CU’s progressive religious group
College is a time and place for many students to explore, reject or receive religion, whether it’s the one they grew up with or taking on something new. The Progressive Radically Inclusive Student Ministry group on campus offers a community for students to do just that, in any manner they feel the most comfortable.
“We have a lot of students who don’t identify with a tradition,” said Todd Smiedendorf, a minister for the group. “They want to hear about being spiritual and want to do good in the world.”
PRISM is a marriage of Christianity and Unitarian Universalism, which originally came out of Christianity. Since its beginnings, Unitarian Universalism has evolved into an interfaith community.
“It works for us because we hold Christianity in a progressive way, there’s no exclusive vision of it,” Smiedendorf said. “That allows that side of our ministry to partner wholeheartedly with Unitarian Universalism . We share a common commitment to social justice, inclusivity, equity and external expressions that are easy to share.”
Though PRISM is not a GLBT organization, Smiedendorf says it has become a great place for GLBT students on a search for an accepting religion and spirituality.
PRISM holds a variety of events, but their regular meeting and services are held on Wednesday evenings.
“Students come to eat . Food is brought in by sponsoring churches,” Smiedendorf said. “We have a program for a half hour or so that’s more educational in nature, and have a student group from CU present . There is a half hour worship which might be more prayer, a couple songs, some discussion of a spiritual topic.”
On the first Wednesday of the month is a more traditional Christian worship, while the fourth Wednesday of the month is focused more on Unitarian Universalism. The other Wednesdays are open to alternative formats.
“Students are encouraged to create the worship and blend in any way they desire,” Smiedendorf said. “They do a fair amount of the directing. We want to be a place where students can explore their faith, create meaningful relationships and act for justice and charity in the world.”
PRISM is focused on creating an open community for students to search for their spirituality through Christian and Unitarian Universalist resources in any way it comes together for that particular student.
“I think there are a lot of students at CU who might have looked at or experienced religion as hurtful, narrow-minded or backward even,” Smiedendorf said. “But they don’t see that it’s also a solution.”
Kelly Colwell, a senior environmental engineering major, is actively involved in the PRISM community.
“It’s a place where I can feel like I belong,” Colwell said. “You can get that from a lot of different campus ministries, but PRISM is unique because it’s inclusive.”
Colwell is involved because PRISM is open to everyone. There is no specific creed.
“I can express my spirituality and learn from other people,” Colwell said. “It’s a non-judgmental place.”
Colwell, who identifies as a Christian, feels that through PRISM she has been able to become open to learning alternate means of practicing and connecting.
“It has allowed me to consider what parts of Christianity work for me, and what parts of my childhood religion didn’t work for me, without discarding the whole thing,” Colwell said. “PRISM is a place where you can be spiritual and religious without fitting any particular mold. There’s nothing you have to do and that’s a really important message for people on this campus to hear.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Alyssa Shapiro at alyssa.shapiro@thecampuspress.com.
