Three new positions — Jewish, Protestant and Muslim chaplains — have recently been filled at the Center for Ministry in an effort to provide a place for education and guidance in a variety of faiths.

The Rev. Larry Blake said these new positions reflect the Office of Campus Ministry’s hope to become more diverse, even at a Catholic university.

“It really emanates from our mission, which is to be an office that is interfaith and interreligious,” Blake said. “It’s part of what we have wanted to do to help our students understand that this office, the office for ministry, is for all of our students.”

Associate Chaplain Rev. Medhat Yoakiem, who is originally from Egypt, said his experiences as a minority Christian in the Middle East taught him how to better understand and relate to others’ needs. His education in ministry services and previous work as a chaplain in a hospital prepared him for this type of work.

As a Protestant chaplain, Yoakiem said he was drawn to this position because it met his personal values and goals.

“The position was about to reach to non-Catholic Christian groups,” Medhat said. “The school is really serious about reaching out to other people, and I thought that really fit my desire and my passion very well as somebody who would like to relate to more people, even the people who are outside the Christian circle.”

Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein, who was hired as a Jewish chaplain just weeks ago, believes the effort to provide more diverse religious perspectives is important on a college campus.

“It’s important because we live in a diverse world,” Shavit-Lonstein said. “It’s good to have a rooted faith, but it’s also good to have that faith and be recognizing how your faith works with other traditions … The college setting is the best place to have those kind of experiences.”

Tamara Gray is a graduate student at St. Thomas and the newest associate chaplain at the Office of Campus Ministry. Gray said her involvement as a student at St. Thomas led to her interest in filling the position as a Muslim chaplain on campus.

“I’m a student here, so I have invested interest in caring about what happens at St. Thomas,” Gray said. “I’m really proud of St. Thomas for doing this.”

Though she grew up in Minnesota, Gray also lived in Syria for 20 years, which she said has shaped why she believes this is an important move by the university.

“I’ve lived as a majority, I’ve lived as a minority with religion. Being a minority, often times you feel very overlooked and unimportant and maybe not even seen,” Gray said. “Bringing in this kind of leadership helps these different communities be seen or to feel seen.”

First year student Sara Ness said that although she feels that she already has a place on campus, this change is important for those who feel otherwise.

“Obviously it’s a Catholic university, but not everyone that goes here is Catholic,” Ness said. “I think that’s important to make sure that everyone feels comfortable here, no matter what religion they are.”

These positions are all new to Campus Ministry, but Blake hopes to see the office grow into a diverse center for faith.

“This is a first step. I would like to see those positions grow,” Blake said. “I would hope that our office would then begin to be perceived as not Catholic center but a center for all of our students.”

Kassie Vivant can be reached at viva0001@stthomas.edu