Photo credit: Kelyn Struiksma
The Shire’s female resident advisors hosted “We are She” Sunday, Feb. 16 for a night of worship, encouragement and focus on female inner worth and beauty.
The event, hosted in the Shire recreation room, was created by senior psychology major Arielle Wilburn, RA of the Shire’s B-court.
“When this event came to me, I thought these women are going to be so encouraged and God is going to speak to them so heavily, but every day he was making it clear to me that this night was about me just as much,” Wilburn said.
According to Wilburn, her inspiration for the event came when she recognized a disconnect in the way women view themselves.
“We should absolutely know, without a doubt, that we are unadulterated and authentically created by the creator of the stars and sometimes we don’t,” Wilburn said. “We wake up and we don’t see that and we look in the mirror and we still don’t see that.”
Photo credit: Kelyn Struiksma
The event was not exclusive to female Shire residents, female residents from other living areas were also invited. The Shire staff wanted to recognize sophomore residents in this typically overlooked year of college, Shire East Resident Director Cara Jones said.
For sophomore accounting major Claire Bultema, “We are She” was an answer to why events designed for Christian women focus highly on the popular topics of understanding personal worth and beauty.
“To know that what is most important comes directly from the Bible and not necessarily from what other people tell me was something I definitely needed to hear,” Bultema said.
Jones and Adams Hall Resident Director Chaili Trentham spoke at the event and discussed the importance of worth, purpose and intentionality. Acoustic worship music was also featured.
Photo credit: Kelyn Struiksma
“Worship is one of the ways I feel most connected with God and experience his presence,” said junior applied health major and Shire RA Annelise Bons, who played violin at the event. “Lifting our voices up to the Lord was a great way to cement the things we talked about.”
According to Jones, “We are She” was not intended to take place on that weekend, but because Valentine’s Day usually is an interesting time for women, they decided to use the weekend in their favor.
“This is a time where we can come together and be vulnerable, be challenged by each other and be drawn back to the truth that Christ has set us free,” Jones said. “He has rescued us even though we didn’t deserve it. He is worthy to find our satisfaction and our peace and rest in him.”
Photo credit: Kelyn Struiksma
At the end of the night, students were given cards to write memos of encouragement for other women present.
“I think this is a cool way for women to get together and be able to share what we are going through,” Bons said. “As RAs, we are going through the exact same things, and it is cool to be able to have those conversations in a safe place.”
For sophomore international business major Emmaleigh Carlson, “We are She” was a chance to connect with staff members on an intimate and equal level outside of their leadership positions.
According to Carlson, “We are She” was an encouragement as she realized the topics discussed deserve attention.
“This conversation needs to continue to happen to every generation, every week and every day,” Carlson said.