In the busy atrium of Humber Polytechnic, Jerron Poku, a member of a Christian community called BibleTalk, stops students with a simple question about faith. The conversations are part of the group’s growing effort to welcome new members on campus.
Poku says the group’s goal is to see where people are spiritually.
“The whole purpose is the same as the Bible: the purpose is to connect and to grow people’s relationship with God. What we most often talk about is themes in the Bible,” he says.
Poku says his introductions always come from a place of peace.
“I feel like we live in a world where people are really just passive aggressive and have a closed mind to a lot of things, especially when talking about religion,” Poku says.
Poku says that starting conversations about faith can be difficult, and that knowledge alone isn’t enough. To connect with people, you have to approach them with genuine care and compassion.
Noah Mengestu, one of the organizers of the group, says the idea behind the meetings is to recreate the sense of Christian community many students lose when they leave home for college.
“They’re far away from home, where that Christian community they had growing up was taken away from them and isn’t as accessible,” Mengestu says. “Here we provide students the opportunity to seek after God with all their heart in the midst of busy seasons.”
Christopher Camus strongly believes that groups like these do not belong on campus.
“I just feel like religion and school don’t really mix. It just feels really annoying when groups of these cultures come up to you trying to start conversations when I don’t want to be pressured to talk about these things,” he says.
Camus says that during busy seasons, being approached can knock you off your game.
“People mean well when they approach you about faith, but during exam season or when I’m trying to study, it isn’t my number one concern, and that’s what I think should be made known,” he says.
Humber houses many student religious organizations, and also provides students with an area to worship or pray silently. The Meditation and Prayer Room is an area for individual students of any religion to worship or meditate. It can be found in Humber’s Spiritual Wellness Centre (SWC), located at both North and Lakeshore campuses.
Humber’s website describes their Meditation and Prayer room as “a quiet space, open to students of all faiths who wish to pray, meditate or pause during the day.” Humber allows students of all religions to believe what they want by allowing them a place to practice their religion at school.
Together, these spaces and groups highlight the range of ways students engage with faith at Humber. Whether students believe these communities should exist, the school allows students to explore spirituality while navigating the demands of post-secondary life.