With spring break right around the corner and midterms on the minds of students and faculty, it’s easy to get wrapped up in work and forget about the loved ones that were lost over the past year. To combat this, the Campus Ministries Association coordinated the annual UH Day of Remembrance in the University Chapel at A.D. Bruce Religion Center Tuesday afternoon where students, faculty, staff and members of the community who passed away in 2015 were honored.
“Every year the president and the president elect of the Campus Ministries Association are the ones who speak at the memorial,” president of Campus Crusade for Christ David Taylor said. “Last year I was the president elect and did opening and closing remarks. This year I’ll be doing the invocation and the reading.”
UH’s Day of Remembrance has been an annual event on campus for over 20 years as a day to honor and cherish those who have come and gone over the years, while recognizing the different faiths and spirituality present on campus.
Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services Richard Walker welcomed students and faculty to the A.D. Bruce Religion Center and offered his words for those in attendance when he said, “All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
The program for the service recognized over 10 different religious and spiritual followings. An attachment also listed every person’s name.
The interfaith ceremony began with a prayer from Taylor, who followed with a powerful invocation and remembrance to all present physically and spiritually, reminding everyone that the loss of those close to us is overpowered by the impact they placed us with while they were here. He asked for strength and courage to carry on and to, “Give us comfort in our loss so that grief cannot cripple us.”
For those not able to attend the ceremony or those on campus struggling with the grief or loss of a loved one, Laureen Suba, treasurer of United Campus Ministries, offers students an invitation to come visit at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center. Suba students can take advantage of free lunches on Wednesdays.
Suba extended her condolences to anyone dealing with these issues and encouraged students to take advantage of the ministries on campus.
“One of the challenges for students coming on campus is that it’s a time where they are exploring what they do, who they are. They’re perhaps looking at their traditions and questioning them and the things they’ve learned,” Suba said. “One of the joys about the space is it’s an open one where you can explore, you can doubt. And if you’re hurting, please come.”
