CCO Campus Ministry

Home / Transformed Lives / Emily Morningstar

Emily Morningstar

morningstar_emily.jpg“The CCO’s ministry helped me figure out my faith,” says Emily Morningstar. “In high school, I believed what I believed because of the way I was raised. In college, I was exposed to many more perspectives. I was able to make my faith my own, and the CCO played a big part in that.”

When Emily first arrived at Westminster College, she knew she wanted to connect to other Christians on campus. “I was involved in youth group in high school, and it was really important to me. I tried out several different groups during my freshman year, and the thing that I liked the most was FCA, even though I’m not an athlete. I like to do yoga, but I’m not good at ‘real’ sports; but I love sports and a lot of my friends were on the soccer team. That was the group I started to hang out with through college.

“It made me feel like I had a place. I had good college years, but I didn’t have a lot of strong friends until FCA. I joined a sorority then dropped out, and I tried out other activities. But FCA is where I really felt like I belonged. The adults who were in charge, like [CCO staff member] Tom Rapchak, were like mentors to us.”

Emily also enjoyed the Jubilee conference, where she bonded with other Westminster students who attended, and where she caught a vision for how to serve God with her whole life.

“I loved the large-group times, the singing, and all the booths at Jubilee. I bought some books that I read and still think about, and I learned about sponsoring a child. I still sponsor her, and I think about her every day.”

Today, Emily lives in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where she is teaching fifth grade and is preparing to get married. She is active in her public school community and at Grace Lutheran Church, where she volunteers with the youth group.

“I think about the people who took time with me when I needed them, and even though I may never be able to repay them, I want to pay that forward,” Emily says. “I’m a role model and leader to these high school youth groupers, which I wouldn’t be able to be if I hadn’t figured out my faith in college. I learned through Jubilee and FCA Bible studies that a Christian doesn’t have a fit a particular stereotype. Everyone was encouraged to be themselves, flaws and all, and still be accepted. I don’t have to be some picture-perfect person to be a Christian.

“That makes me stronger today. As I teach and as I work with the youth group, I’m able to guide and lead them because I feel secure in my identity as a Christian. If the CCO had not been at Westminster, I don’t know if my faith would be the where it is today, and that would greatly change the way I live my life.”