March 30, 2016 | Phillip Ericksen |
A four-part prayer service for sexual assault survivors ended Tuesday night, but that doesn’t mean the conversation at Baylor University is over.
A group of graduate students, graduates and local pastors hosted “A Space for Hope” on Tuesday night at Baylor’s Elliston Chapel.
“We want to end on a note that is hopeful, but that isn’t saying, ‘Well, the journey’s over now,’ or ‘Everyone needs to feel joyful,’ ” said Natalie Webb, one of the organizers. “We want to portray hope in a way that might feel joyful and happy to some people but might feel like putting one foot in front of the other for others.”
About 30 people attended the service, including Vice President for Student Life Kevin Jackson. It consisted of prayers and songs, and attendees made prayer beads and wrote prayers on note cards. Previous services focused on lamentation, silence and anger.
“We will not further silence our neighbor with platitudes or should-haves,” one of the prayers read. “We commit to hold their pain gently. We know we must continue to challenge the power dynamics in our world that make abuse prevalent, even when these dynamics and systems benefit us.”
Counselors and pastors were available for people wanting to talk.
“We’re hoping to make a turn toward hope and hold out a sense of hope for healing for survivors and hope for a better, less violent world,” said Kyndall Rothaus, pastor of Lake Shore Baptist Church. “But at the same time, we want to acknowledge it’s not like we can just automatically feel hopeful. Some of us aren’t hopeful yet, and we’re going to be honest about that, too.”
The anger-themed service March 15 was followed by a poetry event on the same topic at the Waco Hippodrome.