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Students have many groups to choose from

‘#160;

Too many students, walking onto campus may feel like entering a perpetual advertisement for involvement.

Posters cling to kiosks, informational tables fill the Union and people resident advisors, teachers and fellow students suggest a plethora of organizations.

As confusing as all this recruitment may be, finding the right group to join can be particularly challenging for students in search of spiritual fulfillment.

Numerous spiritual and religious organizations on campus offer varied worship experiences to the faithful, the fickle and the frustrated.

‘Different groups have different personalities,’ said Dave Warner, director of Active Christians Today. ‘Students have a difficult time choosing which one they want to be a part of.’

The different spiritual groups on campus range widely in the numbers of people they attract. Creed, Hillel and the Muslim Students’ Association, although growing, offer small group environments, while organizations such as CRU, H2O and ACT attract students in the hundreds.

The largest of these groups is CRU, a Christian-based, ‘spiritual services,’ organization, according to Michael Brown, CRU director.

Brown stated that CRU should not be categorized as a religious organization, because it does not support a main dogma, and students with different religions, or no religion, often attend meetings.

‘CRU was designed for the spiritually curious and the religiously restless,’ Brown said. ‘There are many people who would consider themselves a part of CRU.’

Like the other large spiritual groups, CRU offers large gatherings as well as small student discussion groups, which meet to explore topics in greater detail.

According to Brown, anywhere between 300 and 400 students attend Thursday evening meetings in Olscamp room 101. The meetings include live bands and multimedia visual effects.

‘It’s quite loud and quite enjoyable,’ Brown said.

Christian organizations, H2O and ACT also have large, contemporary meetings, supplemented by smaller group discussions.

Approximately 200 students attend each of H2O’s main meetings, which occur in the Union Theater Sundays at 11 a.m. and Thursdays at 8 p.m.

According to Matt Hilderbran, campus director of H2O, the Sunday meetings, called Deeper, are more focused on a Christian message than Thursday meetings, which are designed for students who are, ‘spiritually seeking.’

ACT has Campus Worship Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in the second floor gallery of McFall Center. According to Warner, 80 or more students attend these weekly meetings, but smaller worship groups meet at ACT’s campus house every day of the week.

The campus house, which opens at 8:30 in the morning, also serves as a hangout for ACT members.

According to ACT’s Web site, the group’s members recognize that Christians have differing opinions on some beliefs, but the group members accept most of the Bible as true.

For students interested in a very pure study of Christianity, Creed adheres more rigorously to teachings of the Bible and, specifically, the Catholic Church.

‘We never, ever veer off or water down the teachings of the Church,’ said sophomore Lauren Walter, Creed president.

Meeting from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Union room 315, members of Creed spend time praying, reading gospel and discussing various religious topics. About 25 students attend these meetings, Walter said.

‘It’s very much a learning environment,’ Walter said, ‘and it helps you grow spiritually, really challenging each other to grow.’

The Muslim Students’ Association, which has been on campus for about six years, aims to teach all students, not just Muslims, about the Islamic religion, according to President Ma’moon Al-Rshaidat, a graduate student.

‘These days there are a lot of misconceptions about Islam,’ he said. ‘So what we’re trying to do is educate and let them know the actual truth about Islam.’

The approximately 50-member group, which holds Friday prayers in Olscamp room 204, has grown since Al-Rshaidat first joined the group about three years ago.

As a result, he is requesting a larger room for the group’s prayers.

‘Hopefully we are going to get a bigger room to get more space for students to be more comfortable with their religion on campus,’ he said.

MSA’s next upcoming event is Eid Al-Fitr, a celebration of the end of a month-long fasting period called Ramadan. According to Al-Rshaidat, the celebration will occur in the Union Grand Ballroom on Nov. 13.

The Jewish student group, Hillel, is a smaller religious group on campus, with about 25 students attending general events.

Hillel does not offer worship services for students. However, the group’s main function is, ‘to bring all Jewish students on campus together for the holidays when they can’t make it home,’ said Amanda Berlas, Hillel president.

According Berlas, school is rarely canceled during main Jewish holidays, such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana and Passover, so Hillel brings Jewish students together for dinners in celebration of those days.

According to Walter, no matter what religious group students ultimately choose, it is important for students to think about their ‘final destination.’

‘It is important that students get involved in their faith and really look for their niche,’ Walter said. ‘That will fill a void a lot of students have.’

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