Dear All,
I hope this Eastertide has brought some consolation to all of you and a renewed sense of hope in the midst of our present trials. This time of year also provides a fitting occasion for sharing with you some news about an important transition in Mission and Ministry.
Recently, Jim Erps, S.J., made the decision to retire from his role as director of Campus Ministry at the end of the current academic year. Because of the subsequent postponement or cancellation of so many end-of-the-year activities, however, Father Erps ultimately decided to push up his retirement date and officially concluded his tenure as director on Friday, April 10, 2020. We are all grateful to Father Erps for his 24 years of service at LMU spread across several tours of duty.
Father Erps began his association with Loyola University as a freshman in 1966 and returned as a seminary student in 1971 as part of his Jesuit formation. From the time of his ordination to the priesthood in 1980, for 40 years, Father Erps has worked in campus ministry, including campus minister at LMU in the 1980s, as chaplain of Loyola Law School in the 1990s and director of Campus Ministry on the Westchester campus since 2009. He introduced the Christian Life Communities (CLC), the Kairos retreat program and Ignacio Companions at LMU and oversaw their development into mainstays of Campus Ministry’s student programming. Under his leadership, LMU has also become highly regarded for the beauty and prayerfulness of its liturgies centered on Sacred Heart Chapel. Father Erps’ work in campus ministry also led him to chaplaincies at Standford University and Boston College. He celebrated his 50th jubilee as a Jesuit in October 2019. Our present reality prevents us from celebrating his contributions to LMU at this time, but we will find appropriate opportunities to fete him once we are all able to gather again.
In light of Father Erps’ retirement, I have asked Marc Reeves, S.J., to serve as interim director of Campus Ministry effective immediately and continuing through the 2020-21 academic year. Father Reeves, of course, spent many years as part of the Campus Ministry team before becoming associate vice president for Mission and Ministry, a title that he will continue to hold. Father Reeves and I have worked side by side for nearly two years, and I am confident that he and I share many of the same hopes for Campus Ministry as we seek to accompany students of all faiths and no faith on their spiritual journeys, to form them for lives of service and justice, and to share with them the many gifts of our Jesuit, R.S.H.M., and C.S.J. charisms. A member of the LMU Jesuit Community since 2009, Father Reeves is also a Lion, having graduated from LMU as an undergraduate in 1993. He holds the D.Min. from the Catholic Theological Union at Chicago with an emphasis on liturgical theology. In addition to his duties in Mission and Ministry, Father Reeves is senior lecturer in the Department of Theological Studies and director of the Catholic Studies program at LMU and has co-led a summer program for LMU students in Rome. He also serves on the executive committee for the Liturgical Commission of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
We will launch a search for a permanent director once operations on the Westchester campus return to normal. In the meantime, I know that Father Reeves will appreciate your support. Please join me in wishing Father Reeves well and praying for his success and in thanking Father Erps for his service.
Peace,
John T. Sebastian, Ph.D.
Vice President for Mission and Ministry
