Lyke House: The Catholic Center for the Atlanta University Center

Mission of the Lyke House

Mission of the Lyke House: The Catholic Center for the Atlanta University Center

The mission of Lyke House: The Catholic Center at the AUC is to establish spiritual, academic, and faith development for the Atlanta University Center family, with a spirit of Christian love and service in the Black Catholic tradition of Campus Ministry.

Who We Are

Lyke House: The Catholic Center at the AUC is a student center designed primarily, but not exclusively, for Roman Catholic students who attend the six institutions that make up the Atlanta University Center: Clark Atlanta University (CAU), Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, the Interdenominational Theological Center (I.T.C.), and Morehouse School of Medicine.

The main goal of the Lyke House Catholic Center is to achieve the full, conscious, and active participation of the students in worship. To achieve this goal, the Lyke House strives to relate the worship experience to students in ways that will incorporate elements from various cultures. We try to make all of our activities and services Afro-centric in nature, with students from America, the Caribbean, and Africa bringing their cultural and God-given gifts of music, literature, and dance for spiritual expression to the facility. We also endeavor to enlighten AUC students on the African roots of Catholicism, as well as instilling traditional African values in them.
We invite you and others to come and join us in this effort, and we invite you and others to join us in worship in whatever way you can and feel comfortable in doing so!

What We Do

Lyke House: the Catholic Center at AUC ministers to the students of the AUC by offering them numerous opportunities designed to encourage, support, and nurture their spiritual, mental, educational, and emotional development throughout their college matriculation. Through worship services, forums, retreats, and community service, Lyke House strives to respond to the six pillars of campus ministry as prescribed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (U.S.C.C.B). Those six pillars are:

• Educating for Justice and Peace
• Facilitating Personal Development
• Forming the Christian Conscience
• Developing Leaders for the Future
• Appropriating the Faith
• Forming Faith Communities

Lyke House answers the call of the six pillars through several ministries and programs, which include (but are not limited to):

1. Educating for Justice and Peace/Forming the Christian Conscience
   • "Talk-Back" style forums, where speakers are invited to chat with students about issues concerning ministry to the poor, voting awareness, right-to-life concerns, and etc.
   • Community Service opportunities, such as feeding the homeless with the St. Francis Table Ministry of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in downtown Atlanta, and participating in the Sickle Cell Road Race and AIDS Walk of Atlanta
2. Facilitating Personal Development/Developing Leaders for the Future
   • Workshops on topics such as: time management, money management, love and maintaining healthy relationships, AIDS/HIV education and awareness, etc.
   • Student involvement with Lyke House and Atlanta Archdiocesan ministries, such as: Liturgical Training workshops (Eucharistic Minister, Acolyte, Lector, Bowman Scholar, Hospitality Minister), and volunteer opportunities with the Atlanta Archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry, Office for Religious Education and Young Adult Ministry, and Archdiocesan parish youth groups
3. Appropriating the Faith/Forming Faith Communities
   • Worship services on Sundays at 10:00 pm, Wednesdays at 5:30 pm, and Confession on Tuesdays at 5:00 pm
   • Liturgy Committee meetings on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm
   • Annual retreats, which allow students to travel away from the AUC to reflect on the various ways in which God is speaking to them and through their family, friends, and others
   • "Delinquency" Thursdays, where students gather to eat, play games, and watch movies in order to spend time hanging out with others to build a stronger faith community and network with students from the AUC and other Catholic campus student centers