Reporter
With Finals on the horizon, this is the perfect time for some students to go to their religious institution of choice to appeal to a deity for a miracle of sorts to grant them a passing grade. But for those of the Christian faith, a new group has come together to form a church.
The Runner Campus Church is a recent addition to the campus, it’s first sermon held on Oct. 24 of this year. Started by Caleb Morin, the church’s pastor and a junior majoring in engineering sciences with an emphasis in petroleum engineering, the church offers a space for students to come together for worship.
Morin explained how he was able to set-up a church here on campus and some of his motivations.
“So, when I started passing around the vision of starting a church on the CSUB campus for the students here, I was quickly backed with lots of support,” said Morin. “It wasn’t long until I was able to assemble an amazing team of loving people who were dedicated to creating that culture of love within a church on the campus. Lots of prayer and lots of paperwork later, the vision finally came into being.”
What makes this church different from most others is that they are interdenominational.
“{Interdenominational} means that this gathering isn’t meant for only one type of Christian, but it’s meant for Christians from all different backgrounds and churches to come together.”
Micah Yursik, Morrin’s sister, works alongside her brother to help promote the church’s message. She explains what draws people to them and what makes their church unique from most others.
“We are inter-denominational and talk about different denominational ‘flows’ and allow everyone to be themselves because we are just there for Jesus,” said Yursik. “Because there is such an emphasis on love and unity as a family, it is not a big deal for us to have open and respectful conversations about our different ideas and opinions. Caleb always encourages questions and dialogue about anything that anybody would like to flesh out about his messages or about scripture in general.’”
Outside of delivering the sermons, Morrin and Yursik are missionaries, with plans to travel to the Amazon basin on humanitarian missions and to incorporate the RCC on said missions.
Currently, the church and it’s following are still rather small, meeting on Wednesday nights in the Albertson Room inside the Dore Theatre.
But the question is if it’s a good thing to have a church on campus?
Patrick O’Niell, Professor of Archeology and faculty advisor for Elohist, a religious history club, had this to say about the church on campus.
“In regard to establishing a church on campus, I think it’s good to exercise religious freedom, so long as it does not affect the liberty of others. While freedom of religion is important, I would caution to avoid the development of cults on campus that are not accessible to all, regardless of orientation, social class or religious affiliates.”
