One of the main reasons that I love the University of Ottawa is the diversity of clubs and associations. However, did you know that there was a religious club named Catholic Christian Outreach? I had the chance to sit down with Céliane Paré-Gagné who graduated from Laval University. When she finished her studies three years ago, she moved to Ottawa and became a Campus Missionary. She gave me the details about this organisation.
What is Catholic Christian Outreach?
Céliane: CCO is a University Student national movement whos mission is to share the faith among students. We invite students to have a personal relationship with God and we challenge students to live in the fullness of the Catholic faith with a strong emphasis on becoming leaders in the renewal of the world. We can call our work “evangelization”. CCO is approved by the Catholic Church.
What is your work exactly?
Céliane: I am one of the four Campus Missionaries at the University of Ottawa. I run the women ministry, so I schedule faith studies and lead some of them, and I also train students to lead them. I help plan social or faith based events for students. It’s my full time job!
On how many campuses across Canada is CCO located?
Céliane: We are currently located on 11 campuses in Canada. So, there is a CCO at Carleton University, Ryerson University and Queen’s University and seven others, and this fall we are expending to the University of Victoria. However, our national conference attracts students from 80 campuses across the country.
What is the CCO’s main activity on campus?
Céliane: The faith studies are our main activity. They involve a weekly meeting for six weeks or more, meant to share information about our faith and deepen our relationship with God. Students are paired up with other students of the same sex and they have either a missionary or a student leader assigned to them. There are five levels of faith studies to help you grow in your faith.
Why girls and boys in separate group?
Céliane: In faith studies more personal or delicate matters often come up so we want to make sure that everyone can talk freely. This will apply for men of women’s night as well, but all our other events are mixed.
How many students are in involved in CCO in uOttawa?
Céliane: There are about 150 students involved on campus every semester.
Are they more girls than boys involved?
Céliane: There may be a few more girls than boys, but the numbers are pretty even.
Do you only attract Christian or Catholic “members”?
Céliane: Actually, it’s surprising to say, but no, because we also have Christians and sometimes we have people who come from different backgrounds like Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist. They come out of curiosity to see what we have to offer.
What do you think CCO has to give back?
Céliane: We give each student that joins a chance to build his/her relationship with God or to create that bond. We are not a judgmental group at all. We agree with the church teachings, but if someone doesn’t follow it by the book, that’s their freedom and we can’t interfere. We are not here to give a theological study, but to spread the message and love of God.
How do you spread that love?
Céliane: So beside faith studies, we have different events, either faith based or socials. We have monthly prayer night called Summit that attracts about 150-200 people. For students, 101 week is synonym of fun, but for us it’s a time of outreach. Through our events we always hope to meet new people and share the faith. We also have women and men’s night, coffeehouse, formals, a retreat in the fall, a national conference called “Rise Up”, and different mission projects.
Finally, what do you love most about your work?
Céliane: I love seeing people’s live change. I like to see the joy they have when God enters their life. That’s why I do what I do.
If you would like to get involved with Catholic Christian Outreach you can visit their Web Site: http://cco.ca/campus or if you want to get more specific information about missions or upcoming events feel free to look at their Facebook page.