FMU’s Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) has officially started for the fall 2010 semester. To kick things off, the first thing they are teaching is the Gospel of John.

Father John Zimmerman of St. Anne Catholic Parish is the acting facilitator of the group. In CCM’s second meeting on Sept. 29, he shared the importance of the Gospel of John with the group

“When John started off his ministry, he started it off with baptism to wash away all sin,” Zimmerman said.

One of the things that Zimmerman emphasized was an understanding of the synoptic versions of the Gospel of John. He mentioned that the stories from other synoptic versions, such as the King James version, share similarities but are told differently.

“In the synoptic versions, you will find that the first two disciples, Andrew and Simon Peter, were fishermen before they were disciples. In John’s Gospel, they were John’s disciples,” Zimmerman said.

When the group talks about synoptic versions, they refer to similar biblical story versions. Synoptic versions basically tell the same story, but are still somewhat different because they were written by different authors.

Arielle Buckman, the president of FMU’s CCM, said that the best way to think of a synoptic version is to think of it as the synonym.

“Basically, a synoptic or synonym sounds like the other paralleling synoptic,” Buckman said.

Although Catholic Campus Ministry is based off of Catholic doctrine, a student does not have to be Catholic to participate in the group. In fact, advisers and members of the group said that Catholicism shares the same basic beliefs that most Christians share.

“The only requirement for participation in CCM is a sincere love for God and a desire to deepen your faith,” Dr. Seth Smith, co-adviser of the group and FMU professor of physics said.

Before CCM began its fall activities, the students had a series of organizational meetings to decide on the goals for the organization. In addition to religious services and service projects, the members expressed a strong desire to pursue a Bible study program that meets their spiritual needs.

The student officers for CCM are sophomore Arielle Buckman, president; sophomore Bruno Rivera, vice president; freshman Trevor Wanco, secretary; and sophomore Stephanie Smith, treasurer. The faculty advisers for the group are Yulandra Heyward and Dr. Seth Smith.

CCM meets on every Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. in room L104 of the Leatherman Science Facility (LSF). The upcoming dates that the group has planned to meet are Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 10 and Nov. 17.

Each meeting begins with refreshments and continues with a Bible study.

Buckman said that the future meetings will consist of PowerPoint presentations and music to set the atmosphere.

“The primary purpose of CCM is to further our individual relationships with Christ and to deepen our knowledge and love of God,” Zimmerman said. “There is great peace in knowing that this is why we were created, and there is great joy in being faithful to this purpose.”

Additional information about the Catholic Campus Ministry can be obtained by contacting either of the faculty advisers of the group: Dr. Smith can be reached by emailing rsmith@fmarion.edu, and Ms. Heyward can be emailed at yheyward@fmarion.