Vol. 24, No. 16	March 4, 1999

Students Form Black Church to Expand Spiritual Community

BY AMY CALLAHAN

Three undergraduate women have founded the Black Church at Columbia, a new campus organization designed to answer the religious and spiritual needs of students, faculty and staff who feel most comfortable worshipping in the black Christian tradition. The services will be open to everyone-regardless of color or creed-and the founding students are excited about introducing a new style to worship on campus.

"The reason we call it Black Church is not for the color of the people, but rather the style of the service," explained co-founder Yakeina Fidelia, BC'99.

The Black Church at Columbia, which is nondenominational, will offer services conducted by visiting preachers from New York City churches. So far, the founding students plan to hold only monthly services on campus, but they hope to eventually hold them weekly. The inaugural service will be held this week, on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul's Chapel. The second service will be held March 25 at the same time and location.

Co-founder Ta-Keesha White, CC'01, said that soon after she arrived at Columbia from western Massachusetts, she became aware of a need for this type of service for black students. "When you go away to school, you feel that loss of spiritual community."

While there are many religious services conducted on campus, there had been none in the celebratory black style, which White described this way: "It's a steady rhythm and strong beat, the rumbling of the preacher's voice. All that works together to bring you to another level. It's the warmest feeling I've ever felt."

Fidelia and White, along with the third co-founder M'Balia Rubie, CC'99, said their church is essentially a council of students that organizes the services. There will be no pastor heading the group.

The Black Church at Columbia has the full support of University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis, who likened it to similar black churches already in existence at fellow Ivy League schools. "It's important that these students feel at home," Davis explained. "I hear such excitement from them about being able to worship in their home community, which is what Columbia is for them right now. The students are feeling great about the kind of place the University can be for them."

Davis also said the Black Church at Columbia will be a way to reach out to the University's neighbors, as she expects the visiting pastors to bring some of their members and choirs to the campus services.

She said, "Not only will they be giving to us, but we'll be giving to them, because they'll have a chance to sing at Columbia, a chance to be with us for a joyous moment."