AINSLEE HUFFMAN | guest writer
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courtesy of Jasmine Ray
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| Students explore booths set up by non-profit organizations during the second annual True Religion event in the Mods Recreation room Thursday, Feb. 26. |
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ASHLEY FINLEY | guest writer
Thursday Feb. 26, APU students gathered in the Shire Mods Recreation room for the second annual True Religion: Social Justice Issues event, bringing students, musical performers and non-profit organizations together in awareness of physical and spiritual starvation.
The biblical focus of the evening was James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (NIV).”
“We wanted to put on a good event where students can interact with different non-profit organizations in the area,” junior youth ministries and biblical studies major Chris Tansey said.
This year, True Religion was the host to six musical acts, one poet and several representatives from local non-profit organizations. The musical acts ranged from the band J3 Boys to solo ukulele-playing artist senior commercial music major Faith Hefty. The non-profit organizations represented included World Vision, Azusa 101, and Lifebread.
“We are focused on bridging the gap between physical starvation and spiritual starvation. We do that through food, just as Jesus did,” the Director of Lifebread, an organization focused on building solar ovens in West Africa, Dusty Breeding said.
Representatives from APU’s Scraps Initiative presented a short video on the purpose of the campus’ new proposed act to conserve 40 days worth of energy starting March 1.
As part of their program, the SCRAPS Initiative hopes to pass a petition which would raise the campus’ classroom thermostats by four degrees to save on energy for the 40 day period.
SCRAPS representative senior sociology major Melissa Dorman described the initiative as “a grassroots student movement to get the campus to conserve resources in order to send savings to build freshwater wells overseas.”
The atmosphere was similar to an open-mic night at a local coffee shop and it allowed the audience to mingle with one another as they helped themselves to Global Exchange’s Fair Trade chocolate and coffee.
Quiet conversation filled the room as students listened to the local musicians and explored non-profit organization booths set up in the recreation room.
“I think it’s valuable for us to be able to live in a community like this while still being able to take care of those around us,” ASB President Brice Myers said.
During the evening’s events junior biochemistry major Holly Bream expressed her desire to start an APU club to help stop human trafficking.
“It seems like musicians and people attending are focused on the purpose of the night, to find out how we can serve God across the world and locally,” sophomore music major Tudor Williams said.
APU Alumna, Kate Miller closed the evening with her music as students continued to gather and build community with one another.
