Eric MacFadden is a smart and talented young man who came to Pitt from Marion, OH. While at Pitt he majored in biology, minored in music and chemistry, and after graduating in 2020 went on to become a dentist through Case Western Reserve’s school of dentistry.
When Eric arrived at Pitt, though, he was looking for a church to be part of. He had grown up in a church and wanted to continue during his college years. He did not really have any idea where to look. The only thing he knew was that he really loved Heinz Chapel, so he looked at the chapel’s calendar, where he found there was only one worship service and it was run by the Lutheran Campus Ministry. Eric said, “I had never had any experience going to a Lutheran church before and I texted my mom. ‘Do you know anything about Lutherans? Are they cool?’” His mom gave a wonderful affirmation of Lutherans and said his grandpa had grown up “as a young Lutheran boy.” Eric recalls, “I was very inspired by that and decided to just try out the services.”
After coming to a few services, Eric and the campus pastor went out for coffee to talk one-on-one. It was there Eric remembers getting invited to the midweek meals. At those meals Eric started to make real connections with peers in the group. He also began inviting others, including fellow singers from the Heinz Chapel Choir, his roommate Ben, and his future spouse Kayla.
The Lutheran Campus Ministry had a deep impact on his time at Pitt and his life in general. “I don’t know how many friends I would have had, honestly, without the campus ministry.” The only other social group that Eric was involved in was a choir that he loved singing in because he loved music, “but I didn’t quite fit in socially with that crowd too well. So a lot of my closer friends were tied through the campus ministry.”
Along with being a center of social activity, Eric credits the campus ministry with strengthening his faith. “It really solidified my faith in my life. You know when you are a kid going to church with your parents, you learn, you build your faith, but when you’re actually exploring it and learning it by yourself on your own terms going to college, it is so much different. The campus ministry made a huge difference.” Eric understands this faith has worked its way into his work as a dentist as well. “Whatever lessons I learned during college in the campus ministry are what I base my faith around now. They form my prayer, how I look at the world, and how I treat other people. All based on what we learned, like how to read the Bible, and how to think about the issues going on around us.”
Eric continued his faith development during his college years because he was able to engage in a vibrant community and learn a great deal about being a faithful follower of Jesus. The Lutheran Campus Ministry in Greater Pittsburgh continues to be such a place that raises up such people whose faith will be central to the work that they do in the world
