College and graduate school is a time when young adults often explore questions of identity, values, vocation, and relationships and what their faith commitments will look like. From lifelong Episcopalians to new Christians to those whose spiritual journey is still taking shape, Brent House offers a space to explore those questions, learn from ancient spiritual resources, and find support from both peers and pastor.
Brent House is an active partner with other religious groups—Christian and interfaith—in sponsoring events, conversations, and worship services. We also work actively to offer programming that is welcoming, inclusive of, and led by LGBTQ+ members of the community.
Higher education (undergraduate and graduate studies) is often a time when a call to ministry—lay and ordained—is felt. We offer individual and group support in this process and are a community that has supported numerous lay leaders, deacons, priests, and at least one bishop!
Our Discerning Hearts program leads participants through a small group process, grounded in the principles and practices developed by Ignatius of Loyola and rooted in our baptismal identity, to gain a deeper sense of prayer and to support one another in listening for God’s call in our lives
Brent House is a welcoming space for all students who need a place where they can simply be, find community, and explore questions of faith, vocation, meaning, and identity.
We offer two weekly Eucharists and different opportunities for Morning and/or Evening Prayer, in addition to services on major feasts and important occasions during the academic year. We encourage students to take leadership in our worship services, including preaching.
Our chaplain is available for one-on-one conversations in times of crisis and questioning, in addition to support from peers. We also offer small group programs, which have included a men’s group, vocational discernment, prayer practices, and leadership development.
The Faculty Roundtables on Science and Religion at the University of Chicago is a program intended to foster open, focused, and respectful interdisciplinary conversations among local faculty, researchers, and religious leaders. The Roundtables focus on the questions and shared concerns of the various fields of science and the various modes of understanding religious life, practices, beliefs and experiences, with the aim of building mutual relationships of trust and creativity. www.uchicagoroundtable.org
Toegether with consultant Joe Merlino, this program continue the work begun with our own capital campaign, helping other Episcopal campus ministries and young adult programs develop a stronger sense of their identity, mission, and constituents so that they can more effectively build relationships with their stakeholders and become more financially sustainable. For more information, you can contact Joe through his website, Emergent Mission.
