MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 17
17A
Religious opportunities abundant for new students
Kit Leffler/KANSAN
A crowd of men kneel during spoken prayer at the Islamic Center of Lawrence Friday afternoon. The center serves citizens of many different ethnicities, including Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Indian, Filipino, African-American, and Caucasian peoples.
BY ABDY HYLAND
AYLAND@KANSAN.COM
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Ariful Huq noticed several changes besides geography and climate when coming to a new country for school.
For Hug, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia senior, and many other students at the University of Kansas, coming to Lawrence involves finding a new place of worship.
"For me, it's not that bad," Huq, who is also the president of the Muslim Student Association, said. "We have a mosque here in Lawrence. There's not a lot of difference for me between praying in Malaysia or praying in Lawrence."
He said there are a good number of Muslims here, and is glad the Lawrence Islamic Center is here to serve that population.
Steve Kawiecki, president of the Kansas University Religious Advisors and associate pastor at First Baptist Church, 1530 Kasold Drive, said that finding a church is not difficult if the church is similar to what the student is accustomed to. Kawiecki said he could envision potential problems if a student thinks the new church does not measure up to an old church that the student previously attended.
Kansas University Religious Advisors help students with this process by pointing them in the direction of a group that matches their interests based on surveys filled out at freshman orientation.
The survey asks students to check a list of religious organizations if they want more information.
Sometimes a student can decide to become more reli-
gliously involved than they have been before, according to Polli Kenn, program director for KU Hillel.
"For people who have been involved their whole life, the transition is easier," she said.
Kenn said a challenge for KU Hillel is to provide religious services for the marginally and extremely interested. KU Hillel does this by providing nondenominational services and by helping students expand religious involvement to a social peer group.
"T there's not a lot of difference for me
between between praying in Malaysia or praying in Lawrence."
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, senior
Ariful Huq
"College is a time of exploration," Kenn said. "There's a lot to explore, not just religion."
In choosing a new place of worship, word of mouth is often the best advertisement, according to Father Vince Krische, head priest at St. Lawrence Catholic Center, 1631 Crescent Road.
"I've not felt left out at any time," he said. "I'm treated as any other student."
Krische said that it is often easy for Catholics to adjust to a new church because worship is the same all over the world. He said his church attracts students by contacting all the Catholic churches and high schools in the state of Kansas and letting them know of the church's presence.
"We like to get students involved as soon as possible," he said.
Huq said that the transition to this point is successful for him, and he fits in well in the University community. He attends Friday sabbath services at the Islamic Center of Lawrence.
— Edited by Ryan Greene
UNIVERSITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS
The following are organizations in the Kansas University Religious Advisors, For more information, e-mail the KURA at kura@ku.edu American Baptist
Campus Christians
Student Fellowship
Baha'i Faith
Campus Christians Campus Crusade for Christ
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center
Chinese Evangelical Church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship
Episcopal - Canterbury House
Ecumenical Christian Ministries
Footprint Radio - Chinese Christian Radio Ministry Haramba
Harambee Ichthus Christian
Ichthus Christian Organization
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
Jewish Student Center KU Hillel Foundation
Lutheran Campus
Lutheran Campus Ministry (FLCA)
Ministry ELSEO
Lutheran Student Fellowship Immanuel (LCMS)
Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship
St. Lawrence Orthodox Christian Fellowship
The Navigators St. Lawrence Orthodox
United Methodist Communi Ministry
United Christian Fellowship
Victory Campus Ministry
Jubilee Cafe
Groups alter titles, avoid confusion
BY SHEANNA M. SMITH
BY SHEANNA M. SMITH
The Parthenon,
Marshall University
VIAU-WIRE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall University Southern Baptist ministry is starting a revolution.
The newly titled group Revolution, formerly called the Baptist Student Union or BSU, changed its name in April to avoid confusion between other groups on campus and involve more students in the organization, said Revolution Director Dan Byrd.
"It has changed its face but has always been here as a ministry," Bvrd said.
Across the country, BSU groups are changing their names to Baptist Campus Ministries so students won't be confused with
the Black Student Union, a national organization that promotes unity among African-American students, said Byrd and Marshall Black United Students President Byron Holmes.
But on Marshall's campus, BCM is already an American Baptist organization, Byrd said.
The two Baptist groups, BSU and BCM, further confused students. Students would invite their friends to come to a BSU Bible study and end up at a BCM event, Byrd said. So the BSU leadership team opted for a complete name change, he said. The group also wanted the opportunity to reach students who may not like the idea of church.
Without the word Baptist in its title, Revolution hopes students from other denominations will feel comfortable participating in
the organization, said Revolution president Joey Spurgeon.
The organization offers students a weekly worship service, small group Bible studies throughout the week, drama and music ministry opportunities in area churches and a lunch-hour prayer time every Tuesday and Thursday at noon, byrd said.
Other upcoming Revolution events include a collegiate fall retreat Sept. 25 and Joe Pix event at the Marshall vs. University of Miami football game Sept. 29, he said.
Revolution members will take digital photographs outside the stadium that can be viewed at http://www.joepix.com and printed for free, Byrd said.
"Small groups are the only things that need a level of commitment." Byrd said. "Students
Revolution hopes its new name will spark new life in the organization. Its name means a momentous change, Spurgeon said. Byrd would like to see the group of 35 students grow to 50 students participating in small groups and 100 in the Monday night worship service, he said.
need to get involved in the beginning."
"We want to see our school and campus changed for God," Spurgeon said.
Byrd came to Marshall in November 2003 from Boston, where he helped start a Southern Baptist church. Byrd also spent nine years in youth ministry and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies from Asbury College near Lexington, Ky, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
MINNESOTA DAILY
University of Minnesota
VIA W-IWRE
MINNEAPOLIS—The crowd cheered as a BMX biker jumped 6 feet in the air, flying over a man with his hands extended upward. The biker wheeled over to one corner of the 9,000-square-foot skate park and sat among a group of skateboarders and BMX bikers for a photo opportunity.
Before the camera flashed, one skateboarder held up his board with the word "jesus" painted on the underside.
The custom-built skate park was part of the Twin Cities Festival, a free Christian event held this weekend in St. Paul. More than 200,000 attended the event.
which featured evangelist Luis Palau, Christian music and biking and skating shows.
During his talk at the end of the night, Palau prayed aloud with people who wanted to accept Jesus in their hearts.
Festival spokesman Craig Chastain said people praying aloud with Palau were asked to raise their hands so a festival counselor could meet with them and set them up with a church in their area.
Counselors reached about 10,000 people, one of the largest groups in the history of the Palau ministry, according to the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association.
After the Twin Cities, the festival will travel to Madrid, Spain, Fiji and Lima, Peru.
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