A Community Of Belonging Since 1940
Group picture in the Westminster House Chapel, ca. 1965
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1940 - Westminster House founded
1955 - Rev. Bill Rogers, Campus Minister, begins laying groundwork with PSC students, educating and advocating for racial integration of UGA’s campus.
1957 - Under Rev. Rogers direction, the Synod of Georgia begins fundraising to construct a new ministry facility at 1250 S. Lumpkin St.
1960 - Dedication of the Presbyterian Student Center building, which remains our ministry facility to the present.
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** Many of the dates in this section are approximate, as the written histories consulted do not specify. As time permits, old Presbytery and Synod minutes will be consulted, and the page will be updated.
1961 - Under federal mandate, the University of Georgia begins the process of racially integrating its campus. The PSC actively (and controversially) supports the integration, welcoming black students into the full life and ministry of Westminster House. In response to this support, the campus ministers are fired.
1961 - Rev. Roland Purdue called as Campus Minister (completed service in 1965)
1966 - Rev. Milner Ball called as Campus Minister (completed service in 1971)
1971 - In response to the campus ministry’s involvement in the ongoing Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War protests, the campus ministers were removed and the center was shut down.
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1972 - Rev. Alex Williams called as Campus Minister (completed service in 1995)
1988 - Under the direction of the newly formed Northeast Georgia Presbytery, the campus ministry is incorporated as Presbyterian Campus Ministry, Inc.
1996 - Rev. Bob Googe called as Campus Minister (completed service in 2004)
2004 - Rev. Anna MacArthur called as PSC’s first ordained woman Campus Minister (completed service in 2007)
2008 - Rev. Andy Cooke called as Campus Minister (completed service in 2018)
2018 - Rev. Will Norman called as campus Minister (Present)
2019 - under the leadership of two PSC Students, Coffee and Queeries is founded as an interfaith gathering for LGBTQ+ students
2020 - the board of directors of PCM, Inc. Northeast Georgia Presbytery, and Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) reach an agreement for PCM to become a joint ministry of the PC(USA) and UCC.
2020 - Rev. Haley Lerner called as first UCC Campus Minister (Present)
Today’s Journey
Beginning in the Spring of 2020, the PSC placed a particular emphasis on the pursuit of racial justice, beginning with education, self-examination, and intentional anti-racism training. The Journey Toward Justice project facilitates programs through which students build their capacity to engage thoughtfully in advocacy work. Our goals for this journey are to cultivate a deepened and more nuanced understanding of race and race relations and to verbalize and demonstrate a conviction of ‘the responsible/faithful self’ within the racial reality of our time and place.