Newman Week focuses on fun, benefits

Speaker addressed the relation between cultural diversity and religion.

By Krissy Tripp

Published Feb. 12, 2009

The Catholic Student Association of the St. Thomas More Newman Center held its annual Newman Week.

The proceeds from Newman Week will benefit the Refugee and Immigration Services.

The theme of the week is "Welcome to the Least of These." The theme was based on Matthew 25:35, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." The passage fits with the philanthropy Refugee and Immigration Services, Director of Campus Ministry Angelle Hall said.

Hall explained the goal of Newman Week is to promote community growth, especially within the parish and give money to that year's chosen philanthropy.

"What we try to accomplish during Newman Week is trying to have a lot of fun, but we try to incorporate spirituality into it as well," Campus Minister JoAnn Jorgovan said.

Sister Jamie Phelps kicked off Newman Week on Friday, Feb. 6 with her speech "Unity is a Multicultural Church and Society: What's God Got to Do With It?" Jorgovan said she thinks the speaker committee chose Phelps because she's known for dynamic speaking. She felt the speech did a good job of challenging the community to really branch out and include others.

"I thought she did a really great job of talking about our multicultural society and how that fits in with religion," Jorgovan said.

The Fire and Ice Formal took place Saturday, Feb. 7. The dance's theme was Disney's Magic Kingdom. While the dance is incorporated into the week to allow students to have a good time, the money they pay to partake in the dance goes to their chosen charity.

Junior Liz Silvey said her favorite part of Newman Week is the Fire and Ice Formal because it gives students a chance to dress up and hang out.

The Kid's Carnival took place on Sunday, Feb 8. Hall explained the two-hour carnival is full of games for small children. While they sell tickets, that particular event doesn't raise much money.

"Some things we do because it's fun and everyone likes it," Hall said.

The Newman Week Prayer Service took place Monday, Feb 9. The charity is prayed for during this specific prayer service. A student coordinated the prayer service and a speaker from Refugee and Immigration Services came to speak to the Catholic Student Association. Jorgovan said the speaker gave specific story examples from their experiences working with immigrant and refugees to highlight what their organization does.

"We look back and we know we've helped someone sleep better at night," Silvey said. "It's one thing to raise money for an unknown third person, but when you know what's going on with the organization it makes everything hit home and seem worthwhile."

Newman Week's seventh annual play took opened last night at 7 p.m. The musical will also show tonight and tomorrow night at seven at the Newman Center Chapel.

"The New Guy" is about a choir whose director is replaced with someone who doesn't know why the choir started or what it means to the singers. Both the choir and the new director find that applying faith can help to reconcile differences. The play was directed and performed by students of the Catholic Student Association.