"So, a Quaker, Mormon, Christian, and Buddhist walk into a cafeteria," may sound like the beginning of a joke, but it isn't in this story.
Shepherd University held a Spiritual Awareness fair on August 17 in the Ram's Den. Despite the Ram's Den being filled with students, the Spiritual Awareness Fair wasn't receiving a lot of attention.
Elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were having difficulty attracting attention from students.
"The only people who have come to our table are actually members of the church,'' one of the elders said.
Paris Nellen nursing major said, "Because we're set so far back I don't think we're getting much attention." Nellen's table was in the second row of the tables.
Each church and/or religion had their own table covered with pamphlets. The tables were set in the back of the Ram's Den near the Fireside Bistro. Some groups even offered cookies, brownies, shiny hats, and miniature Nerf footballs. The tables were manned by elders, students, pastors, church members, and priests to help inform students about places of worship and religious options offered in Shepherdstown and the surrounding area.
Transitioning from home to Shepherdstown, residents must seek out a new church.
"It is a tough thing to go to church when you aren't with your family," Katy Mong, a senior business major said.
Mong, a member of the Living Room Church, which is non-denominational, was representing her church as it provides special services to students. The Living Room Church provides a bus that stops at four places on Sundays in Shepherdstown and takes students to their church in Martinsburg for free. There is a section set up for Shepherd students in the church building.
Mong said, "Having a separate section for students will make them more comfortable and they can be with the people they came with."
A different service offered to students by the New Hope Assembly of God provides dinner every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30pm with a hot meal at their church.
The majority of the tables were Christian denominations, but there were alternatives. One of the alternatives was the BAHA'IS, which is a combination of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Baha'I Faith.
The BAHA'IS pamphlet explains that, "The Oneness of God simply means there is only one God, and the majority of people in the world would say they believe in one God. Because of the different languages, however, people refer to the Creator as God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh or other names, and that has led to separation and strife between people, even though they are simply using different words to describe the same God."
The fair assisted some students in finding a place of worship during its one day stint, but Father Rey Manvicho of the Good Shepherd Catholic Campus Ministry said, "I think spiritual assistance will always be provided when students are looking for a church."
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