The Office of Campus Ministry/Social Action
This is the place to explore your “big questions and worthy dreams!” (author Sharon Parks)
Rooted in the Lasallian Catholic tradition, the mission of Campus Ministry & Social Action (CMSA) is to promote faith, service, social justice and community throughout Manhattan College. Inspired by faith and zeal, we accompany students, faculty and staff to encounter, engage, reflect, and act in the world and to find meaning and purpose on their life and faith journeys.
If you want to engage your faith in action in the world, CMSA is the place for you!
Campus Ministry & Social Action provides opportunities for spiritual development, community engagement, and reflection on social justice. CMSA offers programs that include prayer, liturgies, meditations, discussions, retreats, lectures, social justice immersion trips, local community service projects, and social events.
CMSA strives to serve students of all religious traditions. Through LIFT, Lasallians in Faith Together, there are several retreat experiences each semester. Peer Ministry provides student-to-student encounters that encourage exploration of faith and spirituality in the daily lives of students. Peer Ministry, like retreat experiences, offers opportunities for students of all levels and expressions of religious practices.
Our Catholic community celebrates the Eucharist on Sunday evenings in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers and on weekdays and evenings in the Residence Halls. CMSA journeys with members of the campus community interested in becoming Catholic or completing their Sacraments of Initiation. For Jummah, prayer space is available on Fridays for Muslim students.
The Lasallian Outreach Collaborative (LOCo) program and the Community-Engaged Federal Work-Study (CE-FWS) program connect students to community engagement opportunities and jobs at local community-based organizations.
One-time service opportunities are open to the entire student body throughout the year through the Service on Saturday program. The annual Mission Month Day of Service invites the campus community to participate in off-campus service projects with local community partners to celebrate the College’s Lasallian heritage during Mission Month each April.
CMSA sponsors LOVE, the Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience. Through these Social Justice Immersion Experiences, students participate in domestic and international immersion trips during Winter and Spring Breaks and the early summer. On the trips, students are immersed through experiences with the local community. Participants learn about issues such as disaster relief, climate change, racial justice, mass incarceration and more. Students are encouraged to bring what they experience back to campus to engage in local service and advocacy. Recent experiences have taken place in New Orleans, LA, Flint, Michigan, El Paso, TX & Bethlehem in the Holy Land.
Through CMSA, Manhattan has been designated a Catholic Relief Services “Global Campus" in recognition of the College’s commitment to international relief and development work. The College also has the distinction of being the first Fair Trade College in New York City and the fifth in the country.
CMSA and the Voter Engagement Committee work to promote and expand civic life on and off campus through the expansion of nonpartisan civic engagement, voter registration, and voter education efforts. “Jaspers Vote” is our Manhattan College campaign to get more Jaspers to register and vote every year.
CMSA partners with Academic Affairs to support Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) courses at Manhattan College. Through CEL courses, students engage in service or research connected to the course and the community’s needs.
Campus Ministry and Social Action has two convenient locations: Cornerstone, located in Miguel Hall, room 209, and the Social Action Suite, room 2.03, in the Student Commons. Students are always welcome to drop in and enjoy the comfortable lounges, get the latest information on programs and see the staff members who are available for conversation, consultation and pastoral counseling.
For more information: https://inside.manhattan.edu/student-life/cmsa/index.php