Jocelyn grew up in the same small town in New Jersey her whole life. Because her parents were Lutheran, she and her three sisters dutifully followed their parents to the same Lutheran church weekly.

“At 18,” Jocelyn said, “I left my small town to study English Education at James Madison University, a much larger campus in a much larger town. I was acutely aware of my limited experience with making friends in a new place. Being from such a small town, I wondered how I would find community in such a big place as Harrisonburg.”

On her first Saturday, she attended the giant University Block Party looking for a place to connect. Spying the Lutheran Campus Ministry booth, Jocelyn walked over and was greeted by the smiling face of Muhlenberg’s campus minister, who invited her to church the next day. “Going to church for the first time on my own,” Jocelyn shared, “I initially paid attention to how Muhlenberg’s service was structured differently than my home liturgy and where people’s unassigned seats were located. I was greeted by smiles from people seated around me and was introduced to my now favorite fall hymn, Let the Vineyard be Fruitful. My family and I had never heard that hymn before, but I shared the song that brings me joy with them when they came to visit Family weekend.”

Jocelyn found community through worship and weekly Lutheran Campus Ministry gatherings. “Covid interrupted everything,” Jocelyn said, “but I was able to maintain connections online. When I returned to Harrisonburg and my new church home, I came not out of obligation but for my own faith. It was now my turn to be the smiling face, greeting new students and those in the pew around her. Not having a car, I walked the 20 minutes to and from church. On my walks, I found myself arriving with the mindset for worship and leaving reflecting on the service and on what I would share with my family on our Sunday afternoon phone call.”

“One Sunday the pastors smiled and asked me if I might, by any chance, be free to help with elementary-age Sunday school the next week”. This act of service turned into several years of smiles and building faith and connections with the children of Muhlenberg while joyfully tending the fruitful vineyard in her own church home.