Campus religious leaders spark interests
Students celebrate and explore faith in new program

February 27, 2004
by Corey Crowley
Staff Reporter

Albion College Chaplain Daniel J. McQuown, in collaboration with student religious leaders, has organized the Religious Life Council, the first program of its kind on campus.

Reverend McQuown is in his first year as Albion College Chaplain.

“The goal of this program is to engage the campus in celebration and exploration of faith,” McQuown said. “People are not talking about issues of faith and spirituality on campus enough, and it’s a skill I think people who graduate from Albion College need to have learned.”

The Religious Life Council is a five part series. The first four took place this past week, starting Tuesday when students met to discuss the issue of religion on campus. There was an Ash Wednesday Mass, followed by a performance by the band Into the Freylakh, and the Eid Dinner, sponsored by the Muslim Student Association, on Thursday. The fifth event features a music show put on by SOUL, (Singers of United Lands) five singers that hail from five different countries. Rev. McQuown expects this show to bring the world and world religions home to the students of Albion. Future segments are in the planning stages. These events are open to Albion College students of all different religious and spiritual backgrounds and Rev. McQuown hopes to have people from as many backgrounds as possible meet at these events.

Another event planned is Faith-to-Faith II: Religion in Our World. The focus of this event will be on world religions and issues including obstacles to peace, the difference between religious tolerance and religious understanding, and how Albion College can help build peace between world religions. More details and the date for this program will be announced soon.

A group of students, including Darcy Crain, Plymouth senior, and Eric Krieger, Benton Harbor sophomore, are helping McQuown plan the events for the program. Crain hopes to reach the campus on two different levels.

“I hope people can explore their own faith and beliefs about religion as well as reach out to others,” Crain said. “I want people to not only share their own passions and beliefs but to open themselves up to understanding and interacting with those whose faiths may differ from their own.”

Crain would like this to be an event for all faiths, and hopes that students will find they can celebrate the differences between faiths but still discover commonalities between the many different religous traditions.

Krieger agreed, “There’s enough distrust in the world already, and I hope that by giving everyone opportunities to hear others on a variety of spiritual journies we can help to break down so many of the walls and misconceptions that have been created around faith.

“A Night of SOUL” will take place from 8-10 p.m. in the Stack on March 2.