The Skyhawk Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Tennessee at Martin officially opened its first-ever home Sept. 7 during a blessing event for the Newman Center at its Hannings Lane location across from the university.
Skyhawk Catholic Campus Ministry is a ministry of St. Jude Catholic Church in Martin and the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. The former private residence was purchased in November 2023 with renovation beginning in early in 2024. Addition of a parking lot beside the center and other improvements led up to the celebration event.
The early evening service welcomed community members, members of the St. Jude Catholic Church, university students, faculty and staff to celebrate the ministry’s new home. The Most Rev. David P. Talley, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, greeted those attending and the blessed the center’s rooms at the conclusion of the service.
A Newman Center is a traditional name for a Catholic student center at a secular university. Newman Centers are named for St. John Henry Newman, who is known for his position that theology should be part of a university education. The building functions as a student center and includes a chapel, study room, gathering space, dining area, and kitchen. The center does not house students or center staff.
The Newman Center hosts prayer, dinner, and Bible Study on Sundays beginning at 4:30 p.m. Prayer and fellowship are on Thursdays at 7 p.m. The center will also host small groups, Catholic Conversations, game nights, and movie nights, as well as other opportunities for prayer, study, and gathering with friends. The center currently has approximately 20 active members.
The Catholic Campus Ministry was formerly part of the Interfaith Center, which was a collaboration of Christian ministries that met in what is now the UT Martin Wesley Foundation, located on Moody Street. In 2011, the pastor of St. Jude Catholic Church worked with UT Martin faculty who were parish members and university officials to have the ministry recognized as a registered UT Martin student organization. Skyhawk Catholic met at St. Jude Catholic Church located on adjacent property behind the center until this semester.
Rodney and Stacy Freed, both faculty members in the UT Martin Department of Mass Media and Strategic Communication, serve as campus ministers. Rodney, a deacon at St. Jude Catholic Church, has been involved in campus ministry for approximately 20 years, and Stacy has worked with campus ministry for about five years. Stacy said the Newman Center serves as both a ministry and a home away from home for students.
“The Newman Center makes Skyhawk Catholic more visible at UT Martin and gives the ministry the space to be more available to students,” she said. “We expect that having a student center will allow our ministry to be more active and help more students find a home to support their faith journey.
“It’s a place where they can hang out with friends, pray, and grow closer to Jesus. For those not from the area, it’s their Martin home.”
Learn more about the Newman Center at UT Martin on the web at skyhawkcatholic.org.
PHOTO: The Skyhawk Catholic Campus Ministry at UT Martin officially opened its first-ever home Sept. 7 during a blessing event for the Newman Center at its Hannings Lane location across from the university. The ministry is a registered campus ministry of St. Jude Catholic Church and the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. Students and alumni were among those attending the event. Pictured (l-r) Eli Cunningham, Tennison Barnes, Reese Bonds, Cassandra Brewster, Brendan O’Bryan, and Rachel Jones; (to the sign’s right, l-r) Caroline Hunter, John Kerstiens, Christopher Craigie, Isabella Beyl, Jackson Roberts and Alex Bowker. Brewster, Jones and Bowker are alumni, and Roberts participates in the young adult group at St. Jude.
