Christian students carve out a sacred lunchtime space

It is just after 12 noon and the hallways are teeming with life. But while most of the crowd is heading for the canteen, a few students have gathered in a group room in one of the many nooks and crannies at CSS central campus. They are spending their lunch break with the Christian student club KFS or Kristeligt Forbund for Studerende. A Christian club that offers a space for your packed sandwiches, prayers, and the Bible.

KFS is a Christian student movement that has chapters at secondary schools and universities across the country. At the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), there used to be a group on South Campus. That initiative was launched by Alma Nymann Berggren, a student of religious studies and social science. The group shut down some time ago, and now Alma Nymann Berggren has set up a new one on the central CSS campus.

I hope the group can serve as a spiritual time-out.

Alma Nymann Berggren

»I hope the group can offer a kind of spiritual time-out. Many students have busy schedules, so it’s nice to meet up with like-minded people and talk about things that matter to us,« says Alma Nymann Berggren.

Her vision for the club is for it to be a space that welcomes different people across different theological backgrounds.

»At South Campus, we also had a few Catholics and people with independent church backgrounds in the group for a while. It worked really well,« she says.

There are five or six active members this semester, but as one of the participants says later: »If God wants more of us, then we’ll be more of us.«

Doubts and Christian apps

People trickle quietly into the room, greet each other, and sit down with their packed lunches. The atmosphere is informal, and Alma Nymann Berggren gives everyone a warm welcome. She knows two of the arrivals. A third person is here for the first time.

At a quarter past 12, she closes the door. There are four people present today — a strong turnout. Since there’s a new participant, Alma Nymann Berggren gives a brief introduction:

»KFS is an open lunchtime community where we talk about faith. You can take part as much as you want, according to your own needs and initiative.«

In the middle of the introduction, the door bursts open again and a final latecomer hurries in, pulling out a packed lunch and a Bible from a backpack. He is new also.

»First, we’ll do a check-in round,« says Alma Nymann Berggren to the group. This is where you can talk about what’s been going on in your life lately.

First-semester psychology student Daniella Baggersgaard kicks things off:

»I’m just a bit frustrated with God. I feel like he’s promised things that haven’t happened yet. I can get really impatient waiting for God to act sometimes.«

A few of the others nod in agreement. They’ve also had periods of frustration with God or doubts about their faith. One participant offers a suggestion:

»I’ve found it really helpful to use different Christian apps and faith-based series when I’ve been struggling with doubt. I can really recommend it,« he says.

The next person shares that she’s about to move, and finds it a bit overwhelming. A third is hoping that a friend will show up at KFS. Alma Nymann Berggren wraps up the round:

»Right now I’m really enjoying autumn. I really appreciate all the beautiful colours that God has created.«

Sofa conversations with God

According to Alma Nymann Berggren, it’s common in Christian communities to spend a lot of time sharing personal experiences — even with strangers. This, she says, is because church life involves reading scripture and praying together, which naturally leads people to reflect on their own lives.

Both Alma Nymann Berggren and the other KFS participants talk about God like a good friend they could meet for coffee. When she talks to God, Alma Nymann Berggren often lies on the sofa. She sometimes speaks out loud, because it helps make the conversation feel more real — not just thoughts floating into the void.

I’ve had issues with stress, and now I’ve started taking the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy literally.

Alma Nymann Berggren

»I often tell God about both everyday life details and the things I find hard. I focus my thoughts on him in the belief that there is something greater that sees me and hears me in my situation.«

Being a Christian, Alma Nymann Berggren says, gives her a sense of meaning and belonging. Apart from talking to God on the sofa, her daily life is shaped by Christian values:

»I’ve had issues with stress, and now I’ve started taking the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy literally.«

Alma Nymann Berggren and her husband have started observing a screen-free 24 hours from Friday to Saturday. During this time they don’t do any practical chores, but just relax and spend time together.

»It’s an old commandment from the Bible, and I’m applying it directly as a way to take care of myself and my body.«

Mother Teresa’s example

After the check-in round, the group reads a short passage from the Bible together. The participant who arrived clutching a Bible immediately starts leafing through it. The rest use their phones. In 2025, you can get the Bible as an app. Alma Nymann Berggren reads aloud while the others sit bent over their small screens, following the text closely.

Afterwards, there is time for reflection. For a few minutes, the room is so quiet that you can hear the conversations in the hallway outside. The five participants sit in contemplative silence.

When the time is up, Alma Nymann Berggren breaks the silence to begin a discussion of the Bible passage.

One participant reckoned that the most important message in the text was the reminder to stay humble:

»There’s a sense of that old Scandinavian collective humility in the text. On the one hand, God wants to lift us up, but he also wants to correct us when we think too highly of ourselves. Don’t think you’re something — but you are something,« he says.

Everyone has their own interpretation of the short Bible passage. The lines are dissected one at a time. The conversation turns to whether humility means being honoured in heaven after death, or whether the honour comes here on earth.

»Take Charlie Kirk as an example. He spent time advocating for the Christian God,« suggests Daniella Baggersgaard.

»After his death, he was honoured on earth. Not to make it too political — he was also a sinful human being.«

Another participant nods: »He was honoured for trying to facilitate conversations between people who disagreed, and for spreading the values of Jesus.«

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A third participant chimes in to say that he strongly disagrees with Charlie Kirk’s view of Christianity. He finds it old-fashioned.

The discussion is about to shift from theology to politics, but Alma Nymann Berggren steps in to smooth things over:

»Maybe we could use Mother Teresa as an example instead. She served God by helping others and was honoured afterwards,« she says.

The others mumble their agreement. Mother Teresa, they can all agree, is a good example. Alma Nymann Berggren wraps up:

»The focus shouldn’t be on being honoured in this life, but on Jesus. Let’s end on that note.«

»Holy spirit motivation«

It’s nearly one in the afternoon, and the session is coming to a close.

»Is there anything we should pray for?« Alma Nymann Berggren asks the group.

Daniella Baggersgaard speaks up — she would like them to pray for a close family member who is not a believer:

»He started a faith-based course but stopped again. On the other hand, he has said he wants to start going to church. So he could use a bit of ‘holy spirit motivation’,« she says.

The others also offer up topics, and in the end the group agrees on the day’s prayer list:

All the students on CSS campus, the new students, the situation in the Middle East, the homeless, Daniella Baggersgaard’s family member, and the participant who is about to move.

Everyone folds their hands and closes their eyes. Alma Nymann Berggren begins to pray out loud. Now and then, the others nod or mumble in agreement when something in the prayer resonates with them. Alma Nymann Berggren finishes with an »amen«.

The lunch break is over, and the little Christian club breaks up. It’s time for classes and work, and the spiritual refuge dissolves itself.

»See you next time. I’ll post in the Facebook group which room we’ll be in,« says Alma Nymann Berggren. They file out of the room and back into the CSS bustle.

This article was first written in Danish and published on 29 October 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.