Six Francis Marion University (FMU) religious organizations united in the Chapman
Auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 7 for a night of worship through music, dance and skits for a new
event, Unity 1331.
This event was conducted by Autumn Porter, senior psychology major. She put the event
together because she believes that the religious organizations on campus should be unified.
“We need to see how each other worships Christ so that we are not stuck in a box,” Porter
said.
The newest Christian organization on campus, Intervarsity, had a member speak about
how being a part of Intervarsity has changed him for the better. He mentioned that he never
would have spoken in front of a crowd before being involved with the organization.
Another Christian organization, Alive in Christ, re-enacted Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden. Alive in Christ is a student ministry that encourages its’ members to get together to
learn, live and love by creating friendships with other Christians. The Chaplin of this group,
Reverend Angela Manly, was enthusiastic about the event and the performances.
“It’s great that we can come together as an ecumenical group and just realize that we are
not separated by denomination, or race or economics,” Manly said.
Also participating in the night’s event, Catholic Ministries spoke about their organization
and how they have Bible study, perform humanitarian work in the community to feed the less
fortunate, and try to help people grow in Christ.
Praise in Motion, a praise dance team from FMU, performed two praise dances. Each
dance was for the group to worship God. Another group, The Young, Gifted, and Blessed (YGB)
Choir, also shared their musical talents and sung two songs that moved the audience out of their
seats.
Curkroy Brown, senior music major, was one of the students who expressed his faith
through music.
“Music is joy, and to be able to come in and feel and hear it, is just transforming,” Brown
said.
Three students from Bible Collegiate Ministries (BCM) played rhythmic music on trash
cans only using drumsticks. Then, to share how unified the organizations were that evening, the
Unity Band performed. The Unity Band was composed of a mix of singers and musicians from
participating organizations who came together to worship with music.
The unity that was shown during the event had an effect on some of the audience
members and made them realize how important it was for the groups to work together. Thomas
Brow, freshman sociology major, values the new unification among the groups.
“We are all working together for the same goal. We are all based off of the same
scripture. . . We all want to change the campus for the better. . . You can’t really change the
campus for the better if you [have only] got one group trying to do this. It’s a lot better [when]
you get them together,” Brow said.
Ending the night, Kendall Danford, director and Head Minister of BCM, gave the closing
prayers and reiterated that the students cannot change the world by unifying for only one night.
“Worship . . . is every second of our life, every moment of our life,” Danford said. He
continued by urging the students to continue reaching out to others.