Chaplain George Koopmans (centre) speaks with Medicine Hat College students Erika Rouillard and Matthew Gourley. -- NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat College welcomes a new chaplain, George Koopmans, following the retirement of Rev. Kristy Reimers-Loader in October of 2021.
Koopmans is originally from B.C. but moved to Medicine Hat 17 years ago to take over ministry of the city’s Christian Reform Church. Koopmans, who studied at Olds College and the Mid-America Reformed Seminary, first became involved with MHC around 2011, when his church began offering a weekly service and supper for students. He then became a board member of the Medicine Hat Campus Ecumenical Campus Ministry Society, which oversees the chaplaincy position.
Following the retirement of former Rev. Reimers-Loader, Koopmans took over as the interim chaplain in Nov. 2021. As of Tuesday, he became the full-time chaplain.
“The responsibility of the chaplain is to maintain a spiritual presence on campus and to offer spiritual and pastoral support to the entire college community,” Koopmans told the News. “I collaborate with counselling and different organizations and offices to support the overall mental and physical health and wellness of students.
“My job is to talk to students. A lot of other people have a job description that supports students in a specific way, but I’m privileged to just be able to… ask students, ‘How are you doing?’ ‘How are things going?’,” Koopmans said. “Having an opportunity to talk about what we’re going through and, in addition to that, just knowing people care about you and are thinking about you, it makes a huge impact in the life of students.”
Since taking over as chaplain, Koopmans has spent much of his time getting to know current students.
“There were times when it was like building a ministry one person at a time,” Koopmans laughs. “Yet, in the midst of that, I would continually have students I had a meaningful discussion with a week ago or a couple days ago say ‘Thanks for being here; you’re really making a difference.'”
Koopmans plans to continue the services his predecessor offered, however he also hopes to implement some of his own ideas, such as group huddles, where students from different cultures can come together to learn and support one another, and a student retreat, where students can bond in a laid-back setting.
“I’m thankful for those who have established the chaplaincy at the college and those who have maintained it over the years,” said Koopmans. “The student years are stressful years and just having a community behind them to support them in various different ways, including spiritually and emotionally and even physically through the various food and other ministries we offer, is just wonderful.”
