On Friday Nov. 5 through Sunday Nov. 7, 15 STAND members attended the Unity Retreat. This retreat took place at the Ligonier Camp with a variety of activities and events throughout the weekend. This fall retreat is an annual event for STAND that started back in the mid to early 1990s by Patrick Meyers when he was the campus minister. 

During the retreat, there were teachings from Patrick Meyers, who is the Director of the Ligonier Camp. There were three talks, ample time to spend quietly with God’s words, games to play, s’mores making, hanging around the campfire, playing basketball, and rope climbing. The 15 students in attendance were split up into three groups to interact and enjoy the retreat.

Cal U Campus Minister Pete Ware, the Advisor for STAND, said his favorite part of the retreat was “getting to know some of the newer students while also helping people engage with God.” Ware has been with CalU since 2008 and was glad to partake in the Unity Retreat noting the uncertainty with COVID. He also mentioned that one student said because they were able to spend time in the bible, it helped them realize that they did not need to be intimidated. Ware stated his one mentor always used to say, “You need two things to read the bible 1. The bible, and 2. A dictionary.”

The Unity Retreat is just one outing, noting STAND’s biggest event is Jubilee which is scheduled for February. The Jubilee Conference takes place February 25 through February 27  in Pittsburgh, PA. It focuses on the learning front and brings in speakers from various learning backgrounds. Pete mentioned the conference, “tries to help connect your faith to every other area of your life.” If one is interested in signing up, they can sign up on their own through the Jubilee Conference website, but if they are a CalU student, they can attend at a reduced price. To find out more, please contact Pete Ware via email [email protected].

STAND meets every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. in the Natali Performance Center. Ware encourages, “any person who is interested in exploring their faith, whether they haven’t been to church before or things like that, the hope of STAND is they can come and check it out.” Each Wednesday meeting is open for students to attend. Ware also mentioned, “if anyone has or wants to talk to someone a little further down the road with a little more faith experience, or need a prayer, please feel free to reach out.”