8/7/2021
Laura Robinson
Ferrum College is pleased to announce that Laura Robinson has been named campus minister. She will officially join the Ferrum College family on August 9, 2021.
“I’m looking forward to talking to students, getting their ideas, and implementing them to make Student Ministry a program that reaches Ferrum students where they are,” said Robinson.
In 2016, Robinson began assistant teaching New Testament courses at Duke University. She served as the head teaching assistant for Duke Divinity’s New Testament survey course, and then transitioned to teaching her own class in 2019. She is a 2015 James B. Duke Fellowship recipient, and has extensive experience in audio and video production with co-hosting her own podcast, “New Testament Review.”
A native of Zionsville, IN, Robinson received her Bachelor of Arts in English and religious studies from Indiana University in 2011, and her Master of Arts degrees in biblical exegesis (2013) and systematic theology (2014) from Wheaton College in IL. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in religious studies at Duke University.
“[Laura] is a young, dynamic, experienced, and energetic pastor who will bring so much to our college community,” said Dean of Student Success Dave Wiggins, who chaired the search committee for Ferrum’s campus minister. “We are very fortunate.”
Robinson is looking forward to getting started. “My hope for the Student Ministry program is to make it a program that is centered on students and directed by them,” she said. “Some of my current ideas include prayer walks in the woods, craft sessions, book discussions, and movie nights. These are really powerful ways students can think about spirituality and connect with God.”
Learn more about Spiritual Life at Ferrum College by visiting here.
Gospel Fest 2020: “The 20/20 Vision” will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 5 p.m. in Ferrum College’s Vaughn Chapel, 40 Wiley Drive, Ferrum. This event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by Ferrum College’s Office of Spiritual Life, the concert will feature the Ferrum College Fresh Wind Gospel Choir and Band; Bishop M.L. Hardy and the Sons of Thunder; United Voices of God; and Longwood University’s Brothers and Sisters in Christ (B.A.S.I.C.) Gospel Choir.
Read more about Ferrum College’s Office of Spiritual Life here.
Ferrum College is a diverse and inclusive community rooted in a faith that gives life, inspires respect, and welcomes all. For this reason, we are disappointed that after many years of study, prayer, and discussion, the General Conference of our sponsoring denomination, The United Methodist Church (UMC), has chosen a path of restriction and exclusion against LGBTQ Christians who wish to be united in marriage or who are called to serve the Church through ordained ministry.
While the global UMC will continue to deliberate this issue in the months to come, we reaffirm Ferrum College’s long-standing commitment to be a place where everyone belongs and where everyone can serve, lead, love, and thrive.
Gospel Fest 2019 will take place on Saturday, February 9 at 5 p.m. in Vaughn Chapel on the Ferrum College campus. This concert is open to the community and admission is free.
The event is headlined with fresh gospel music from Grammy Award contemporary gospel and R&B recording artist Rudy Currence, and emcee Chris “Minster P” Pritchett, featuring the talents of Ferrum College’s very own Fresh Wind Gospel Choir (pictured); the United Voices of God and East New Hope Church dance team, both of Danville, VA; and Longwood University’s Brothers and Sisters in Christ (B.A.S.I.C.) Gospel Choir.
Read more about Ferrum College’s Office of Spiritual Life here.
Poster designed by student Rachel Hancock.
On Sunday, December 2, the Ferrum College Office of Spiritual Life and the Music Department will present a Christmas concert, “Through Song, May We Know Christ”, at 6 p.m. in Vaughn Chapel on campus. Featuring the Concert Choir, Collegiates, Fresh Wind Gospel Choir, and the Handbells Choir, the concert will tell the Christmas story through song beginning with the prophecies in the book of Isaiah through the incarnation told in the book of John. The event is open to the public with free admission. Non-perishable donations for St. James UMC Food Pantry will be accepted.
In the wake of Hurricane Florence in September and Hurricane Michael in October, which dumped rain and wind on the east coast and caused thousands of dollars of damage, Ferrum College’s Spiritual Life sponsored a clean-up mission during Fall Break, from October 10 – 15. The relief effort, headed by Dean of Chapel and Religious Life Jan Nicholson Angle, included fourteen students and two staff members who provided local clean-up in Rocky Mount, VA on October 10 and 11, in conjunction with the Franklin County Perinatal Education Center. From October 12 – 15, the students and staff members traveled to Fayetteville, NC where they removed debris and damaged drywall from homes, and replaced the roof of a military veteran who, unable to be on the roof, still worked beside the team doing what he could to repair his home. “Something about this experience seems to give me life and hope,” said Ferrum College senior Mark Kellam, who was a member of the relief effort. “I can’t get enough of it.”
“Our students are humble when you ask them about their experience, often stating, ‘It was good,’” said Rev. Dr. Nicholson Angle. “If you engage them further, you will see their faces glow as they begin to share their stories of heartache in seeing the devastation, joy in the physical labor they were able to provide to help families rebuild their homes, and hope they experience as they witness the resilience of these survivors.”
“I went on this trip to give back to the community and to connect with others other than my friends at home,” explained Ferrum College junior Serena Johnson. “It’s a good practice to give back.”
Five students and two staff from Ferrum College took an Alternative Spring Break trip last month to Virginia Beach where they assisted two families who are recovering from the effects of Hurricane Matthew, which struck the Virginia coast in October 2016. The team included Stephanie Gibbs, a senior majoring in Health Sciences; Alexis Hatcher, a junior majoring in Religion; Mark Kellam, a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science; Lukas McWhorter, a junior majoring in Environmental Science; Ricky Phillips, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science; Daniel Kyle, assistant director of student leadership and engagement; and Jan Nicholson Angle, dean of the chapel.
The disaster relief work team spent the first two days assisting one family in moving salvageable belongings to storage. “More importantly, our team truly set aside ‘self ‘ and embraced ‘other’ as we listened to this beautiful couple reminisce their favorite family memories, and shed silent tears as they came to terms in parting with family heirlooms that were too water damaged to be saved,” said Dean of the Chapel Jan Nicholson Angle.
The Ferrum College team next assisted a second family by installing wood laminate flooring in both their living and dining rooms. “While the work we did and the skills we attained individually and as team were amazing, NOTHING could take the place of watching Ms. Eleanor at 70+ years of age do her happy dance on her new living room floor,” said Nicholson Angle.
Ferrum College continues to be the only Virginia based United Methodist affiliated college team to volunteer with The Virginia Conference United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Disaster Recovery working to assist families along the Virginia coast who are recovering from both the September 2016 tornado and October 2016 hurricane.
“The survivors consistently showed their gratitude and appreciation not only towards the team, but also towards the materials they still have. They found value in the little things and their faith in God showed us that even when the storm is over, we can still put our trust and faith in God to restore any brokenness we may have,” said Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Engagement Daniel Kyle.
Life of Service by Daniel Kyle
