Newman Catholic Student Center-Southern Illinois Univesity
The Newman Catholic Student Center provides the Church a physical presence at the SIU Carbondale campus (a large, public university), as well as outreach to nearby community colleges. Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a diverse population of faculty, staff and students. Our focus is to bring the new evangelization to the next generation of young people, build them up as disciples, and send them into the broader world to live out and proclaim that same Gospel message. We celebrate two Masses on Sunday, three during the week, a series of Fall Welcome activities to attract new students, a weekly Race Unity Group devoted to dialogue and authentic friendship, Men’s and Women's Small Groups, a weekly fellowship meal prepared by volunteers, speakers and events on important topics, two annual retreats, regular social and community-building events (hiking trips, intramural sports, cook-outs, dances, etc.), a one-on-one discipleship formation faith-sharing program, other opportunities for prayer and worship (Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross, Rosary, Evenings of Reflection, daily Morning Prayer), and a wide of service opportunities for students (Habitat for Humanity, the Eurma Hayes Center after-school programs, Pregnancy Matters resource center, nursing home visits, neighborhood food drives, clean-up days, food-packing events, yard care for the elderly, etc.).
