First Fruits

“It’s Carol Ann dinner!”

Those words have brought students running to the table at Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Washington for over twenty years. Carol Ann began making meals for students in 2002 when the pastor for campus ministry at the time, Scott Postlewaite, was visiting her congregation. “When Pastor Scott invited congregation members to make meals for students, I raced to be the first to sign up!” she recounted with a laugh. And so, for the past 22 years she has been faithfully bringing meals to students of Lutheran Campus Ministry at least once a quarter.

For Carol Ann, this act of service is also one of love. When she arrived on the University of Washington campus as a freshman in 1969, she knew she wanted to find a church home. “A fellow student pointed me to the Lutheran Student Center, which was then a three-story house on 16th and 52nd,” she recalled. “We met for Wednesday night services. It was 8-10 students, all earnest and open-minded.” The group was very social justice-oriented and concerned about the Vietnam War. “We helped take over the I-5 freeway after the Kent State shootings,” she recalls proudly. “I’m sure the FBI had files on all of us. Though mine would be very small, I’m sure!”

Now, fifty years later, she sees history repeating itself in the students of today. “They are experiencing challenges and joys that echo what I was experiencing when I was a student in the ‘60s and ’70s. It’s not the same, but similar. It feels good to be a guest auntie or grandma once a quarter and be with them, and bring them a comforting homecooked meal they can’t get in the dorms or can’t afford to make on their own.”

For Carol Ann, Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Washington taught her that faith is active in the world. It stands up to power and humbly serves others. That’s why she treats these meals like feasts. “For me, these are first fruit meals. These students are special people in my life. I didn’t have kids or grandkids, so these students are my chance to pour out that love and care to the next generation. You need to feed the future,” Carol Ann asserts.
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Because of generous volunteers and supporters like Carol Ann, Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Washington will keep feeding students with good food and the love of Christ for generations to come!