The fall semester opened for the Lutheran Campus Ministry on Sunday with the installation of a new campus pastor and a schedule full of weekly events.
    “This office hasn’t been occupied in four years,” the new pastor, Kevin Clark, said as he looked around his spacious office. “I had my work cut out for me when I got here.”
    Clark, along with his wife, Julie, and 8-year-old son, Sam, moved to Manhattan from South Dakota. He last served at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hot Springs, S.D.
    “I really wanted to do campus ministry and there was an opening in Kansas. I liked the people and the campus. There is a nice balance to this town,” Clark said.
    Julie Clark said she is also happy to be part of the college environment.
    “We have always enjoyed being part of the academic atmosphere, and ministry with college students is such an important and meaningful experience,” she said.
     Clark and his family enjoy singing and writing songs together. He said he likes to play disc golf in his free time and is looking forward to experiencing a K-State football game. Clark’s purple pride and wardrobe is not new, though, since he has been a Minnesota Vikings fan for years.
    Julie Clark said her husband is a very kind and thoughtful person.
    “He is very open-minded and a deep thinker — all traits that I was attracted to 14 years ago when we married,” she said. “He is a great teacher, a good listener and keeps it real.”
    This is Clark’s first post as a campus pastor, but he has done other work with high school students and at various youth camps. He said he is looking forward to spending more time with college students.
    “Students at this age are really open and want to explore. They are ready to talk about their faith,” Clark said.
    Katie Lassen, Lutheran student and senior in kinesiology, is excited to have a new face in the church community.
    “I think it is great to have a new pastor on campus. I know he will bring new ideas and help build the Lutheran faith,” Lassen said.
    Those involved in the Lutheran Campus Ministry said they want all students to know they are welcome.
    “You don’t have to be Lutheran to come here. We welcome diversity, and there is a real variety of activities for everyone,” Clark said.
     Worship is open to all students every Sunday at 6 p.m. in Danforth Chapel. On alternating Tuesdays at 7 p.m., there will be movie nights with discussions and open-mic nights where performers, like songwriters and poets, can showcase their talents. On Thursdays, a Fearless Faith group meets for discussion at 7 p.m. All these activities are at the Luther House, located at 1745 Anderson Ave. 
    “Sometimes the Christian church can be a confrontational institution,” Clark said, “but I want students to know that not asking questions does not make the questions go away. This is a community that reflects what God wants.”