Rather than spend all of Winter Break at home, a group of Ball State students chose to reinforce their faith by attending religious conferences, such as the Indy Christmas Conference in Indianapolis and Seek 2013 in Orlando, Fla.
INDYCC
About 150 Ball State students attended. Students from Campus Crusade for Christ in other colleges across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan also attended the annual event. The conference took place from Dec. 28, 2012, to Jan. 1, 2013, at the JW Marriot in Indianapolis. This year’s theme was “Immerse.”
Bridget Hedinger, campus director of Ball State’s CRU, was a part of the team that put together the conference.
“It’s really cool for me to have a role in changing the lives of students,” Hedinger said. “It was great being a part of planning the big picture of what the event could be like and to be a part of executing and shaping it.”
The conference included a variety of events. They had a Day of Outreach where participants delivered Holiday Care Boxes to people in need.
They also had a New Year’s Eve party, where junior theatre design and technology, theatre education and telecommunications triple major Cait Molloy said she enjoyed praying in the new year. This was the second time she attended IndyCC.
“IndyCC was such a great place to grow and learn,” Molloy said. “This year it was exciting to see people grow and experience it in new ways since I knew what was going to happen this time. IndyCC creates a lot of opportunities to grow and to hear new different views.”
Hedinger has also been involved with IndyCC for multiple years. She attended for four years as a student and four years as a part of the staff.
“It’s really helpful to help connect with God,” Hedinger said. “It’s about putting ourselves in a position to hear something we wouldn’t normally hear and learn about small encounters with God that change the trajectory of our lives; it’s God who orchestrates it all.”
In the past, Hedinger has also worked as an emcee for the conference.
Molloy also took the stage this year when she performed as a part of Ball State’s Offscript[ure]. Molloy said those planning IndyCC wanted Offscript[ure] “to do a type of old churchy choir with hymns and stuff, which ended up with us singing traditional tunes.”
The crowd of about 2,000 people was the largest group Offscript[ure] has performed for.
Hedinger said she was proud to see the work students put into the conference and to see them take the lessons and speakers at the conference seriously. One of Molloy’s favorite speakers, Paul Tripp, discussed being open minded and having questions about faith.
“It’s okay to ask questions and not know all the answers, to seek out and see what we find,” Molloy said.
SEEK 2013
FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, presents their national Seek convention every few years. Ball State students got involved with the aid of the university’s FOCUS missionaries.
Ball State took approximately 160 students, including some from other colleges such as Purdue University and IUPUI, to Orlando, Fla., to attend the Seek 2013 conference from Jan. 2 to 6.
Though missionary Lisa Papiernik saw some students were nervous on the bus ride to Orlando, she said throughout the trip she “saw things click for them, and that brought a lot of joy.”
“One of the best parts is seeing people get so inspired,” said Kate Beard, a senior dietetics major. “People learn a lot about what life is about.”
Like IndyCC, the conference involves a lot of speakers and entertainment. Each day at the conference began with mass.
“I loved seeing so many people passionate about their faith,” said Jeremy Peat, a junior telecommunications major. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen 6,000 people in one place before. Seeing all these people at mass gave me hope for our generation.”
Although there were about 6,000 people and numerous schools present, Ball State’s attendees still managed to show their spirit.
“We’d chirp to find each other,” Beard said. “We got other schools there to start chirping, thinking it was just a sign, and other people would do it to catch each other’s attention.”
Ball State’s high number of students also allowed them to get preferential seating for some events. Freshman secondary math education major Max Browning took advantage of this, getting front row when musician Matt Maher performed.
“His songs are so powerful because they all have such a good Catholic message,” Browning said. “He took his talent and turned it into a God gift.”
Along with entertainment like Maher, the conference featured numerous speakers. One of the messages that impacted Beard the most came from a speech on authentic beauty.
“Whenever we go on trips, we’ll look at something absolutely gorgeous. God’s creation is amazing and so beautiful,” Beard said. “And of all of these things, God chose to make you in His image. Your grandeur as a person couldn’t compare to any of that.”
One of the lessons students emphasized was the importance of religion in community. Beard said the conference helped with learning to pray and not just on her own, but in a community.
“You’re never going to grow in a solo relationship with God. It’s not a solo journey,” Browning said. “It’s your own faith, but you can’t think of it as your own. You need to grow with others.”
