New students at Troy University are invited to a progressive dinner tonight hosted by four campus ministry organizations.

“It’s something we like to do during Welcome Week,” said the Rev. Den Irwin of the Mother Theresa Catholic Newman Ministry.

Irwin said the first progressive dinner was held last fall, as the Newman Center dorm was opening on campus and the Catholic ministry was becoming more established on campus.

“We wanted to go the extra mile to let everyone know that while we have a ministry spot inside the dorm, we still are active with the other campus ministries,” Irwin said. “A number of campus ministers get to together each month anyway and we have a good relationship. We all thought this would be something fun to do during Welcome Week.”

The dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. with appetizers at the Wesley Foundation, located on John M. Long Avenue. Participants will then go to the Newman Center for salads and to the Baptist Campus Ministry for the main course. Dessert and coffee will be offered at the Christian Student Center, across from Collegedale Church of Christ.

“We should wrap up about 7:30 p.m., and after that the BCM is playing broom hockey and the CSC is playing volleyball,” Irwin said.

The dinner is offered free of charge to all new students at Troy University. “And a lot of us are going to be asking our students who are already involved in our ministries to be there, as well,” Irwin said.

He added that outreach ministries play an important role during a student’s college years. “We’re here and we want to be a part of your college life,” he said. “We want to give a group to hang out with, a community of friends and plenty of activities that can help you grow as person as well as spiritually.

“(Our ministries) are here to remind you that God wants to be a part of your life, especially at this point in time.”