A university chaplain is an important role in the life of a campus. A chaplain provides a resource for those who seek guidance, whether to deepen their faith or explore their spirituality and worldview.
Lehigh’s Chaplain’s Office, Office of Jewish Student Life, and Catholic Campus Ministry and Newman Center are where the three members of the clergy can be found at Lehigh. Rev. Lloyd Steffen, Rabbi Steven Nathan, and Rev. Mark Searles serve a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff, advising and supporting through many life changes and challenges.
Read more about these men of God below.
Rev. Lloyd Steffen is Lehigh’s official university chaplain. He is an ordained Protestant minister (United Church of Christ), professor of religion studies, and director of the Dialogue Center. Steffen oversees all religious clubs and events on the Lehigh campus, as well as Packer Chapel weddings.
Steffen began working in the Chaplain’s Office in 1990. He has a B.A. in history from New College, an M.A. from Andover Newton Theological School, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Brown University. Before coming to Lehigh, he was a tenured professor and campus chaplain at Northland College in Wisconsin.
“I have been privileged to be a chaplain while also serving as a member of the tenured faculty,” Steffen said. “This combination of roles, which I have always been careful to keep separate, plays to my strengths and allows me to serve a community and institution in more than one way. I’ve enjoyed working as a chaplain with people in some of the important moments in their lives, yet I also enjoy the classroom, doing research and writing for academic and more public audiences.”
Steffen said he has had moments of great joy at Lehigh but has also shared in many somber moments with members of the community. “A joyful highlight was being involved in the institutional effort to bring His Holiness the Dalai Lama to campus. But there were more solemn events like 9/11 — a hard day on campus — and hastily organized vigils in the wake of events like the Rodney King riots and the Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting.”
Rabbi Steven Nathan is the endowed director of Jewish Student Life and associate chaplain at Lehigh. He was a student-rabbi at Lehigh from 1990-92 when he was studying in seminary in Philadelphia and came to Lehigh in his current role in 2017. Nathan holds a B.A. in human development from Boston College, an M.A. and M.Ed. in counseling psychology from Teachers College – Columbia University, and rabbinical ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Before becoming associate chaplain, Nathan worked in a number of synagogues, colleges, and nonprofits and was a child and family therapist in Scranton.
“I was always very involved in the Jewish world in more informal ways,” Nathan said. “But eventually I realized I wanted to combine my love of Judaism with my love of working with and helping people, which I did as a therapist. It seemed that the best way to do that was to become a rabbi!”
“Rabbi Steve” said his favorite part of the work he does at Lehigh is getting to know students and being a part of their lives. “We do lots of cooking and eating, celebrating holidays together.”
One memory that stands out is the vigil Nathan was a part of after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. “Without much notice, hundreds of people of different faith backgrounds came together to walk in silence with candles to remember those who died so tragically. It showed what a caring community Lehigh is.”
Rev. Mark Searles is director and Catholic chaplain of the Newman Center, Lehigh’s Catholic ministry, as well as director of vocations for the Diocese of Allentown. He came to Lehigh in 2021 after having been a high school chaplain at Allentown Central Catholic High School. He earned a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Scranton and an M.A. and M.Div. in theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
“I was initially a biology pre-med major in college and decided that I wanted to help others in some type of service. I thought medicine would be a great way to serve, but through prayer, discernment, and conversations with my college chaplain, I realized that God was inviting me to be a healer of souls,” Searles said. “A priest is very much a spiritual physician, and I love helping people to walk humbly with God and to help heal the brokenhearted.”
“Father Mark” said he loves interacting and praying with students. “My favorite thing about Lehigh is our Sunday night Mass at 9:10 p.m. in Packer Memorial Church. We have a great crowd of diverse students gathered from all over campus who come to pray, to rest, and to receive, and to fill up with God's love before they go forth into the new week to love and serve God and others.”
A highlight of his time at Lehigh, Searles said, is from spring 2023 when “we held a beautiful Catholic Baccalaureate Mass for our seniors and grad students. This group persevered through the pandemic and were tremendous leaders and examples of their faith on campus. It was a very beautiful and moving liturgy, and we sent them off with many blessings to do great things in the world!”