SLP Activities
A Place at the Table ~ It ain’t easy being religious at Beloit, but it can be great! It depends a lot on how you approach it. This small group experience helps new religious students reflect theologically about what it means to them to have faith on campus, be open and unapologetic about it, and engage with others who do not share it.
Bridging the Gap ~ As we all know, here in the U.S. we’re living in a time of ever escalating tension about religion and politics, verging on a full blown culture war. There are warriors on all sides. Many of us have chosen sides, basically. Others may wonder if it’s possible to be a peacemaker, to take no side but that of reconciliation and balance. Bridging the Gap will get together little groups of Beloit students – people with very different perspectives about all this - to travel to some of the “battlegrounds” in this war. These students will go not as combatants, but more like journalists…to listen, try and look at the big picture from multiple angles. They will also go as little communities of inquiry, engaging one another – fiercely and fairly and friendly – without asking anyone to “check their beliefs at the door.”
Grief Support Group ~ Each semester the SLP cosponsors a student bereavement group with Beloit Regional Hospice. Any and all who have had a loved one die (whether recently or years in the past) are invited to join, gain support and find insight.
Interfaith Service ~ Inspired by the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge, the SLP will be convening all interested religious/spiritual clubs and individuals, along with service oriented clubs, the CCOC and Beloit area faith communities, to determine a common service project. Our work together on that project will serve as the basis for interfaith dialogue.
- Hands of Faith ~ One week out of each month the SLP teams up with this organization of local churches that provides temporary housing and meals for up to fifteen homeless people. We recruit different student volunteers to serve as hosts each evening.
- Faith Works ~ An interfaith service project developed to bring Beloit College students together with the members of local religious communities. The actual service project is a series of workdays on Saturdays spread throughout the academic year. Each workday is done in partnership with one particular religious congregation in Beloit. Faith Works supplies a group of enthusiastic volunteers to help the congregation… perhaps yard work, simple home repairs and improvements, and home visits with elderly and/or homebound members…or tackling some big job that needs to be done on its building …or putting together a middle school youth recreation night. After a day of work, everyone convenes with community members to share a meal, prayers, social time, reflection and interfaith interaction.