On February 27 at 7 p.m. in Rediger Auditorium, the Black Student Union (BSU) gathered students, faculty and members of local Destiny Church together for a night of worship.
February was filled with specialized BSU events as members of the union promoted black history month through a series of student highlights, a gala, and a watch party. Worshipping as a student body served as the climax of the month’s activities.
BSU Co-President Dawit Cronin said the worship night was about much more than just a Black History Month finale or celebration of black culture.
“There was a moment for me (during the worship night) of ‘glory to God,’” Cronin said. “I know this is about BSU, but at the end of the day, it’s about (giving) glory to God. He gives the breath, he gives us the ability, he gave us the opportunity. What a way to end this amazing month to have that be our last event.”
This theme of ‘glory to God’ was further emphasized by the fact that BSU’s theme for the month had been all about celebration and joy, Cronin said.
It was because of this celebratory focus that he felt a worship night was a perfect way to end the month. He saw this worship as a unified expression of delight in God’s goodness.
Those attending the worship night felt the jubilation BSU sought to cultivate, said freshman Taylor O’Neal, an English major and member of the BSU cabinet who said she was delighted by the experience.
“It was such an amazing night to recenter and connect with God,” said O’Neal. “I was feeling very nostalgic towards the gospel songs sung, as those are my roots, and I was happy that we could all enjoy them together.”
By coming together at the end of the month to worship, BSU allowed attendees like O’Neal to reconnect with their cultural and spiritual roots.
BSU’s decision to end of black history month with worship also enabled a local church to get involved on Taylor’s campus and take part in praising God.
“We partnered with Destiny Church in Muncie,” Cronin said. “It was more of a gospel choir, gospel music … but there were also songs that students could connect with. It was amazing.”
Destiny Church has partnered with Taylor on several occasions, both for chapel and for worship nights.
Destiny’s partnership with BSU transformed the event from a private celebration to a full-fledged community event.
BSU co-president Christa Green said “Planning wise, we chose Destiny because it’s a local church, they’ve been to campus a lot of times, (and) a lot of students attend Destiny. It was another opportunity for us to not only build connections but also help people see different representations that are here locally.”
There was extensive planning required for all of the BSU events over the course of February, Green said. These events aim to build cohesion and unity over the course of Black History Month.
The carefully planned moments that culminated in songs of joy at BSU’s worship night focused on, in Cronin’s words, “the glory of God and the beauty of His diverse kingdom.”
“Our motto was ‘everyone has a seat at the table’,” said Green. “We wanted to close out the month with the worship night just to make sure that everyone’s focus was around Christ…not only are we able to celebrate our heritage with the Taylor community, but we’re celebrating all of us having a seat at the table.”