How do people describe EMU?

• Welcoming supportive community
• Located close to places of natural beauty
• Nurturing spaces for exploring faith and values  
• Caring faculty and staff who mentor students

Community, Nature, Worship and Prayer

If your faith and spirituality are formed in the context of community, nature, worship and prayer, EMU is for you. We have:

• weekly opportunities for worship on campus
• conversation, Bible study and faith mentoring with our volunteer affiliates
• invitations for connections in the broader community and with faith congregations
• prayer and meditation rooms available for your use
• outdoor spaces in the woods, gardens, prayer labyrinth and campus hill

Active Faith

If your faith is nurtured through acts of service and compassion, or the passionate search for justice for the oppressed, EMU is for you. 

Student groups are involved in faithful service near and far. From cleaning up the local Blacks Run stream, to spring break service trips, to demonstrating against hate and violence in the world, EMU students show faith in action. Here are just a few student groups that foster active faith. 

• Alpha Omega Dancers for Christ
• Celebration Worship
• Engineers for a Sustainable World
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• Peace Fellowship
• SEEDS: Students Engaging in Environmental Development and Stewardship
• Y-Serve

Faith and Religious Exploration

Your college experience is a good time to explore what your faith means for your life today and in the future. We can help you explore by: 

• We encourage interfaith understanding and dialogue
• We welcome asking questions and voicing doubts
• We mentor you to claim your values, passions and purpose
• We encourage you to explore connecting across differences
• We provide care through spiritual mentoring, pastoral care and counseling

EMU Statement on Faith Diversity

Eastern Mennonite University is a campus community made up of students from more than 50 denominations and faith backgrounds. EMU is committed to a constructive and respectful faith discourse which values perspectives from various faiths and traditions. 

The Office of Faith and Spiritual Life fosters relationships of hospitality, healing, and hope; encourages spiritual formation, active faith, and interfaith literacy; welcomes questions and doubts; and explores values and vocation, with EMU Mission, Vision, and Values and the Student Life Division purpose as foundations.

The university chaplain and student chaplains are available to the entire campus community as spiritual resources for faith formation conversations, care, support, and prayer for students of all faith backgrounds. The chaplain offers pastoral care, invites and nurtures leadership, and coordinates programs for spiritual formation and growth including campus worship services, faith formation related small groups, special events and spiritual retreats.

Faculty on campus represent a range of theological understandings and regularly engage with students around issues of faith and integration with their academic disciplines and student’s future careers.

Faith diversity is an important part of EMU’s campus, as are dialogue and respect. In recognition of this diversity, EMU is committed to creating spaces where students of all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging.

Compassion Fund

The faith and spiritual life compassion fund helps students with emergency needs, such as the cost of travel related to the death or serious illness of a family member, medical/dental expenses, academic books, or expenses related to housing and work- or school-related transportation.

Donations can also be designated for addressing food insecurity needs through the FSI Free Food room at the link below.