LGBTQ supporting campus ministry, Grace Unlimited students hold hands during worship.

ABOUT GRACE UNLIMITED.

EXPECT.

WHAT TO

Grace Unlimited is an inclusive and affirming campus ministry for students that is supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Weekly worship services incorporate elements of both faith traditions, but students of all religious backgrounds are welcome to attend, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey.

On Thursday nights at 8:30pm, students meet at The Center for Faith and Vocation (aka ‘The Blue House’) on the NE side of campus across from the parking garage for food, fellowship, and prayer. Gatherings are informal, and all are welcome to join.

Bible study is held at 4:30pm on Sundays at the south campus cafe. On Sunday evenings, students gather at Sweeney Chapel (on the SW corner of campus in the CTS buildings) at 6:00pm for worship and holy Eucharist.

Butler University's Grace Unlimited student ministry posing in front of Center for Faith and Vocation Center.

OUR COMMUNITY

Grace Unlimited is made up of students and staff from the Butler community who invite all those on campus and in the surrounding areas to join them in worship and fellowship.

We are the only Christian campus ministry at Butler who openly affirms those in the LGBTQ+ community, and we seek to always be a safe space that invites curiosity and supports those who have either been excluded elsewhere or may be seeking a new community of faith.

OUR
MISSION

Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself.

Our mission is to be open to new insights. God encounters us, not only through the Scriptures and traditions of our past, but also through today’s experience and critical thinking.

We stand in continuity with generations before us who have encountered God in the life, death and risen life of Jesus Christ. Their past experience is an essential part of who we are today. We are especially informed by the broadly catholic traditions of Anglicanism and Lutheranism.

MEET THE MINISTRY

Student President

KAYLA ZALESKI

My name is Kayla Zaleski, and I am in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Butler University. On campus, I am the President of Grace Unlimited, the hospitality co-team lead for Butler Ambassadors for Special Olympics, and Vice President for Delta Alpha Pi honors fraternity.

Once I graduate, I plan on pursuing a career that incorporates pharmacy and statistics. In my free time, I enjoy being with friends and family and being outdoors.

Why GU: I enjoy Grace Unlimited because it is a space that allows you to learn, build relationships, and grow in your faith while surrounded by other who in a similar phase of life, but will have had different experiences and view points.

kaleski@butler.edu

Service Chair

ABBY OLSON

My name is Abby Olson and I am a senior studying Health Sciences and Spanish at Butler. Outside of Grace Unlimited, I run for the cross-country and track and field team at Butler and I am involved in Best Buddies.

After Butler, I will be pursuing a Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree.

Why GU: Grace Unlimited is a fun and inviting community that has helped me form connections with great people who are also interested in exploring their faith.

aeolson1@butler.edu

Board President

PHILIP SOWDERS

Philip is a native of Indianapolis and grew up on the east side. Following graduate school at the University of Chicago, he did post graduate work in Washington DC and attended the National Cathedral.

After graduation he moved to Gettysburg to begin a practice of psychotherapy.

While there he obtained an STM in New Testament Studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Philip does assessments and treatment for youth with Autism and early learning disabilities as well as maintaining a small privative practice. Along with this, he is a member of Open Minds, a research group that discusses advances in Quantum Physics. Philip maintains his interest in the spiritual needs and explorations with the students at Butler University. He is currently serving as the board president.

p.sowders@juno.com

Faculty Advisor

DR. BRENT HEGE

Dr. Brent Hege is Senior Lecturer in Religion and Center for Faith and Vocation Scholar in Residence at Butler University, where he teaches courses in Christian theology and comparative religion, as well as the popular First Year Seminar, "Faith, Doubt, and Reason."

A lifelong Lutheran, he is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, a member of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod Candidacy Committee, and a board member and faculty advisor of Grace Unlimited.

Why GU: I'm committed to Grace Unlimited because it's a ministry that provides a welcoming and inclusive space for students, faculty, and staff to explore their faith, wrestle with big questions, serve the community, and have fun while doing it!

bhege@butler.edu

2024 - 2025 Interim Pastor

The Rev. Matthew Masko

The Rev. Matthew Masko is a pastor in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and he has been called as the interim chaplain of Grace Unlimited for the 2024-2025 school year.

Why GU: I am beyond excited to join this lively, vital campus ministry community for the 2024-2025 academic year! Accompanying this incredible group of young people as they explore the intersection of faith and vocation underscores the importance of campus ministry within the broader ministry of the Church. Grace Unlimited has a long history of being a safe place to be the person God created you to be, and welcomes all to do the work that is essential to living a life of faith: wrestling with the questions, doubts, and general ponderings that are far-too-often unwelcome in other settings. In short, Grace Unlimited’s commitment to being a progressive, traditional, inclusive, biblical, contemplative, and activist ministry is an important reminder about the one to whom the Church bears witness—Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for the life of the world.”

mmasko@butler.edu