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Letter from Dr. Terrence Reynolds, Chair, Advisory Committee on Protestant Ministry (ACPM) outlining recommendations about affiliated Protestant ministries. Letter from Rev. Boroughs announcing changes to be implemented to affiliated Protestant ministries.

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April 30, 2007

Rev. Phillip Boroughs, S.J.
Vice-President for Mission and Ministry
Georgetown University
37th and O Streets
Washington, D.C. 20057

Dear Rev. Boroughs.

I am writing to present you with the recommendations of the University Advisory Committee on Protestant Ministry. At your request, the committee was formed to address the constellation of issues that led to the disaffiliation last summer of six Protestant ministries that had been working in conjunction with the Office of Campus Ministry. Our committee was formed early last fall, and was composed of the head of Campus Ministry, the Georgetown University Protestant Chaplain, the Georgetown University Protestant Ministry Program Coordinator, a special assistant to the President of the university, two representatives from disaffiliated Protestant ministries (InterVarsity and ABSK), one student representing a disaffiliated ministry (Chi Alpha), one student representing the Protestant Student Association, and four members of the Georgetown University Main Campus faculty.

The committee met every other week for ninety minutes from early October through mid-March, and then at least once per week for ninety minutes until the completion of its recommendations. The work of the committee was marked by collegiality and a shared commitment to finding the best possible approach to meeting the spiritual needs of the Protestant students at Georgetown. Everyone on the committee is in agreement that the structural arrangements we have recommended will dramatically expand the outreach of Protestant ministries on campus, substantially improve communication between affiliated leaders and the Georgetown University’s Office of Campus Ministry, substantially improve communication between the Protestant students on campus, and make possible new and enriched opportunities for service and ministry between affiliated ministries and those ministries directly overseen by the staff of the Protestant Chaplain. We think that the structures we have recommended will assist immeasurably in fostering cooperation and understanding between all the Protestant ministries operating on the Georgetown campus, and will enable Protestant ministries effectively to touch the lives of many more students.

Our recommendations are seven in number.

1. We recommend the formation of a Council of Affiliated Protestant Ministries. This Council would be composed of representatives from all of the Affiliated Protestant Ministries operating on the Georgetown University campus, and would work in cooperation with the Protestant Chaplaincy office in determining policies and practices that would best meet the spiritual needs of Georgetown's Protestant students;
   
   
2. We recommend the formation of a Protestant Student Forum. This Forum would take the place of the Protestant Student Association and would be composed of student representatives from each of the affiliated ministries on campus, as well as from those student groups that work directly under the oversight of the Georgetown University Protestant Chaplain. This Forum would provide a setting for cooperation, sharing of calendars, and joint planning of service and worship-related activities;
   
   
3. We recommend the immediate formation of an Organizing Committee for the Council of Affiliated Protestant Ministries that would begin work immediately to set in motion the Council and its work. This committee would be composed of representatives of the six Protestant ministries whose affiliation was withdrawn last summer, students, faculty, the Protestant Team Leader, and will be convened by the Director of Campus Ministry. It is expected that this committee would complete its work and set in motion the Council of Affiliated Protestant Ministries by August, in time for the start of the fall semester of 2007.
   
   
4. We recommend a revision of the Covenant agreement between affiliated ministries and Georgetown's Office of Campus Ministry. This revision would clarify what is expected of affiliated Protestant ministries and indicate, as well, the new level of communication and cooperation between the Office of Campus Ministry and the Council of Affiliated Protestant Ministries.
   
   
5. In addition to the two and one-half positions we currently have in the Protestant Chaplain's Office, we recommend that Georgetown University hire one new full-time Protestant Chaplain to serve the needs of the Medical School and Law Center. There is a pressing need for coverage at these graduate centers, and a full-time appointment would enable the current Protestant Chaplain to devote herself exclusively to work on the Main Campus.
   
   
6. We recommend that Georgetown University also upgrade the current part-time Chaplaincy position to a full-time position. This new position would improve spiritual direction on the Main Campus and assist in the functioning of the Protestant Student Forum.
   
   
7. Finally, we recommend that the Protestant Student Forum be allotted a budget of $10,000 to assist in program enhancement.

Our committee strongly requests that the university look favorably upon our recommendations because we are convinced, after months of study, that Protestant ministry to our undergraduate and graduate students can be significantly expanded and improved at relatively low cost if the proposals we have outlined are put into practice. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Terrence Reynolds, Chair
ACPM