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For the past five years, Boston College undergraduates have gathered at Hillsides Café on the first Tuesday night of the month for sustenance — both physical and spiritual.
At Agape Latte, co-sponsored by the Church in the 21st Century Center and Campus Ministry, students are offered tasty desserts, coffee, and an opportunity to hear from a BC faculty member or administrator about issues of faith, religion and spirituality. The free events regularly draw crowds of 100-300 students, who also can participate in a Q&A session with the featured speaker.
“I think the relaxing environment and broad topic range has made Agape Latte a very popular event for students,” said John Kelly ’12, an accounting and theology double major. “It’s an opportunity for students to take a break from their hectic schedules and listen to how professors and staff members on campus have become who they are today: both as a professional and as a person. The talks also bring up a lot of great issues into conversation facing us as BC students.”
Adds Meghan Wegner ‘13, an international studies major, “The speakers are engaging, honest and personable. They tell their story without bias and allow conversation to flow from there. Personally, this is my favorite part—the genuine sharing of people’s stories.”
“Through Agape Latte, BC is sending a message that critical reflection on faith life and how it works with daily life is important,” said Campus Minister Rick Rossi, who oversees the program with C21’s Karen Kiefer and Paul Wendel.
Agape Latte was founded in 2006 by then-C21 Director Tim Muldoon, now assistant to the vice president for University Mission and Ministry, and former C21 Assistant Director Dawn Overstreet. The event name comes from the Greek word agape — love that seeks nothing in return.
In addition to Muldoon, the series’ first speaker, other Agape Latte speakers have included Philosophy Adjunct Associate Professor Brian Braman; Monan Professor of Theology Lisa Sowle Cahill; Theology Associate Professor Fr. Ken Himes; Founders Professor of Theology James Keenan, SJ; Director of Undergraduate Admission John Mahoney; Adj. Associate Professor of Economics Richard McGowan, SJ; Campus Ministry Director Fr. Anthony Penna; Volunteer and Service Learning Director Dan Ponsetto, and Men’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Jerry York, among many others.
“The best talks are part personal story, part intellectual component and relative to the undergraduate experience,” said Rossi.
“I really enjoyed [O’Neill Library Instructional Services Manager] Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah’s talk,” said Wegner. “He spoke about his experience with the Church in Ghana compared with his experience of the Church in America. The contrast of cultures and ways of praying were striking and intriguing, but it really showed that the Church is universal even if practices differ.”
Lauren Conti ’13, a double marketing and communication major, was impressed by Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ: “He has such a natural story-telling ability. He said that ‘life is a dance’ and that we have to dance the dance of life in order to feel more fulfilled. Simply, his talk was inspiration at its finest.”
“Agape Latte is really a kaleidoscope of faith,” said Kiefer, who is C21 associate director. “Each event has its own feel to it, depending on who is speaking, demonstrating that every faith journey is unique.”
Kiefer emphasized that much of the credit for the enduring success of Agape Latte can be attributed to the work that is done by the C21 Student Advisory Committee. The group, which includes Conti, Kelly, Wegner and several others, makes posters and banners promoting the event on campus. They use email and social media tools such as Facebook to invite students to the events. They also hold “Coffee in the Quad” the day of an Agape Latte, passing out coffee with flyers reminding students of the event.
At this month’s Agape Latte, Theology Associate Professor John McDargh, a faculty member at BC for more than 30 years, shared his faith journey. He spoke of times he felt on the margins, such as growing up Catholic in the Protestant South, and about turning points in his life, such as late 1960s, when events such as the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Vietnam War loomed large. He urged the students in the audience that in their own search for the right faith community, “You need to find a community you can live in and a community you can die in.”
Other Agape Latte speakers this semester will be Campus Minister Sister Mary Sweeney and Associate Professor of Philosophy Marina McCoy. A video archive of Agape Latte events can be found at http://bit.ly/hHq81O.