Ritual, community, and free food
The Episcopal Student Association (ESA) is the student group associated with the Chapel of the Good Shepherd’s campus ministry. While many of our students do come from an Episcopal background, there are just as many who do not. We invite students from all faith backgrounds to join us and see if Good Shepherd and ESA are a good fit. Interested in ESA Facebook? Good Shepherd provides students with more than a place to worship. ESA hosts events that are targeted specifically at students while still holding with the basic goals of the church. ESA provides students with ritual, community, and, of course, free food. While a part of the larger church, most students choose to worship at the 6pm service every Sunday. This Rite II Eucharist (that only means something to you if you are an Episcopalian and it is not that important) welcomes all students of any faith and uses praise music and the hymnal for music. The music is lead by students; anyone with any instrument is welcome to participate in leading music. Each week, the service is followed by free pizza. Many students find this especially convenient because the dorms do not serve Sunday dinner.
What We Do
ESA is part of a larger community in several ways. First, we are a part of the church as a whole. ESA members have the opportunity to become members of the vestry (governing board) of Good Shepherd and help make decisions regarding the entire church. Students also participate in church-wide events such as potluck dinners and church service projects.
ESA is also a part of the larger Purdue/Lafayette/West Lafayette community. We participate in various service projects that help us make a difference in the community. During the course of the semester, we try to prepare at least two meals for the shelter of Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM). We have also participated in the Hunger Hike (to provide funding for LUM), Jubilee Christmas (to provide Christmas to those in need), and Relay for Life (to help fight cancer) among other activities. We are more than happy to take on other service projects that our members find interesting or in need of help.



