It is 1 p.m. and there is a maroon, fabric-covered, slightly sketchy-looking structure in the Founders lobby that everyone passing by is avoiding as if it were an R.A. on a Saturday night. Noticing that the sign reading “Christian Ministry Confessional” has been replaced with simply “Confessional – It’s not what you think,” I decide to take a step inside despite the skeptical looks from my three lunch mates. I enter, sit down, and stare at the outline of an anonymous male student, waiting for instructions.
“First,” he says, “this is not a place for students to confess their sins. This is an opportunity for the evangelical community at Guilford College to apologize for the way we have misrepresented Christ to the community.” As the thought “only at Guilford” crosses my mind, the young man names off a dozen offenses and concludes with an apology.
After listening, I leave the booth with a word of thanks and exit Founders Hall into afternoon sunlight. There has been much talk about healing on campus, and this display of humility was meant by the ministry to help reunite at least one aspect of the community.
The Christian Ministry Confessional was one event in a larger effort known as Religious Emphasis Week; this year marked the college’s 17th annual REW. The first coincided with the establishment of the official Campus Ministry in 1990.
Despite the college’s deep ties with the Quaker community, getting a typical Guilford student to do anything with the world “religion” attached to it has proved a challenge during past Religious Emphasis Weeks. That is why Max Carter said, “What we tend to do at Guilford is go about religion subtly.” REW finds creative ways to express Quaker influence on the campus community such as the traditional “Chow Down; Center Down; Hoedown” pot luck and annual screening of “The Life of Brian.”
It also finds other unique ways of reaching out to the community, such as stump speeches. This tradition started in the fall of 2000 when the Ministry was searching for a way to recover from a natural disaster, a severe storm that devastated the campus’ arbor community. This week, the speeches became an important part of the coping process for a campus caught in the turmoil of controversy and violence.
“Religious Emphasis Week is part of building those traditions to be able react to crisis,” said Carter, “much in the same way Morning Worship was instituted in 1995 to help students understand the use of silence.”
All of this was evident on Wednesday afternoon as the traditional stump speeches became an outlet for expression. These have been sparsely attended during the year, but Carter said, “You have to do things that may not appear to be useful in the short run but help create an atmosphere that can be used during a crisis.”
Weaving together the strong ties to Quakerism rooted in the institution and student body, the Quaker Leadership Scholars held a silent worship on the steps of Dana Auditorium, showing the kind of Quaker principles that REW is meant to express.
This particular REW is estimated as having been the best attended in its history, even after omitting the surge of students involved in the QLSP vigil and the New Garden community meeting. The week was highlighted with speakers Tony Campolo and James Turrell, who drew an audience from Guilford and the Greensboro community.
Campolo’s talk at the New Garden Friends Meeting began with a performance by Guilford first-year Brittany Varner singing, “Call on Jesus.” Campolo emphasized the meaning of Religious Emphasis Week saying, “People needed to have a fresh experience with God.”
During a week fraught with despair and conflict, REW managed to use its unique status at Guilford to help the community begin the process of healing with a combination of awareness, faith, and impeccable timing.