People look for Jesus in different places: in art, in song, in verse and in nature. It’s not quite expected that you’d find him in “ER.”

The college ministry at Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation, 2622 Lincoln Way, is able to find him in the popular NBC television show.

Jim Shirbroun, campus minister for the church, uses the group’s discussion in his ministry.

“We’ve got this nice big screen,” Shirbroun says. “We’ve got to use it for something.”

The program began several years ago, shortly after Shirbroun came to the church.

“I’ve been a fan of the show since the early years,” Shirbroun says of “ER.” “I noticed that there would be spiritual issues that came up in the episodes and rarely any resolutions. In any hospital that you find, it has a resident chaplain or a chaplain on call. Here is this large urban Chicago hospital with no clergy representation at all.”

Thursday nights, the church hosts WERNAC, which stands for Why “ER” Needs a Chaplain. Alyssa Emanuelson, senior in exercise and sports science, has attended WERNAC since her freshmen year and is now the group’s leader.

“There are about 15 different people that come on and off throughout the year,” Emanuelson says. “A lot of them are the regulars who come every week.”

During the program, the attendees watch the episode and discuss the issues brought up in the show. Shirbroun says attendees talk about how they would have resolved the issue and how the issues relate to their own lives.

“It leads us to pray about persons in situations that we are aware of,” he says.

Ryan Seeberger, senior in landscape architecture, has attended the “Faith as seen on TV” program since his freshman year.

“It’s not real in-depth, but yet there is a message there usually,” he says. “Plus, usually we have popcorn, good times like that.”

“Joan of Arcadia” was added to the “Faith as seen on TV” program last year. However, the Friday night spot wasn’t very popular for the program.

“Joan was tough, not only because of Friday, but it was a brand-new show,” Shirbroun says. “Students weren’t coming [to Iowa State] having watched it previously.”

Shirbroun found “Joan of Arcadia” was easier to put into a ministry context due to the faith shown by Joan in the show. The faith in “Joan of Arcadia,” Shirbroun says, is “done very positively and very provocatively.”

He says it’s meant to provoke people and make the audience think about their own faith.

“It shows her struggling to reconcile her growing understanding of God and life around her,” Shirbroun says.

In “ER,” however, the subject of faith isn’t brought forth often.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen faith really trashed, most of the time it seems glossed over,” Shirbroun says. “The spiritual element is just ignored for the most part. It’s not a negative portrayal, but they just stay away from the issue.”

Emanuelson says faith, and most of reality, isn’t portrayed on television in a realistic way.

“I think it’s important to talk about the issues. It’s either so stereotyped it’s pathetic, or it’s extreme,” she says. “People think what they see on TV is reality and it’s not.”