Ellen McAllister
Creative Editor
Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL) held the first of many Meet & Greets on Sunday, Feb. 6. The goal of these events is to offer a space for those who practice different religions and spiritualities to come together with people who share their religious beliefs. The event is a response to students who have expressed concern that there were not others like them on campus. Each Meet & Greet spotlights different religions and provides students with a chance to connect with those who practice the same religion. Pagan and Wiccan, Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity were the three religions represented on Sunday. Students of any religious background were invited to meet in Babcock Kitchen for tea and snacks before breaking off into smaller groups for discussion. There will be three more Meet & Greets held throughout the semester, including Sunday, Feb. 13, featuring Catholicism, Islam and Unitarian Universalism.
Erin Guzmán, the Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, remarked that the goal for this Meet & Greet, and those in the future, is to create a space for students to learn more about the religions represented on campus. She also hopes that students find a place of belonging, purpose and meaning. Linat Westreich ’23, one of the student interns for Religious and Spiritual Life, said that celebrating the different cultures and backgrounds for religious groups is also very important. The two stated that they did not want the Meet & Greets to have any certain structure, so students could stay as long as they wanted and discuss whatever they felt comfortable talking about with those who hold the same beliefs.
There are six student interns who work for RSL under three categories: service and social justice; community and connection; and education and engagement. They all come from different religious backgrounds to work together to put on educational and spiritual programming for both faculty and students. Additionally, they try to foster connections between student organizations that would not normally work together. That way, more students may reap the benefits of being together and learning more about those they attend school with. RSL wants to bring students of different religions, identities and secular ideas together in any way possible.
RSL offers programming of many sorts to all those on campus, regardless of religion or identity. They offer weekly Zen Meditation beginning at 5 p.m. every Monday, as well as Tea-Time with RSL and Friends, which is held every other Thursday at 4:15 and allows students to enjoy community, crafts and tea with a different theme each week. Both events are held in the Babcock Formal Lounge. If you are looking for a chance to dive deeper into your faith, explore new ones or just find a group of people to talk and connect with, look for programming by RSL.
If you’d like to learn more about the future Meet & Greets or other Religious and Spiritual Life events, follow them on Instagram @rsl_wooster or check your Wooster email for the RSL Weekly Round-up.