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By Tami Woods
Director of College + Young Adult Ministries
In February of 1942, the first Episcopal Canterbury Club was established at the University of Alabama. Not long after that, the National Canterbury Association was chartered and served as the official collegiate ministry of the Episcopal Church. At that time, “Canterbury Club” became the standard name for campus chapters across the United States. In time, hundreds of campus ministries were established at colleges and universities across the country.
The use of the term “Canterbury Club” to describe groups of Episcopal students comes from the history of Canterbury, England serving as the epicenter of the Church of England and the birthplace of the worldwide Anglican Communion. One of the primary symbols for the Anglican Communion is a compass rose, with arrows pointing outward in all directions. The use of the name “Canterbury” was intended to connect our students to our Anglican roots and traditions and provide the imagery of “Canterbury Club” serving as the hub for reaching out to their surrounding campuses and communities.
With the dissolution of the National Canterbury Association as a national entity several decades ago, oversight of established campus ministries shifted. These campus ministries are now independently funded, organized, and supervised by their respective Episcopal dioceses. Where official “Canterbury Clubs” have not been established, local parishes often work to support students and young adults through a variety of ministry models.
In the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, we are striving to incorporate both diocesan and parish level ministry models to serve college students and young adults across our diocese and beyond. Over the years, this diocese has been blessed to have had a long history of college and young adult ministry in a variety of models and forms. Today, we hope to honor and carry forward the legacies of these past iterations into a new era of ministry within our diocese. As we look forward to our fifth school year as a ministry team, we are excited about the progress we have made toward the vision thus far.
Over the past four years, the diocesan department of College + Young Adult Ministries has served as a “hub” for ministry in our diocese. The department has offered seed money in the form of small grants to any church or ministry partner interested in starting a ministry or project that would benefit college students and young adults. We have served as a resource for local and regional visioning and planning. We have partnered with churches who were already doing this ministry to support and discern future direction. We have partnered with other diocesan ministries to collaborate on how to incorporate our population more effectively. We have offered retreats, mission and service opportunities, and pilgrimage along the way. As a result of this work, we have watched as growing awareness and enthusiasm for college and young adult ministry has spread. We are contacted with new job openings for young people, approached constantly with new ministry and collaboration opportunities, and get to watch churches begin to identify the young adults in their congregations and discern how they can better serve their people. Across the diocese, there is a growing awareness and energy that is undeniable.
While work at the diocesan and congregational levels has been underway, we have always been increasingly present on campuses. Consistent time well spent has resulted in core groups of student leaders eager to grow these communities. They are asking for more time and presence from us, and we are eager to provide that for them. Throughout the 2025-2026 academic year, we focused on establishing official student organizations on some of these campuses. Having official student organization status allows for increased visibility and marketing, access to spaces on campus, the ability to participate in university events and activities (such as student organization fairs, new student orientation, tailgating at sporting events, etc.), and so much more. Although overseen by the diocese, these Episcopal student organizations must be established by students, and it is not always a quick and easy process.
We are excited to report that we now have three official Episcopal Campus Ministry organizations (“Canterbury Clubs”) with another on the way. Canterbury Clubs are active at Trinity University in San Antonio, at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, and at Texas State University in San Marcos. The process for developing an official Canterbury Club at the University of Texas - San Antonio will be underway this Fall. To ensure continued growth, health, and sustainability, we are working to dedicate more consistent personnel presence at each of these campuses. This will look different at each campus due to their unique needs and community contexts. In some cases, like at Texas State University in San Marcos, we are looking to hire a campus chaplain dedicated to this one campus ministry site. Based on the needs of such a large campus and student population, our long-term dream is to eventually have a dedicated space near campus that Canterbury students can call their own. It is likely that this more traditional Canterbury Club model with dedicated staff will be needed at other large campuses in our diocese as well in the not so distant future.
Today, churches have been serving as hubs for embracing young adults into their churches and communities. The diocesan department has served as a hub for wider spread ministry opportunities, for resources and support, and for casting and carrying out the vision of the bishop for college and young adult ministry. And now, Canterbury Clubs and other campus ministry models serve as the hub for ministry to and for their wider campus communities and beyond. College + Young Adult Ministries is alive and well in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and we can’t wait to see where the Holy Spirit takes us next.
