if we want to shape future leaders for the church, not just ministers but all willing, thoughtful participants, we must invest in places like the Koinonia Center.
Elizabeth Leavitt, Pastor, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church
We are moved to stand in the gap for the rest of this academic year, praying for a new beginning. We appreciate your prayers and guidance. We understand that you have a personal decision in directing your time and dollars. As you decide where you will direct your support, know that it will be used along with all of our prayers to restore a thriving ministry as we move past the 100 year mark.
The K Center was a lifeline for me during the stresses and demands of graduate school, with weekly dinners and worship together in a small group atmosphere. My best friends were from the K Center. As a student Board member of the K Center in my last year of grad school, I began my journey into volunteering, and later working in the ministry, first as an Elder and then Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington (Michigan) in 2014, and since 2020, Commissioned Ruling Elder (Lay Pastor) of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Commerce Township, Michigan. The K Center was foundational to my growth as a young adult spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, helping me to discern the direction of my life, and my life’s work.
Joshua Archey, Crossroads Presbyterian Church
On behalf of the Koinonia Center Board of Directors, I thank you for many years of holding our students close, your prayers, your financial support, and your guidance.
Chair Koinonia Center Board of Directors
ed@koinoniacenter.org
http://koinoniacenter.org/donate/
Koinonia Center
1414 Kincaid St, Suite 2
Eugene, OR 97401
Koinonia Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, ein 33-1211328