Church Relations

The office of Church Relations stewards the institution's rich heritage is traced back to Hesperian College, established in 1861, by the denomination now known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

From its beginnings as a spiritual movement, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has practiced ecumenism (unity across denominational lines.)

It is through the Disciples on Campus (DOC) ministry provided by the office of Church Relations that Chapman's heritage remains strong and dynamic.  Our strength also comes from our Partner Church relationships.

The Office of Church Relations is located in the Fish Interfaith Center on Campus.

For information on pastoral counseling, please see our Campus Ministry page.

DOC Students in the Spotlight

Lauryn Linsell, Chapman '09, has been named a Fulbright Award winner for 2010-11 academic year.

Linsell was a very active member of the Disciples on Campus program during her Chapman years, serving on the DOC Leadership Board twice and the DOC Worship Team.  She was one of the voices of a DOC women's quartet, Epiphany.  She came to Chapman from Desert Dove Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona.

Linsell is Director of the Public Health Brigade in Honduras, a program of the Global Medical Brigades.  She began volunteering with the Brigades as a Chapman student and developed the Public Health Brigade.

Linsell's Fulbright work will focus on the problems of maternal health in Nicaragua, says Barbara Mulch, Ph.D., Director of Fellowship and Scholar Programs for Chapman.  The region of Nicaragua where Linsell will be posted suffers from the country's highest rate of maternal morbidity.

"Lauryn is going to be changing women's lives. She's already been doing that and she's going to be doing more. So I couldn't be more proud and delighted," Dr. Mulch says.

Among her other activities as a Chapman undergrad was field work with The Loon Project, a research project headed by Walter Piper, Ph.D., professor, Schmid College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences.  She wa a member of the women's Crew team and served as a resident advisor.

Another Chapman Graduate, Kirsten Svenson '09, also one of the voices in Epiphany, received a Fulbright last year to do work in Chile, but she turned it down in order to participate in the New York Teaching Fellows Program.  Kirsten came to Chapman from University Christian Church in San Diego.

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