Taylor University showed its many facets of intentional community during Welcome Weekend.
From Friday, Aug. 22, to Tuesday, Aug. 26, Taylor hosted a variety of events, ranging from parties to worship services, to welcome new and returning students to campus.
One of the first big events was the Welcome TU the Neighborhood Party, also known as the “Block Party,” hosted by the Taylor Student Organization (TSO) at Bond Plaza.
“This event is just a really great opportunity to kind of engage students at all levels in a variety of ways,” Michael Hoover, Student Body President, said.
There were activities for everyone, ranging from yard games to board games. In addition, there was music and dancing as well as frozen treats provided for everyone. There were also many opportunities for students to simply engage in conversation and get to know each other.
Another similar event was the Ice Cream Social hosted by the Student Activities Council (SAC) on Tuesday evening. This was designed to be a slower-paced event and featured yard games and plentiful ice cream for everyone.
“After the craziness of the block party, it is nice to have a chill event where people can continue to get to know each other and eat ice cream. This event offers a different environment than the block party and often allows students the chance to slow down and enjoy each other’s company,” said Emmaline Farley, president of the SAC.
Besides having fun, an important part of Taylor’s intentional community is serving Jesus by serving others.
Taylor World Outreach (TWO) organized Community Plunge, which helped incorporate this idea into Welcome Weekend.
On Monday, students were assigned times to go out into the community and serve in two-hour shifts. Students went to over 30 different locations to serve including in a soup kitchen, at local churches and on the Taylor campus.
Some of the work included separating eyeglass lenses from their frames for recycling, removing trash from buildings to be renovated and yard work.
“We sent over 700 students out into the community for two or 2 1/2 hour shifts, so that was over 1400 hours of community service that was put into Upland and Marion, which is just awesome,” Tori Kik, TWO student intern, said.
A relevant Bible verse she mentioned was Mark 10:45, which says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In addition to service, a large part of Taylor’s intentional community revolves around corporate worship, prayer and preaching of the word.
As a part of Welcome Weekend, Taylor hosted multiple special chapel services. These included a few services for new students and their families on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as an all-campus worship service on Sunday morning and an all-campus communion service that night.
“We also want to incorporate the different facets of Taylor,” Michael Hoover said.
Lighthearted fun and focused spiritual devotion are both vital parts of Taylor’s intentional community.
