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Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning

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Call & Character: Educating Mind and Heart at Whitworth University

Communio (2025-26)

What is Call & Character?

After receiving a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment and Wake Forest University, Whitworth University created a new multi-faceted project titled "Call & Character: Educating Mind and Heart." Call & Character invites Whitworth's campus community to reflect on questions surrounding character, human flourishing, social justice, spiritual life and other things that make for a life worth living.

What is Communio?

Beginning in the fall of 2025, we will roll out a new program designed for undergraduate students at Whitworth, called Communio. Over the course of an academic year, a cohort of up to ten students will commit to sharing regular meals and conversation around a set of readings led principally by David Henreckson, professor of philosophy and director of the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning. Communio meetings will be designed to build friendships and model hospitality, intellectually and practically (homecooked meals will be offered periodically at professors' homes). A typical meeting will last three hours (likely between 5-8 p.m.) with time for deep conversation centered around a shared experience of poetry, prose, nature or film.

In a community of mutual respect and accountability, student-scholars will be asked to reflect (verbally and in writing) on their own understandings of calling and character. The student-leaders in Communio will also be given opportunities to develop their virtues and leadership skills through development of a capstone project via involvement in Weyerhaeuser Center programming. Projects might include hosting and interviewing scholars and artists in the Weyerhaeuser Speaker Series, hosting a PrimeTime event, and/or collaborative work with the chapel or the Dornsife Center for Community Engagement.

What should I expect in Communio?

  • Deep conversations with student colleagues and faculty mentors about morality, faith, beauty and what makes for a good life
  • Reading a fair amount of philosophy, literature, poetry and theology
  • Watching films that wrestle with the themes mentioned earlier
  • Walks to a local park or at a nature reserve
  • Good food, drinks and home-roasted coffee – whether meeting on or off campus

What are some questions that we might explore in Communio?

  • Is there any difference between a meaningful life and a significant life?
  • Why should I be good?
  • Is being good good enough? Or is there another source of salvation and ultimate meaning?
  • Must I love my neighbor? What about my enemy?
  • Is an appreciation of beauty essential to living a good life?

Must I be a Christian to participate in Communio?

There is no faith requirement to become a member of Communio. At the same time, all members of Communio should expect to delve into questions about faith, doubt and morality, and should also anticipate that the Christian tradition will provide the backdrop to many of these conversations.

Am I eligible for Communio?

All full-time undergraduate students at Whitworth are eligible to apply if the following conditions are met: (a) applicants hold a GPA of 3.4 or above; (b) applicants will be enrolled full-time at Whitworth throughout the 2025-26 academic year; (c) applicants are able to commit to 12 evening Communio seminars (some of which will be held off campus at professors' homes). Any exceptions to these conditions should be discussed with David Henreckson.

What is the fellowship award for Communio?

Upon completion of the fellowship, all student members of Communio will receive an award of $2,400.

How Do I Apply?

Via an email to David Henreckson (dhenreckson@whitworth.edu), please submit the following materials:

  1. A letter of application (600-1,000 words) that (a) explains why Communio is of interest to the applicant; (b) describes how the applicant thinks about "calling" and "character"; and (c) names three books (fiction or non-fiction) that have been most meaningful to the applicant.
  2. An up-to-date transcript showing the applicant's current GPA.
  3. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member that knows the applicant well. (Have the professor email the letter directly to David Henreckson.)

Applications (including the letters of recommendation) are due by May 10 at 5 p.m. Finalists will be invited to a 15-minute conversation with David Henreckson later in May or early June, and admission decisions will be announced shortly thereafter.

Please address any questions to David Henreckson (dhenreckson@whitworth.edu).