An ecumenical chaplain
NJCU's Edelen takes pride in serving a multi-cultural student body
by
Rev. Alexander M. Santora
(Reproduced from The Jersey Journal - Sept. 30, 2004)

"He is the official chaplain of the university," proclaimed Dr. John Melendez, associate vice president for Student Affairs at New Jersey City University.

Melendez was speaking about the Rev. Luke Edelen, 54, a Benedictine priest who has been serving as the Catholic chaplain since February 2000. And since Edelen is the only member of the clergy assigned to work at NJCU, Melendez's boast is accurate.

Melendez was praising Edelen because he has earned his stripes. Two days after Sept. 11, 2001, the entire university community gathered in the Margaret Williams Theater in Hepburn Hall on campus.

"It was packed," recalled Melendez who also said there were only two speakers, Dr. Carlos Hernandez, the president of NJCU, and Edelen. Edelen offered a spontaneous prayer that he had only a few minutes to prepare. Immediately these words from the prophet Jeremiah of the Old Testament came to him. "I know thy thoughts, thoughts of peace and not affliction." These served as the theme of his prayer.

Edelen recalls "the positive response" he received from the community and how that moment opened doors. He was subsequently invited to deliver the invocation at the academic convocation later that year. Sept. 11 provided something that is rare today on campuses: an event that unites the entire academic community.

In the book "Religion on Campus" (University of South Carolina Press: $24.95), authors Conrad Cherry, Betty A. Deberg and Amanda Porterfield point out the fracturing of campus life, where the practice of religion is minimized, and the lack of any unifying force, even athletics, on most, if not all campuses. Furthermore, they point to the transformation of religious practice to something more spiritual and amorphous. "Most of the undergraduates we encountered could be characterized as spiritual seekers, rather than religious dwellers, and many of them were constructing their spirituality without much regard to the boundaries dividing religious denominations, traditions, or organizations. "

Aware of that reality, Edelen has shown himself to be somewhat elastic - or, properly stated, ecumenical - in his approach to campus ministry at NJCU, which draws 65 percent of its approximately 9,500 students from multi-cultural Hudson County. there is a large population of Coptic Orthodox students who attend NJCU, he noted. Not too long ago, they missed out on a deadline to function as a student group on campus. Edelen to the rescue. He intervened with the administration and gave them near his office to meet regularly. He has such a warm relationship with these students that they refer to him as "Abouna," which translates into what Catholics would call a priest, "Father . "

When the Coptic bishop visited the students on campus to deliver a talk, he presented Edelen with an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he proudly displays in his office on the third floor of Gilligan Hall, the student center. He has also established good ties with the Muslim students and the Hindu Student Association and has met with them to talk about Christianity. A high point for Edelen was the joint Baptist-Catholic Ash Wednesday service held on campus earlier this year.

Edelen began to reach out to other denominations and faiths when he was pastor of St. Mary's Church in Newark, from 1987 to 1995. The church is attached to the Benedictine Abbey where he resides and it sponsors St. Benedict's Prep. He has also served as the episcopal vicar for the city of Newark and on the Archdiocese of Newark's ecumenical commission. Yet, he has not neglected his Catholic responsibilities to minister to the needs of the Catholic community at NJCU. Since there are fewer than 300 students residing on campus, there is no need for a weekend Mass He does offer Mass twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 o'clock in Room 302 of Gilligan Hall, and he has built up a regular small community.

Melendez, 47, tries to get to Mass when he can. "I enjoy going over to forget the day-to-day pressures and spend time in prayer," said Melendez who has worked for 19 years at NJCU and is active in his home parish of St. James in Springfield. Edelen is grateful for Melendez's support. He invited Edelen to participate in a campus forum on "Civility" and has promised some funding for special projects. The renovation of the student center is ongoing and a new office for campus ministry along with a space more suitable for interfaith and denominational worship is also in the plans.

Edelen also offers Mass on Catholic holy days, like All Saints, on Nov. 1. He was tapped by Melendez to offer a memorial Mass on Dec . 13 for a beloved longtime employee, Brunilda Ortiz, who was killed in a tragic car accident last year. Edelen attended her wake.

Edelen is a Newark native, the oldest of four children. He graduated from St. Benedict's Prep and from Fordham University with a degree in classical languages in 1972, the same year that he entered the Newark Abbey, where he has lived ever since. There are 19 other monks living in that community and all are expected to share in the chores of the community. Edelen serves as a cantor at the liturgies, like Masses and devotions, for which he's often master of ceremonies and helps to plan. He is the house launderer. But his most unusual title is, "Father Christmas. "

"I am a cheerleader for that season," Edelen admits while adding that his long white beard often gets him roped into dressing up as St. Nicholas.

"At NJCU, he just enjoys being called "Father."

To reach Benedictine Father Luke Edelen at New Jersey City University, call (201) 200-2565 or e-mail Ledelen@sbp.org.