Fellowship and Tolkien

An unlikely student-run club at the University of Alberta in Edmonton is getting people to talk about Christ by reading fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien.

Starting in 2010, Rick VanManen, campus ministry director, offered a summer book study on The Hobbit, which led to the ongoing Tolkien group, The Last Alliance, which now boasts over 30 members.

Although The Last Alliance is not classified as a Christian club, the discussion that happens there provides an opportunity to introduce students to the gospel.

After all, it’s difficult to talk of Tolkien without also bringing up theology. Many times, members of the club will discuss Tolkien’s worldview, his idea of good versus evil, and his many Christ figures contained in such works as the Lord of the Rings trilogy

The Last Alliance has created a space where different ideas are brought up about theology and faith.

“I wanted to have as many doorways into campus ministry as possible,” VanManen explains. “There are a lot of people that won’t come to a Bible study, but they will get involved in indirect ways.”

The Last Alliance serves as a gateway, a first step for students to engage with the University of Alberta’s campus ministry, which is funded in part by Home Missions.

Some students develop interest in the campus ministry through their Tolkien discussions, but sometimes it happens through proximity. The university’s Undergraduate Christian Fellowship group meets directly after The Last Alliance, and some students have begun to attend both.

Another two members of The Last Alliance, who had a Catholic background, began meeting with VanManen and started to reconnect with their faith. They joined the Graduate Christian Fellowship group and now one of the students is helping VanManen start a new campus ministry group.

“You never know in campus ministry where the Spirit will do things, and then all of a sudden everything is falling into place,” says VanManen.