Albion

Albion College and the United Methodist Church

Albion College maintains a vital connection with its founding denomination, The United Methodist Church. If you are interested in Albion College and come from a United Methodist background, you will find friends, support, and opportunities here.

Some of the ongoing College-Church connections include:

Albion College has a strong commitment to providing financial aid students from a United Methodist background.  For details, please contact the Office of Admission.

The College Chaplain is an active member of the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries, in both the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences.  In addition, Albion College students usually serve on both boards.

The Office of the Chaplain maintains an active and vocal presence at both Michigan area annual conferences.

Albion College student leaders attend regional, national, and international UMC conferences and service projects.

Through the Office of the Chaplain, there is a collaboration with Albion First United Methodist Church on supporting Wesley Fellowship (a registered student organization), as well as occasional worship and service opportunities.  FUMC Albion often opens its space to Albion College groups that need room for their programming, and welcomes Albion College students into their Sunday worship services.

The Office of the Chaplain partners with others in the Wesley and Holiness traditions, including African Methodist Episcopal, A.M.E. Zion, Korean, Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Nazarene, and Pentecostal traditions.  Many fruitful programs have come from these partnerships, including a regular "Methodism and Race" collaborative program between the Office of the Chaplain and Lewis Chapel A.M.E. Church (Albion) during Black History Month.

The Exploring Ministry group facilitated by the College Chaplain includes numerous students considering a vocation in United Methodist ministry.  Recent alumni/ae have gone on to many UMC-affiliated seminaries/divinity schools, including Boston University, Wesley Seminary, Duke Divinity School, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, as well as a number of recent graduates attending Vanderbilt Divinity School.  Other graduates have pursued short-term internship options through the United Methodist Church.

Two Student Outreach Coordinators for United Methodist Relations work under the supervision of the Office of the Chaplain.

Albion College has a number of United Methodist faculty and staff members, who are active in their local congregations throughout the region.

There are numerous other connections between Albion College and the United Methodist Church, from administrative (e.g., West Michigan Conference archives), to programming (e.g., hosting UMC functions), to personal-relational, shared values (e.g., many of the Social Principles of the UMC are reflected in the core values of Albion College).

For more information on these and/or other aspects of the College-Church relationship, please contact the College Chaplain, Rev. Daniel McQuown.