Mount Mercy adds full-time chaplain, daily Mass

Between moving into their apartment and grabbing lunch on Monday, Mount Mercy University students Hillary Kaefring and Elizabeth Wareham took a break to attend Mass - an opportunity now available to the entire campus on a daily basis.

Mount Mercy this fall is offering students, faculty, and staff more sacramental and liturgical services than in recent years - including daily Mass, confession, Christian initiation, discernment of vocation, and pastoral counseling - thanks to its new full-time chaplain.

The Rev. Anthony Adawu - or Father Tony - arrived on campus last week to fill the private college's chaplain role on a full-time basis for the first time in almost six years. In addition to his sacramental and liturgical duties on campus, Adawu will serve as liaison to local Catholic parishes and schools and as adjunct professor.

As a residential chaplain, Adawu said he aims to create a 'pastoral presence” for people of all faiths across campus - passing them on their way to class, eating with them in the McAuley Dining Center, and - perhaps - catching them at a Mustangs basketball game.

'It's a ministry of presence,” Adawu told The Gazette. 'When a priest is present in the community, that makes a lot of difference. That is key.”

Mount Mercy, a private co-ed university serving about 1,800 students with more than 150 faculty members, had been searching for a full-time chaplain for years, but pastoral resources were limited. Meanwhile Adawu, a Ghana native serving in the parishes of Glen Burnie, Md., had been looking for a spot to serve as full-time chaplain and also instructor. Adawu has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in second language education and culture from the University of Maryland.

'Things just fell into place,” he said.

Adawu was born and raised in Ghana and completed his bachelor's and master's degrees there before being ordained on Nov. 22, 2003. While in Ghana, Adawu served as an associate pastor and pastor before coming to the United States in August 2007.

Mount Mercy President Laurie Hamen said the plan is for Adawu to teach a course in the university's new English Language Learners education program - not this semester but in the near future. And, after attending Adawu's first Mass on Monday, Hamen said the campus is thrilled to have him as a full-time resource for students needing discernment in their careers, a break in the middle of their days, a guide to joining the faith, or general everyday counseling.

'And just peace,” she said. 'We are excited about what he might be able to do.”

Kaefring, a 22-year-old Mount Mercy senior, said having an opportunity to attend Mass on campus every day is huge in this world of overstimulation and constant noise. Before, she said, Mass services were offered on Sundays and Wednesdays, but that didn't always work with her busy schedule.

'Coming to Mass means you have that time to reflect and be quiet and collect yourself,” she said.

Wareham, a 20-year-old junior, said although a lot of Mount Mercy students identify as Catholic or Christian, but not as many actively participate in their faith.

'This could help that,” Wareham said, adding that she knows several students who want to move forward in the confirmation process.

'It always helps when the priest is sitting and eating on campus with us,” she said.

Kaefring and Wareham said adding a full-time chaplain aligns with the university's underlying identity as a 'person-centered” institution rooted in the Catholic tradition of outreach and community service with a faith-inspired curriculum.

'Having a priest on campus makes Mount Mercy's mission a lot more clear,” Kaefring said.