On July 1, 2013, the Ecumenical Campus Ministry at Kansas State University embarks on a new stage of its journey! In 1961, after many years of ministry based in a home located at 314 N. 14th, area Presbyterians banded together to construct a new 9000+ square foot building at 1021 Denison Avenue to be their new student social center. Within a few short years, the Presbyterians joined other like-minded groups to develop an ecumenical approach to campus ministry, known today as ECM. Now, after fifty-two years on
Denison, the ECM Board of Directors has sold the property on Denison to the KSU Foundation and will relocate the ministry to 904 Sunset Avenue, just two blocks away from the current location. The iconic and venerable building on Denison will continue to be used, at least in the immediate future, to house a variety of office and programs designed to meet the needs of university students.
The future home of ECM—on the northeast corner of Sunset and Hunting—is wellsituated, with excellent visibility on a well-traveled street and easily accessible to students.
The old house that now sits on the property has been gradually subdivided over the years into eight apartments, which are currently in the process of being emptied to make way for the campus ministry. ECM’s stay in the old house most likely will be limited to one semester, as the plan is to begin tearing it down later this year to make way for the construction of a new, more versatile and energy-efficient building that will serve as ECM’s campus center for future generations of K-State students and the Manhattan community. The goal is for the new building to be ready in time for the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester.
The current ECM building is a great structure, but it was built in a time when energy costs were low and denominational funding for campus ministry was high. The recent decision to sell and relocate was made with the goal of honoring the considerable investment made over fifty years ago in the Denison property by redeploying those resources before the ravages of age and rising energy costs could catch up and overwhelm the ministry. The vision for the new campus center is to develop a building that will enable
ECM to continue and expand its current ministry, while incorporating elements into its design that will allow the Board to establish the ministry on a more sustainable financial trajectory. There will be many opportunities for you to get involved in this exciting venture.
So, stay tuned… for news!
1021 Denison Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502
785.539.4281 • ecm@ksu.edu www.ksu.edu/ecm • ECM at K-State • ksu_ecm
David Jones , Campus Pastor
ECM: stands for “Ecumenical Campus Ministry,” a cooperative campus ministry supported by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

ECM at K-State is one of thirty campus ministries at public universities around the nation that have been invited to apply for a grant to develop or expand existing programs to assist students with vocational discernment, whether that vocation leads to leadership in a local congregation or the larger society. If fully funded, the grant could provide over
$100,000 to the campus ministry over a fiveyear period. Grant proposals are due in mid-
August, with the award announcements slated for later this year.
This past year there were sixteen members of the ECM Leadership team. Student members of the team are responsible for leading virtually all ECM ministry activities, such as the Real Food Lunch, Sunday Night
Dinner and Discussion, Brewing on Belief,
Prayerful Yoga, Community Service and the
Alternative
Service trips.
In addition, there are several members of the team who serve as liaisons between
ECM and other campus groups—such as the Students for Environmental Action and various LGBT groups—in the hope of developing collaborations to address currently unmet needs in the university community. (Pictured here are
Caroline Fulton and Mary Gordon, two of four coordinators of ECM’s Real Food Lunch.
ECM would like to eventually be able to send newsletters via e-mail to as many recipients as possible. Please send your e-mail address to us at ecm@ksu.edu. Thanks!
Also we are receiving nominations for directors. If you would like to suggest someone or nominate yourself, please let us know!
This past January 4-17, ECM campus pastor, David Jones, and fifteen students from
K-State travelled to Ecuador to engage in a service-learning experience through the auspices of an Ecuadorian service agency called
Nuevos Horizontes (New Horizons).
Trip participants spent the Fall 2012 semester raising funds for their venture. Each person had to raise approximately $1,400. After landing in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, the group traveled one-and
-a-half hours to the small coastal fishing village of
Puerto El Morro, near the wellknown town of
Playas. There, the students split into teams to work on a variety of projects, most of which related in some way to their academic major: teaching children, building walls at the local elementary school and day care center, aiding in the health care center and working on reforestation projects.
The ECM group is planning a return trip in January 2014 to the nearby town of Engabao, where clean water, public health, economic development and education are pressing needs.
The opportunity to engage in service projects, whether on alternative school breaks or on international trips such as this one, is a life-changing experience for many students as they encounter—sometimes for the first time in their lives—what it is like to live as a minority in another culture that speaks a different language, to encounter the effects of poverty, and what it means to live in intentional Christian community. As the world “shrinks,” these opportunities for international study and service are becoming more and more valuable.