Overcoming fire through song

By Jake Carah

Published Feb. 12, 2008

MU students who are a part of the Catholic Student Association on campus are hoping to counteract the damages of a fire with the sound of music. On the morning of May 31, 2007, lightning struck the Truman State Newman Center causing a fire, which completely destroyed the facility after 17 years of service.

When it came time for the St. Thomas More Newman Center’s Philanthropy Week here at MU, the Catholic Student Association Steering Committee decided it would give the money the association raised within the year to the Newman center at Truman, said Emily Shull, MU Campus Minister for the association.

Shull has been a campus minister at MU for the last three years. Shull said the show is just one part of the Newman Center’s annual Philanthropy Week started in the early 1990s. The annual Philanthropy Week includes the Newman Center Speaker’s Series, campus competition, prayer service, semi-formal dance, and kids’ carnival.

The show, Building the House, is an original musical based on a group of saints that aid a struggling family with a big move. According to an MU news release written by Shull, students will be performing selections that include classical hymns and show tunes, as well as popular music from artists such as The Beatles and Journey, including a selection from the Scrubs musical episode. All of the show’s dialogue and choreography is original and performed by the students, Shull said.

Shows will run from Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. in the main chapel of the Newman Center at MU. In addition there will be a silent dessert auction on Saturday night, again with all proceeds going to benefit the Truman State Newman Center.

Building the House will be the Catholic Student Association’s fifth full-length musical. The Musical itself is produced mostly by students, who make up the writers, directors and cast with additional members of the band and crew.

Angelle Hall, Director of Campus Ministry at MU, said, “the Truman State Newman Center had insurance. However, the cost to replace the contents and the building is more than what they are receiving from insurance.”

Hall said in an e-mail that different groups are donating several items.

“For example, a group donated all the kitchen appliances,” Hall said. “Our Catholic Student Association in Columbia will vote on what we will donate (some possibilities are furniture, computers, etc.) once we know how much money we’ve raised.”

Bettie Lescynski, who has been the Director for the Newman Center at Truman State for the last 20 years said “we received $800,000 from insurance and we have raised $100,000 and we are also expecting to receive additional $100,000 grant money.”

Lescynski said a large part of the funds is due to student involvement.

For example, she said students who are on the council helped do a mailing out to parents and the Catholic alumni.

“We raised probably around $45,000 with that mailing,” Lescynski said.

There have also been outside contributions from other organizations on campus Lescynski said.

“We had a concert featuring Javier Mendoza and the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega held a pageant called the Ugly Man on Campus, which also raised money for us,” she said.

The services that the Newman Center offered can still be found on campus, Lescynski said, “We are renting a house down the street and Sunday morning masses have been moved to the auditorium on campus and the student parish.”

Hall attested to student involvement at Truman.

“The students of the Truman State Newman Center have been amazing,” she said. “They have really focused on what makes them a community, and they are trying to glean all the lessons and blessings that have come from the fire. The students at Truman State have still had a full slate of programming in the areas of weekly liturgies, service, and retreats, just to name a few. They are very resilient.”