Stanford Canterbury Report

Dr. Travis Stevens continues his chaplaincy at Stanford and now serves alongside the new interim pastor of University Lutheran Church, who happens to be an Episcopal priest, the Rev. Corrie Lassen, who herself once served as Stanford Canterbury’s chaplain! Together, Corrie and Travis advise the newly renamed Progressive Christians at Stanford: Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry, which is the only mainline campus ministry and the only LGBTQ-affirming campus ministry at Stanford. Check out their new website: https://progressivechristians.stanford.edu.

Several beloved doctoral students graduated in spring of 2024, so the focus this fall is on recruiting new students. We participated in 2 student activity fairs this fall, where students plant donated succulent cuttings in small pots with the QR code for the student group website. We gave away about 550 succulent cuttings and met several prospective new student group members, some of whom attended our welcome BBQ. The ministry was especially enlivened by the participation of volunteers from St Mark’s Palo Alto and Trinity Menlo Park, and by succulent cutting donations from those parishes as well as from All Saints Palo Alto, St Anne’s Fremont, All Saints San Leandro, and University Lutheran Church. Many thanks to all who pitched in!

Travis continues to renew ties to Episcopal congregations in the Stanford area. The campus ministry is also partnering with All Saints Palo Alto this fall for a monthly contemplative Eucharist called Worship in the Round on 2^nd Sundays at 5pm.

Notable campus ministry events over the past year included a celebration of El Día de los Muertos with Rev. Liz Muñoz and two events with Cal Canterbury: a holiday train ride in the East Bay. We also participated in a Lenten worship service at Memorial Church where Travis preached. We enjoyed a BBQ in the spring complete with a game of croquet. This year we are planning the second annual celebration of the life and ministry of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray with our partners at Memorial Church and will be exploring the theme of blessing this fall at our Bread and Belonging program. 

Want to get involved? Contact Travis at chaplainstevens@stanford.edu.

You can also support the chaplaincy by visiting:

https://www.diocal.org/churches-ministries/university-chaplaincies/stanfordcanterbury/