Spiritual Growth in Campus Ministry

To promote spiritual growth and faith exploration among the Holy Family University community, in Fall 2022 Campus Ministry welcomed Jill Snyder as director and Father Timothy Tarnacki, OSPPE , as chaplain.

Since joining Holy Family, Snyder has led numerous Campus Ministry initiatives that serve the diverse religious and spiritual needs of the community including group prayer sessions and creating a “busy person’s retreat” during Lent as well as service opportunities like packaging food for those experiencing food insecurity and organizing a campus clean-up.

Snyder came to Holy Family after serving in several ministry roles. “It’s funny how God works,” Snyder says. “I certainly didn’t plan my life to be this way, but I am so completely happy to where it has come to.” She graduated from LaSalle

University with a degree in Marketing, but after several jobs in the business field as well as working in the Advancement Office of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia raising money for Catholic schools Snyder felt that her path toward youth ministry became more evident. For several years she ran a high school youth ministry program in Medford, New Jersey.

Snyder then served for 10 years at Francis House of Prayer in Allentown, New Jersey, where she received her spiritual director certification. “It was there that I believe my understanding of my relationship with God completely changed and deepened,” shares Snyder. “I then had the opportunity to come to Holy Family and I thought, ‘This is where God is leading me next.’”

At Holy Family, Snyder sees Campus Ministry as a way to develop connections through the campus community. “My hope for Campus Ministry is to minister to students, staff, faculty, and alumni to foster a relationship with God. We are a beautiful mix of various faiths. I hope that with Father Timothy we can help to keep it simple. We have our prayers that we’ve learned as we’ve grown up, but we can also learn that we can sit in the stillness and quiet of prayer and allow God’s gentleness and quiet voice to become more apparent. We hope to help people become more aware of the movements of God’s Spirit. I also aspire to build the ministries and connect them with the Mass, including creating a music ministry, training lectors and altar servers, and helping anyone interested in RCIA. Connecting faith formation with Holy Family’s Mission is a significant part of the plan, too.”

Both Snyder and Father Timothy are trained as spiritual directors and offer opportunities to meet with members of the campus community. “When we meet with people, we can walk with them as companions to help them look for where God’s guidance is in the every day,” explains Snyder. “I hope we can help students, faculty, and staff to recognize the sacredness of each moment and to live in that sacredness. We can create a presence of God’s love and non-violence with Campus Ministry by creating opportunities for us to know our true selves deep within, which are centered on God and love. Students are making big decisions about their future right now, and it would help them make those decisions out of that center.”

For more information on Campus Ministry, contact Jill Snyder at 267-341-3261 or jsnyder3@holyfamily.edu