UW Gazette, March 26, 1997
     
     "This university is very Christian - students,
faculty, staff, administration - amazingly Christian,"
observes Rev. Graham Morbey, studying the view from the
window of the new offices of the UW Chaplains' Association
on the second floor of the Student Life Centre.
     Along with his colleagues in the association, Morbey,
a Christian Reformed minister, offers the community "the
care, compassion and love of Christian service," in
accordance with the constitution of the chaplains' group.
     Describing itself as "an essential ministry of the
Christian church to the campus of the University of
Waterloo," the eight-member association focuses its work on
"the call and challenge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as
enunciated in the Old and New Testaments".
     In practical terms, that means that chaplains "are
available for crisis and short-term personal issues, but
they are also there to listen to needs, to lead group
activities, to enable worship, to work for justice, and
generally to befriend and help persons with their spiritual
needs," according to Lutheran chaplain Rev. Val Hennig in a
recent news release.
     Serving as a chaplain in a university setting offers
unique challenges, according to Morbey, who balances the
interpretation of church doctrine with the need for
"Christian compromise".
     After working with students for 17 years, at both UW
and Wilfrid Laurier University, Morbey considers the
university community his "parish". Like a minister in a
regular parish, he performs weddings, officiates at
memorial services, facilitates worship and comforts those
in distress.
     "Some religious people wouldn't go to a secular
counsellor," he said, and while he sometimes makes
referrals to non-religious counsellors, they in turn refer
clients, "especially someone coming from a conservative re
ligious background," to him.
     "There is a lot of stress and depression among
students," says Morbey, in addition to problems with school
and relationships.
     Unlike some of his colleagues in traditional
congregations, Morbey takes a more pragmatic approach to
questions of doctrine. The problem of pre-marital sex is
one example. Some Christian Reformed ministers might refuse
to marry a couple that had sinned. "This black and white un
derstanding is idealistic, and not representative of the
human condition," he says. "I marry people I judge are
ready to be married." He said it's better to marry a couple
than to drive them away from the church.
     With members from the United Church, Mennonites,
Lutherans, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and a "para-church"
evangelical group called Navigators, the chaplains' associa
tion also facilitates dialogue among members, and serves as
a conduit for communication between the university and the
churches represented.
     Each of the four church colleges - St. Jerome's, St.
Paul's, Conrad Grebel and Renison - is the headquarters for
chaplains from its denomination (Roman Catholic, United,
Mennonite and Anglican respectively). The chaplains' office
on the main campus accommodates representatives from the
Lutheran and Christian Reformed churches, as well as the
Navigators.
     None are on the UW payroll, although the association
is responsible to the president's office. They're employed
by their religious denominations, and UW provides office
space. Formerly located on the fourth floor of Math and
Computer, it was relocated to SLC 2126 earlier this month.
     There, chaplains will be available weekdays from 10
a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. for "drop-in traffic", as well
as for appointments which can be made by phone (ext. 3633)
or e-mail (chaplain@watserv1).