The Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry at Lamar University is celebrating over fifty years of service

The Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry at Lamar University is celebrating over fifty years of service to Lamar Students, Staff, and Faculty.

The Wesley Foundation on the campus of Lamar University is holding a celebration called “Experience the Wesley” to recognize a great past and a great future. It begins with an “open house” event on Sunday afternoon, September 25^th, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. to give everyone an interactive experience of the campus ministry. “Experience The Wesley” will continue through the week with the Wesley Campus Ministry offering refreshments, special activities, and a cookie giveaway to students. A faculty and staff reception will be on Wednesday, September 28^th from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Wesley Foundation has been meeting spiritual needs in the heart of the educational community of Lamar University-Beaumont for over 50 years. They have a great past and a great future in the heart of Lamar. Everyone is invited to come and “Experience the Wesley”!

1. Beaumont, TX, September 25, 2005: The Wesley Foundation, a Campus Ministry provided by the United Methodist Church, has been meeting the spiritual needs of students, staff, and faculty for over fifty years on the campus of Lamar University. The Reverend David Porterfield, current Director of the Wesley Foundation, notes that, “The current Wesley Center facility was built a little over twenty years ago. The leadership of Dr. Kemble and the Board of Regents conceived its current location on the Plaza, which is now surrounded by the new Cardinal dorms and the new Cafeteria. The current site was offered by the University as a strategic location for religious life centers.” In its previous location by the Cherry Building, the Center was known as the Rothwell Methodist Center.

2. The Wesley Foundation has been active at the heart and in the life of Lamar since 1953. Director Rev. Porterfield, with the Wesley Foundation Board, is thrilled to be a crucial part of the educational life of the University as it continues to thrive and grow under the visionary leadership of Dr. Simmons. “It’s past time to celebrate,” says Rev. Porterfield, “that the University cares enough for its students to recognize the need for access to places of religious growth along with intellectual and vocational development.” Over her fifty-plus years of presence on the campus, the Wesley Foundation has been a positive influence for spiritual life to all who want to participate. The Center has been a place to develop lifelong friendships, habits of service to others, a haven of hospitality, and an open place to explore questions of faith and life. While offering a view of life that is Christ-centered and grace oriented, the Wesley Center has always been open to people of all beliefs and religions – the entire spectrum of the Lamar University population.

3. The Wesley Center, open from 7:30 in the morning until 10 at night, provides a “home away from home” for quiet study, reflective prayer, renewing recreation, social interaction, and developing an understanding and experience of God’s presence and an authentic spiritual life. The Wesley Center’s Tuesday free lunch, served come and go style each week from 11 to 1, has been a vital expression of her care for the Campus. The motto for the Center is “Open minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors.” Rev. Porterfield says, “We are not only celebrating our great past, but looking forward to a great future in and to the heart of the Lamar campus.”

4. All the faculty, staff, and students of Lamar are encouraged to share in this fifty year celebration by coming into the facility during “Experience the Wesley” Celebration Week (the last week of September) and discovering how their own place in University life can be enhanced by the Center’s facility and programs. “Then,” says Porterfield, “after celebrating with us, let’s make our future at Lamar a continuing asset to your life and goals we all share in common.”