Matthew Murphy, Campus Carrier Deputy News Editor
Berry’s own R.I.S.E. (Religion -In-Student-Experience) group plans to hold a prayer vigil in hopes of uniting those of all religions, for Pastor Saeed Abedini.
According to the New York Times, Abedini was arrested on charges of disturbing national security. He was found to be involved in the creation of Christian churches in private homes in Iran.
Freshman Alison Parker, a member of R.I.S.E. said the group chose to get behind the movement for Abedini because he is a symbol of the need for religious tolerance
“He has kind of become [the] mascot…for tolerance,” Parker said.
R.I.S.E. is a group that is dedicated to uniting people of all different religions and creating religious tolerance on campus. The group acts as the head of the vigil.
The organization is planning a prayer vigil on Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m., inviting those of all religious backgrounds to come and pray for Abedini at the College Chapel. The date was chosen because it is the one-year anniversary that Abedini has been imprisoned, and religious groups both nation and world-wide will be praying for Abedini on that day.
Freshman, Alison Parker, a member of R.I.S.E, said that the group initially got involved as a means of promoting global religious tolerance.
“This isn’t just about a Christian pastor,” Parker said. “This is also about religious tolerance worldwide, because if we fight back against cases such as this no matter if it’s a Christian or a Muslim or a Jew being persecuted, we have to fight back and stand up and say something about it…every small thing we do will have an impact.”.
Senior Lauren Eason, secretary of R.I.S.E., further described the purpose of R.I.S.E’s involvement in the event as a means of uniting the students of different religious backgrounds on campus.
“What our vision for this event to do is to bring the student body together, especially the religious groups,” Eason said.
Eason said if the movement is led by students, then the impact of the event could spread even farther.
“We want it to be more student oriented because we want…the students to be unified too,” Eason said. “If you have students that are passionate about this stuff, like Alison, then we feel like it would be more of an impact.”
Eason also said that there is currently a separation between the different faith groups on campus.
“ I feel like right now, we lack communication with each other and understanding,” Eason said. “We want to improve that communication with each other, we want to share our beliefs with each other.”
Eason and R.I.S.E alike have hopes that this event could encourage a more unified body of religions on campus.
“I hope to see that it [the event] will bring more unity to the campus,” Eason said. “We want to see something that’s the equivalent of Interfaith Council except…on a student level. We want the students to…come together.”
Senior Chris Zefting, president of R.I.S.E said there is a beauty in coming together for a common purpose, and that the event here at Berry connects those involved to the global movement.
“I do think that there is a magnificent power in being able to say that we like so many others have the same desire, that we are one amongst many,” Zefting said.
R.I.S.E. plans to have more events with a similar purpose in the future.