Faith and Worship
As a Catholic university, faith is an important part of the St. Ambrose University mission.
Campus Ministry offers a variety of opportunities for all of our students, regardless of faith background, to grow in their faith and learn more about their faith tradition and the traditions of others.
From Biblical discussion groups and Music and Liturgical ministries, to ecumenical prayer services and daily and Sunday Mass, there are opportunities for all Ambrosians to come and develop their faith lives.
Liturgical Ministry
Liturgies help unite the St. Ambrose University community, remind us of our call to be Christ to one another, and to serve in this world. Everyone at SAU is welcome to join us for Sunday and weekday liturgies.
Our liturgies are student-focused and student-led. Unlike a parish, our chapel exists solely for our students and the needs of the university. There are a variety of liturgical ministries in which our students serve:
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Readers of the Word
- Altar Servers and Sacristans
- Ushers and Greeters
We provide training for all of our liturgical ministers. Students can volunteer by signing up on the interest cards at the beginning of the academic year or by contacting us to learn how to get involved.
Faith and Worship
Our students lead the community in song for masses and prayer services in Christ the King Chapel.
All SAU students are encouraged to take part in Music Ministry, regardless of experience level.
Music Ministry is comprised of student volunteers who help to enliven the liturgy through music. There are opportunities for students to serve as cantors and leaders of song, sing as a member of the choir, and lend their talents as accompanists and instrumentalists to support the song of the community.
There are student ensembles for Sunday masses during the academic year. Students also assist with music for daily masses, particularly Mass and More. There are other opportunities to lead music in special liturgies and prayer services throughout the year.
The Quad Cities is fortunate as a community with many different religions, houses of worship, and religious organizations.
Please visit the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce website that contains a rather exhaustive list of worship locations.
Mass times are posted on the Campus Ministry main page.
In addition to Sunday liturgies, masses are offered every weekday during the academic year. Often these masses are offered in memory of a deceased alumnus/ae, for a student's family or friends, or for a member of the St. Ambrose University community who is in need or prayers.
We also strive to offer a variety of prayer services that meet our students' needs. From practices such as Eucharistic Adoration and Rosary, to ecumenical services such as Taize prayer and praise and worship music with the Bridge Bible Fellowship, Campus Ministry wants to provide students with a wide array of prayer opportunities. Prayer services are also offered during the year for specific events, such as prayers for peace.
We offer a large Reconciliation Prayer Service once a semester, during Advent in the fall, and Lent in the spring. There are opportunities for individual confessions on Wednesday nights or by appointment with Fr. Ross Epping. We are always interested in student ideas for services.
Contact us on the right and let us know what you're interested in.
All people have a vocation, a calling to best use their gifts and talents in the service of God, others, and the world.
There are formal and informal ways in which discernment occurs with Campus Ministry. Our retreat programs, especially the New Student Retreat and Senior Retreat, encourage students to think about their future, both during their time at SAU and after graduation. Students may also talk and pray with campus ministers who are always available. Furthermore, many of the programs within Campus Ministry - such as liturgical and music ministries, youth and retreat ministry, and service work - can open up future career paths for our students and empower them to become more involved in the church.
We also encourage students to consider a religious vocation to life as a priest or religious sister or brother. Our Busy Student Retreat brings in spiritual guides to work one-on-one with our students. Many of these guides also serve as vocation directors for their specific diocese or religious order. As a diocesan university, we also work closely with the Diocese of Davenport to encourage religious vocations in our diocese.
Be sure to contact us if you are discerning a call to the religious life, or contact your respective diocesan director of vocations:
Diocese of Davenport Vocations
Archdiocese of Dubuque Vocations
Archdiocese of Chicago, ChicagoPriest.com
Do you have a desire for a deeper relationship with God? Do you want to develop your prayer life? Are you discerning a decision or direction in life? Do you wonder where God is in the midst of your joys, struggles, grief, addiction, relationships or feelings?
Tammy Norcross-Reitzler and Fr. Ross Epping are trained spiritual directors and willing to meet with students for spiritual direction. Interested students usually meet with a spiritual director once a month for approximately one hour. They commit to paying attention to their experiences of God and talking about those experiences with their spiritual director.
To schedule a spiritual direction appointment, email ministry@sau.edu.
College can be a time of great transitions for students, and Campus Ministry aims to serve students in their spiritual journeys and welcomes them as they decide to make new commitments.
Catholic weddings can be celebrated in the Christ the King Chapel for St. Ambrose University students and alumni, and we offer couples the opportunity to prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage.
For students who are not Catholic but are interested in learning about the Catholic faith, we offer a year-round RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program.
Through discussion, learning, and prayer, students discover more about the Catholic Church and what it teaches and have an opportunity to enter fully into the Catholic faith at Easter.
Campus Ministry's Confirmation program is for Catholic students who have not been able to receive the sacrament.
Students meet and prepare during the season of Lent, after which they are confirmed at Easter in the chapel.
Contact
Tammy Norcross-Reitzler
Campus Ministry
Lower Chapel
518 W Locust St.
Davenport, IA 52722
563-333-6132
Ministry@sau.edu