LMHE has been very active in its ministry with college and graduate students since the last assembly of the Metropolitan New York Synod. Our Vine NYC campus ministry network continues to run two student ministry communities in Manhattan, one uptown and one downtown. These ministries gather students weekly for dinner, conversation, bible study, and prayer. Throughout the year, we also bring students together from across the city for fellowship, retreats, service and justice work, small groups, and learning trips. Over the past two years, The Vine has hosted multiple day retreats, a weekend retreat focused on discernment. We have run small groups on transgender identity and the bible, embodied spiritual practices, Palestine, and the Psalms. We have a robust peer ministry program that empowers student leadership and we host a seminary intern from Union Theological Seminary. We look forward to taking students on our first ever international campus ministry trip to the Isle of Iona in Scotland this spring.
Our students have been going through a very challenging season over the past few years, from the COVID-19 lock downs that interrupted high school and college, to the protests and police crackdowns on campus last year and this year, to the fear that has arisen since the election for many of our most vulnerable community members. Throughout all this, we have striven to be there for students spiritually, emotionally, and through concrete support–providing meals, study spaces, and opportunities for community in the midst of a difficult and isolating season.
We also continue to run the College Student Pantry in partnership with Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless at Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish. This student-run food pantry program provided nearly 2000 bags of groceries to 749 unique students experiencing food insecurity in 2024 alone. These students come from over 40 institutions of higher learning in the greater New York City area. The College Student Pantry is also a ministry of leadership development, empowering three student staff members and countless volunteers to serve their neighbors and work for food justice on campus and in their communities.
Over the past 10 years, LMHE has become an increasingly ecumenical organization. We work closely with Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations in the city to offer ministry on campuses that reflects our shared witness to God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ. We also are building relationships with other full communion partners to help support student and young adults. LMHE's board of directors has been going through an intentional process of reimagining how we communicate our identity and values in ways that honor our Lutheran roots and are also more fully inclusive of students and partners from a variety of connected traditions. We are excited that in the year to come, we will be re-introducing our ministry to our friends and supporters in a way that truly reflects the ministry that we feel God is calling us to be in this moment in history. We hope that this will allow us to further strengthen and build up this ministry so that we can reach more students with the Gospel. We look forward to all the possibilities in ministry that we know will emerge from continuing to build relationships across denominational lines.
There are many ways to join together in the work of LMHE and help support our ministry with students, including financially supporting our ministry, volunteering, helping us connect to your congregation and more:
Volunteer: Do you have gifts, resources, energy and passion you'd like to share? We would love to connect with volunteers who would like to make meals for students, work with our Board of Directors, help us connect to a service opportunity, assist with events like our annual Trivia Night Fundraiser, help at one of our outreach events, meet with students interested in learning more about your line of work, speak to our students about your field of expertise or... something else! Email
[email protected] if you would like to get involved in one of the ways named or if you have another great idea for how you can help!
Make a Financial Gift: This ministry simply isn't possible without the generous partnership of people like you who care about ministry with students. Consider making an one-time or monthly gift. Give online at
thevinenyc.org/donate.
Support the Personal Care Product Pantry: The College Student Pantry collects hygiene and personal care products like deodorant, toothpaste and tampons for students who use the food pantry. These products can be difficult for students to afford. Please visit our Amazon Wishlist (
collegestudentpantry.org/wishlist) to make a direct gift of personal care products to the pantry.
Congregational Partnership: LMHE is actively seeking partner congregations that care deeply about making sure that students in New York City are invited into loving, Gospel-centered campus ministry communities. Partner congregations pray for students, refer students to The Vine, host visits from LMHE staff, board members, and students, and make a financial commitment to support campus ministry. We are seeking life-giving, mutual relationships with congregations who care about students and would love to discuss this possibility with your congregation. Simply email Pr. Becca at
[email protected] to learn more.
Refer Students: Are there students in your congregation who attend college or graduate school in New York City? Let them know about LMHE's ministries and send us their contact information so Pr. Becca can get in touch. Email
[email protected].
Pray for Students: Please keep LMHE, its students and all who study in your prayers and lift them up in the prayer ministries of your congregation.
Thank you for working with us to share the good news of Jesus Christ with students in NYC!