Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 6 – 406 words, Community, 4/9/2019 – Non-profit/religious, Feature

A local Marion building will now be home to Sender Wellness, a health facility brimming with new opportunities for the surrounding community.  

“The thing I’ve noticed in Marion, it has an enormous amount of entrepreneurial and business potential. But there isn’t that environment, that real community that kind of fosters that activity,” Bill Reece, owner of Sender Wellness, said.

Reece, originally from the area, is creating a space for acupuncture and yoga therapy. The building will also house a vegetarian cafe and coffee shop.

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“It is really great to see how people are investing in Marion even though it’s an area that I think a lot of people have given up on. But seeing even like Bill who grew up in Marion coming back to Marion and investing in the community and seeing potential for success and investing that way,” Cosette Mast, member of the John Wesley Honors College Service Committee, said.

Upstairs is being converted into a coworking facility, where for $120 a month, entrepreneurs will be provided access to printers, copiers, high-speed internet and other resources.

“I look at Marion and I see Indiana Wesleyan, Taylor, and where you have a lot of young people who are in school and graduating and a lot of people are staying here in Marion now. There is not a lot for them today. So let’s create restaurants that work for them. Workspace that works for them. Wellness, Exercise, and health facilities that work for them,” Reece said.

Reece celebrated the grand opening of Sender Wellness in October of 2018.

“You can tell by what he is doing that he really wants to help the community,” John Rybka, Service Committee volunteer, said.  

Indiana Wesleyan John Wesley Honors College students volunteered to help with renovations at the building on Saturday, March 30.

“We went to Sender Wellness and helped to get glue off of the walls where they had taken all the wallpaper off, where they are turning that space into a little cafe,” Mast said.

While the Sender Wellness Building is still under construction, the yoga studio is now open to the public. The acupuncture therapy will be up and running in 30 days, and coffee shop and upstairs resources will be open in 60 days.

“To me, doing this is largely because I think there is a need in Marion for this, even though it is not all fully developed, it is developing pretty quickly,” Reece said.

Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 5 – 364 words, Community, 3/26/2019, Non Profit/Religion

The Indiana Wesleyan University radio station is hosting a shoe drive to help at risk children in Grant County, March 18-31.

94.3 The Fortress is looking for ways to live out the stations tagline, “creating community,” through events like Kicks 4 Kids.

“In our staff meetings we have been thinking, how can we create community, and this is one way we thought of where we can go above and beyond just being a radio station,” Kayla Ruchti, promotions director for The Fortress, said.

All the new shoes and socks collected through Kicks 4 Kids go to The Training Center in Marion to help students who are unable to afford them. Drop off locations for donations include Elder Hall at Indiana Wesleyan University, The River Church, New Life Community Church, and Brookhaven Wesleyan Church.

“Anytime we can add value to our program, we are excited to do that. With Kicks 4 Kids, being able to give them new shoes or new socks helps build confidence in kids,” Mary Prows, executive director of The Training Center, said.

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The Training Center is nonprofit organization working towards creating a positive environment for children to grow. It is open for students grades K-12.

“The Training Center is an academic enrichment program that was created to partner with families of at-risk students. That risk can be academic, social, or physical, and for some of our kids it’s a combination,” Prows said.

For another chance to support the drive, the staff of The Fortress is also holding a contest on social media for the chance to win a gift card to Outback Steakhouse. Post a photo in crazy socks and add the hashtag Kicks 4 Kids for a chance to win while also aiding the cause.

“I think Kicks 4 Kids is a great chance for us to serve our community. I think we take shoes and socks for granted, we think of it as something everyone would have. Maybe we think of third world countries or somewhere else as somewhere we can serve, but we need to remember there really are people in need of basic things in our community,” Annika Peterson, freshman on 94.3 The Fortress, said.

Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 4 – 369 words, Campus, 3/19/2019, Academic Feature

Coram Deo speaker discusses waiting on God’s promises.

On March 13, Annastatia Bonczyk, coordinator of recruitment and student formation, shared a sermon that had been on her heart at Coram Deo. As it is now the season of Lent, she discussed how this is a time of waiting for what Christ will do on the behalf of his people.

It’s about “Waiting faithfully on something from God doesn’t have to happen perfectly, because we are not perfect, but God is,” Bonczyk said.

Coram Deo takes place in Noggle, the Christian Ministries Center at Indiana Wesleyan University campus. Though it is put on by the Honors College, Coram Deo is open for all students who wish to attend.

“Coram Deo is a way to experience something that’s new and different then what they may have experienced in their church back home, or their church here,” Sophia Sanguedolce, freshman Coram Deo participant, said.

The evening was opened up with a prayer spoken by Dr. Brannon Hanncock, followed by the reading of passages in the Bible by Ella Williams and Sanguedolce. The students were then given a time of silent reflection, to prepare their hearts for the rest of the evening’s activities.

“Annastatia has spoken a few times in the past and I find her messages really relatable. She knows what we are going through, since she is with us everyday, so she is really good at relating to where we are,” Rachel Glover, IWU freshman, said.

With the season of Lent starting on Wednesday, Bonczyk chose to focus on the story of Abram. Abram was waiting on God for a long time to fulfill His promise. In the same way, Bonczyk encourages others to appreciate their time of waiting.

After Bonczyk spoke, the group was led through a time of confession, prayer, and worship by Luke Swenson. Finally, Hanncock conducted communion.

“I wanted to talk about waiting because it is something I think I talk alot about with students when they come to my office and it seems really important. And as I prayed God just really laid it on my heart to stick with this one instead of some of the other passages that were available,” Bonczyk said.

