If you had walked through the Howard Performing Arts Center (HPAC) doors on Friday, February 11 at 6:00 pm, sounds of conversation would have met your ears. The J.N. Andrews Honors Program’s Agape Worship centered around the topic “Declassified Pandemic Survival Guide.” Honors president Elianna Srikureja (senior, English) explained the decision behind this theme: “We chose to focus the discussion on the effects of the pandemic and surrounding issues of loss and pain because we really wanted to spotlight the need for a mental health check-in. As we had conversations about what Agape Feast could look like, we noticed in ourselves a desperate need for advice, community, and vulnerability on topics that oftentimes aren’t talked about in public. As we sought to find a safe place to talk about our personal fears, we also wanted to encourage students by giving hope for the future no matter what it holds. For these reasons, the loss that the pandemic has brought to a lot of people, and the various ways that it has affected our community, were the topics we chose to focus on.”
Circular tables of varying sizes were arranged in the lobby of the HPAC, reminiscent of pre-pandemic Honors Agape Worships. Because of necessary safety precautions, food was not served. However, attendees were given a bag filled with goodies, and the Honors officers prepared food items for people to take with them.
The evening’s program began with praise singing as several Honors scholars led us through familiar songs, such as “Blessed Be Your Name,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “10,000 Reasons.”
Then, attendees were directed to discussion questions placed on their tables. Time was spent discussing the following questions:
- What new activities/hobbies have you tried?
- What are some things that have been difficult for you?
- What coping strategies have been working for you?
- What have you learned about being a human and about community during the pandemic?
- What are you still unsure about?
- How to see beyond disappointment?
- What do you think we should expect for the future?
- What can we hope for the future?
After attendees got the opportunity to formulate their own answers and listen to those of others at their table, a panel of students and faculty shared their answers to these same questions. One of the panelist speakers, Isabella Tessalee (senior, biochemistry), urged, “Take time to step back and see times of change and challenge as opportunities to implement how you want to grow.”
Similarly, Honors president Elianna Srikureja, another speaker, shared, “I really wanted the attendees to know that it is okay to struggle with fear, loss, and uncertainty. Sometimes we assume that in order to live in a community we have to present ourselves as perfect even as we are struggling with private issues. This is not the case. By being vulnerable, we allow for deeper connections and community. I hope that the audience left Agape Worship and reflected on mental health strategies to implement in their own lives, ways to encourage the people around them, and the knowledge that there are people out there to support them.”
Overall, the event prompted deep discussion and hopefully challenged attendees to think about their own lives during the pandemic in a different way.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.