CLC Returns to Campus

By Kate Flannery

After an extended absence from Santa Clara, Christian Life Community has returned to the campus community this quarter.

Headed by Manh Tran, S.J., who led the program for six years at Loyola Marymount Universityy, CLC incorporates reflection, prayer and discussion into weekly gatherings headed by and directed toward interested students.

"I have so many students excited about it," said Tran. "They want to be part of it; they want to make history; they want to open a new chapter at Santa Clara. And I think there's a huge, huge hunger out there for a small faith community."

The international CLC program, found in roughly 60 countries around the world, stresses a life rooted in the Ignatian spiritual exercises. Among its priorities are community, service and spirituality.

According to university archives, CLC groups have been present on-campus as early as 1854, when these groups were known as Sodality.

Gerald McKevitt, S.J., a professor in the history department, has mentioned that CLC was the largest student organization on-campus in the late 1960s, according to a brief history of CLC at Santa Clara on the Campus Ministry website.

However, according to campus minister Matt Smith who cited university archives, CLC had a low level of commitment and participation in 1993 and was ultimately disbanded in the 1990s.

Now, Tran has brought CLC back to Santa Clara in hopes of addressing what he calls college students' three hungers: building a sense community, getting in touch with their spirituality and understanding "vocation" or students' potential career paths.

According to Tran, Ignatian spirituality can help students "discover their unique gifts and also help them figure out what is their purpose in life, what is their personal vocation — and what God has to do with it."

"This is what students are looking for, and this is what CLC has to offer," Tran continued.

The program will have two levels — that of the large group as a whole and that of smaller groups consisting of anywhere from five to 10 members.

Each small group will be tailored to fit a specific group of students' needs. For example, small groups tailored to first-year students may focus on finding support, making connections and building community on-campus.

For sophomores and juniors, the groups may be based more on dicussing and identifying spiritual questions students are struggling with.

A special senior group will exist in order to discuss themes related specifically to graduation and life after Santa Clara. Each group within the program aims to provide a safe space to talk about things that are important to their lives.

The program also hopes to plan activities such as hikes, bowling outings, card games and similar events, such as the welcome dinner that happened last night in the California Mission Room.

According to Tran, CLC has 100 registered members, and he expects numbers to double soon.

Senior Campus Ministry intern Felipe Yerkes-Medina feels the best way for him to help the program get off the ground is through active participation.

"For me, I think it's the opportunity to get to know other students on a little bit of a deeper level and not necessarily just (at the level of) God and spirituality, but to meet new people and kind of meet them at whatever stage they're in," said Yerkes-Medina.

The club is open to open to students of all religious backgrounds.

Contact Kate Flannery at kflannery@scu.edu.