Photo Credits : Hadley Willson

Claira Wilson, Comm 244, Story 3 – 427 words, Community, 2/28/2019 – Religion/Non-profit

New Life Church in Marion is revamping their “Kids Zone” this spring.

The new kids program focuses on God’s creation, including underwater, desert, and arctic themes for each age group.

“It has been due for a long time. I think we have been using the same set up for almost 10 years and it just needs refreshed desperately,” Kids Zone volunteer AJ Simmons said.

The current classrooms in the Kids Zone are painted to depict Biblical scenes, but the vision for the new zone is to give kids a chance to learn about the world around them and their connection to creation.

“Right now the walls tell the story of the Bible, and I think that helps kids kind of learn and retain some of the teachings. However you know God also created the Heavens and the Earth and therefore all the animals and I think it’s a different way to look at it,” Jessica Flannery, Kids Zone volunteer, said.

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According to the church’s website, at New Life the number one priority outside of the adult sanctuary and mail lobby is creating the best environment for the kids.

With the check in area serving as an airport, kids will be given the full travel experience in a wagon style entry meant to feel like they are flying.

“So depending what age group they are that’s where they will be going so it’s an exploring adventure. They are flying in to whatever destination or class they are going to” Flannery said.

Renovation has not only been happening in the Kids Zone, New Life also just recently renovated their youth space, Momentum. According to the church’s website, Momentum youth ministries focus on connecting with God and connecting with others.

“This is an older church um and it’s an eclectic build. So there are so many areas and they just redid our youth area,” Berbereia said.

New Life has planned, fundraised, and ordered supplies for the renovations, with hopes to be done by Easter.

“Children matter and they really are important in a church, so we really wanted to create those spaces for our youth, our 18 and unders, and this is just our next step is to get that done,” Debbie Berbereia, New Life Book Keeper, said.

They hope to create a space for kids to be excited about learning the gospel. They want to create a fresh feeling, and bring out a sense of adventure for all ages.

“It is going to bring all of the worlds together for the kids to be able to experience,” Berbereia said.

Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 2 – 405 words, Campus, 2/19/2019 – Academic

Racial Injustice Sankofa tour through Grant County for IWU Day of Courageous Conversations

At 9:15 a.m., Feb. 12, students toured Grant County and learned its history from IWU professor, Dr. Rusty Hawkins.

“It just occurred to that perhaps we didn’t need to go all the way to the South to experience these different sites of discrimination, that maybe there is enough right here in our own county that could help us have some of these conversations,” Hawkins said.

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Gas City, originally a sundown town, was a white only community. This significantly affected the current diversity there. The Wagner neighborhood had had racially restrictive covenants that kept races other than caucasians from living in the area.

“I used to live there (the Wagner neighborhood). So seeing how my life turned out because of this thing that happened way before I was born, how that played into my life is very interesting,” Annie Garcia, from Marion, said.

The final stop was Marion’s old jailhouse. The brick building held three African American men after their hand in the death of Claude Deeter and the supposed rape of Mary Ball in 1930.

Abe Smith was killed in his cell by a mob before being hung at the jail. Tom Shipp was lynched in a tree outside the courthouse, and James Cameron was freed.

Students were able to leave the bus and take the same walk from the jail to the courthouse made by the three African American men and their accusers.

Upon arrival back on campus, students debriefed with Hawkins. They discussed Marion College’s past policies, and how they affected the makeup of IWU campus today.

“Just the things you don’t think about. You think our population here is just because of who chooses to come here but really, a lot of it probably has to do with policies that were in the past,” Rachel Glover, Freshman on the tour, said.

According to the brochure, the main idea of the trip was “that we must return to the past in order to move forward.”

“My hope is that they come away from this with awareness of this history that they didn’t know existed before, and with an understanding that racism is tied up in systems and power that have to do much more with making people live particular ways, and less to do about how people might feel personally towards someone of a different race,” Hawkins said.

Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 1 – 400 words, Campus, 2/5/2019 – Academic

MARION, Ind. – John Wesley Honors College Senate hosts events for student body

Made up of honors college students, the JWHC senate is an event planning program that helps connect honors students with each other and broader campus.

“Historically it has been called the Honors College Student Association, and we just this year decided to change the name. So now it’s called the JWHC Senate, we just think that name reflects better what it is that it is” Julia VanderMolen, JWHC Coordinator of Programs and Student Formation, said.

Emma Merrick began her journey to president as a freshman Honors college student when she joined the Senate.

“I was on the service committee, and it was kind of just a way to get involved as a freshmen, meet some people, have something that is a little extracurricular activity, and I really liked it. I met some good people, I had a lot of fun, and it wasn’t too much of a commitment. It was really nice, it was a good balance,” Merrick said.

After serving as a freshman and then a sophomore, Merrick ran for president. Now, as a junior, she encourages others to consider becoming involved in the activity.

“I think a lot of time people don’t really see how great of an opportunity it is. I just want to plug my own basically, and just say it’s a great thing to put on your resume and it’s a great thing to give you experience,” Merrick said.

Merrick leads meetings every other week and heads up the chairs for each committee. Events like Coram Deo and Pie Day are organized by the academic and spiritual committees. Audra Brewer, a JWHC freshman, was nominated for a position on the service committee this year.

“I thought it was pretty neat when I was nominated so I accepted the position when I was offered it, just to have another thing to do and another thing to participate in in the honors college,” Brewer said.

The service committee helps IWU students give back to the community. They are involved with projects like the Gethsemane Lunch Box Program, which any student, honors or not, can be involved with.

“The senate puts on events not just for the honors college students but also for broader campus. So things like Coram Deo, one of the events JWHC senate puts on, that’s for anyone to come to,” VanderMolen said.

Sources:

https://www.indwes.edu/academics/jwhc/honors-college-student-association