THE BAY AREA Campus Ministry in the Bay College courtyard. The chairs and table were donated by BACM as part of the “Always Being Made New” grant offered by the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. From left, seated are Doug Gavriloff, BACM treasurer; and the Rev. Tony Morrison, BACM pastor/director. In back are Kim Carne, vice president of College Advancement; Tina Jensen, president of BACM; Tana Porath, vice president of BACM; Angie Combs; and Al Hansen, BACM secretary.

ESCANABA — Bay Area Campus Ministry has received a grant from the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The grant was part of their “Always Being Made New” initiative.

The grant required each campus ministry set a goal for their campus and their students. The grant then would offer up to $926 to achieve their goal.

“Our goal is fellowship and togetherness,” said the Rev. Tony Morrison, BACM pastor/director. “We want to see everyone gather together, share, and study.”

The goal chosen by the BACM board was to provide additional outdoor seating at the college that would benefit the students and the community, allowing anyone to gather and relax. “As a board we wanted to make sure the goal would impact as many students, employees and the community members as possible,” said Tina Jensen, BACM president.

“We tossed around numerous ideas and felt providing some sort of seating was the best way to have the impact we desired,” Jensen said.

After receiving the grant, the BACM board worked with Kim Carne, vice president of Bay College Advancement, on purchasing Adirondack chairs and a table as part of the initiative by the college to revitalize community spaces on campus to better serve students and community members in preparation of the college’s 60th anniversary. These chairs create a comfortable space to sit outside on the campus grounds.

BACM has been part of Bay College since 1981 and has been supporting student and their spiritual needs. BACM currently offers a free hot meal to students on Monday nights at the main campus in Escanaba and Thursday lunch to students at the Bay West campus in Iron Mountain, all with the assistance of local churches.

Immediately after each of these meals, Morrison has a Bible study that all students are invited to join. BACM also offers students the opportunity to participate in group activities both on and off campus.

Currently, about 20 to 25 students participate regularly in BACM activities but there is always room for more.

For more information about helping serve a meal, participating on the board or as a student participating in BACM activities, contact Morrison at tony.morrison@baycollege.edu.