Kenyon’s Congregational Communities
For at least 16 of my 20 years, I’ve been in school — the past two at Kenyon, four in public high school, and over a decade of Catholic primary education. Though I could not prize more highly the lessons and love I received at St. James Elementary, like many teens I drifted away from religion. And yet, the embers remained. Looking back on the past several years, I guess I never really gave up on the hope that I’d find my way back; in retrospect, I see I just needed the right environment.
One warm Gambier evening during my first semester at Kenyon, after a difficult day, I found myself walking with a few friends to the Parish House for a home-cooked meal. All are welcome to the supper table at Canterbury Kenyon, the Episcopal campus group, which after dinner invites guests to stay for a weekly Bible study. As I hopped up onto the porch and ducked in through the door, warm smiles (and steaming spaghetti) dispelled the anxiety of my first weeks away from home. That Bible study reminded me of my days in Catholic school — I still had the responses memorized — and nothing felt more natural to me than to return continually over the following weeks, as I was welcomed by the outstretched arms of our religious communities.
Community is a common theme in my posts. And because my story, or something like it, is so common here at Kenyon, I want to explore our plural religious communities with the help of students from several faith traditions that come together to feel at home at Kenyon.
For Alexander Powell ’18, Kenyon’s Catholic group, Newman Club, has “been a home for many searching people, and a place where people can grow in so many ways,” he said. “The unique part of my time at Kenyon, that a lot of people miss, is that I was able to make of it what I wanted. We were able to build out the Newman Club, with lots of help, and in the process we got to see how many people had been yearning for the very thing we created.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday nights, in the room that inspired the church basement in John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars,” another Christian group, “Theology and Chill,” meets for tea and prayer. Molly Hunt ’18 has observed that her group meets with “a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They are also really good about inviting their friends ... they want to include as many people as they can in an experience that has been so fundamental in many of the members’ time at Kenyon.” Many students love these opportunities to take time to sit in common with their friends, or make new ones, and gain perspective on the stresses of the week.
Nate Rosenberg ’20 also found community through faith. “During my first year at Kenyon, I began attending Shabbat at Hillel on Friday evenings, which I found to be a very relaxing way to mark the end of the week. Lighting the candles and eating challah reminded me of home and that was comforting to me during my first few weeks on campus. I found Hillel to be a very inclusive atmosphere, a place in which all students were welcome to celebrate their Jewish identity in a way that they find meaningful. Jewish students at Kenyon come from different backgrounds where they interacted with Judaism in different ways.”
Every student at Kenyon has their own perspective on faith — whether from a religious background or not, as human beings we look for meaning, and as individuals we do so in our own ways. I’ve found that those students at Kenyon who choose to come together are often also those who look to reach out to the rest of campus.
After learning about Newman Club in my first year, I went to its student theme housing for a Bible study, but we also had a Christmas party. The year before, “the four guys who lived in the Newman House, as well as a few helpful friends, were in charge of hosting and putting on this party,” Alex said. “We made 18 pounds of chili — fully expecting it to go to waste — but we filled the common room of our NCA with 50-plus people, including professors and the local priest. It was a whirlwind, but a great introduction into what the Newman Club could eventually become.”
In addition to faith and fun, food is a common denominator of religious life on campus. Every year, the Muslim community prepares the feast of Eid al-Adha and invites all to learn and dine together. I’ve attended each of the past two years, along with many other students, both for some of the best food we’ll eat all semester and to engage with a unique opportunity to educate ourselves in a rich tradition.
Nate has observed that “Kenyon has a very active religious life for those students who wish to engage with it and make it a part of their college experience.” I myself have seen that students prize gathering in their communities, and that somehow we consistently find the time to step away for an hour for prayer, for food or simply for community in faith and friends. “Taking part in religious life is a great way to balance the busy schedules many Kenyon students undertake through classes and by getting involved in other campus organizations,” Nate said. “I believe that an important part of college life is being able to take a break from doing work for classes and extracurriculars; religious life provides opportunities to do so which can be highly fulfilling and give one energy for another busy week.”
Nevertheless, with so much to do on campus, Alex worries that some students might not have the time to maintain their religious background or explore their curiosity, but hopes that any students new to Kenyon find “attractive religious opportunities [that] would foster their religious backgrounds from the day they arrive on campus.”
Every year, seasoned students welcome new arrivals to explore Kenyon’s offerings. Ultimate frisbee and a cappella are great, but religious life, too, is a good way to find community and support in those first weeks and throughout your four years.