An overview of past and future events of the religious societies on campus
Different spiritual societies on Mt.A campus offer many diverse events for the student body’s spiritual needs. The following societies can be found on campus: the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Jewish Student Union (JSU), the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and the Mt.A Catholic-Christian Association. These societies continue to offer events on campus, like the MSA’s weekly Friday prayers, and Sunday and Monday Bible study held by the Catholic-Christian Association and the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship respectively. These societies help foster an inclusive environment at Mt.A.
On Oct. 17, the MSA held a potluck in the Mt.A Chapel’s Manning Room. Participants were encouraged to bring their favourite dishes to share with each other while they chat and play different games. Many of the dishes enjoyed were homemade cultural favourites, like Hyderabadi biryani, chana chaat (a chickpea dish), chicken khabsa, chicken adobo, and beef kebab. This event was a huge success, with everyone bringing delicious meals and enjoying them as a community. The MSA also holds self-led Jummah prayer in the Manning Room from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Friday for both women and men.
Mt.A’s Spiritual Care held their ‘exploring multi-faith’ event in Gracie’s on Tuesday, Nov. 4, intended to educate students on the different faiths seen around campus and to help connect them with their community. The event included a student panel discussing the importance of religious diversity on campus, and what their values mean to them. Alongside this, the Table of Voices has been happening since Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and will continue every Monday until Nov 17. Table of Voices is a discussion between students of different spiritualities and cultures to share stories, ask questions and learn skills for cross-cultural communication. Spiritual Care also hosts weekly events like meditative colouring on Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Buddhist meditation on Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the main sanctuary.
Diwali celebrations took place during the week of Oct. 20, and two societies held events for the holiday. Although they are not a religious society, the Desi Society held a karaoke night at The Pond. Despite there being a few technical difficulties, the night was filled with lots of singing and dancing. A second Desi karaoke night is planned for Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m.. On Oct. 26 MOSAIC, a multi-cultural student society, held a Diwali party in Tweedie Hall and an after-party at Gracie’s. The event celebrated the Festival of Lights by beginning with waving sparklers outside the Wallace McCain Student Centre and ended with lots of dancing. They also had delicious catered food and many people dressed up in traditional South Asian clothing to celebrate.
These events help foster a strong, diverse community at Mt.A. They offer accessible environments to meet like-minded people and have discussions with them. They serve to affirm and validate the different spiritual identities across campus, and even for non-religious students, they can offer an opportunity to learn about new cultures and perspectives.