CRSSJ hosts guest reverend for Black History Month service

Black History Month Service—

Continued from Front Page special song. They would always offer a little something in addition to regular worship that we did for Black History Month,” Shorb said.

The special service put on for Black History Month may be closer to what many students involved with Black Church are familiar with in churches they attended before Grinnell, according to Shorb and Nicks.

Sparkle Nicks, who is the Youth Director at St. Luke and married to Reverend Nicks, has often organized a praise dance for the services at Grinnell College she has been involved with and plans to feature the Majestic Praiser Dancers on Feb. 12th’s service.

For students who attended Black Church in the past, a gospel dance element is something they may not have been a part of for years. “Our students get excited when something like that [a praise dance] special happens because, for some of them, they don’t really get that anywhere else,” said Michael Sims, advisor of the Young, Gifted & Black gospel choir (YGB), which will be performing at the service.

Black Church at Grinnell has not only served to benefit students but

Reverend Nicks himself, too. “The first time I came to preach, it was a very fun and fulfilling experience,” Nicks said.

“From there, it just grew. Every time we went, we were seeing the same students, and we had connections... We built something that I felt was very integral to that part. Not only for their lives, but for me, too.”

While Black Church is rooted in traditions of African-American, African, and Afro-Caribbean church, leaders and students alike emphasize the all-encompassing aspect of it.

“Black Church welcomes everyone,” said Bethany Willig `23, a member of YGB who was also involved with the planning of the service.

“Although the title ‘Black Church’ may scare some people away, we still believe it’s important to keep because it draws the people we want to come to the service if they’re looking for belonging,” Willig explained.

“But everyone’s welcome,” Willig said. “It’s a fun time. We dance, we laugh, we talk, we sing … I’m excited.”

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. All who attend have the option to receive a free meal at the Marketplace after the service. The CRSSJ welcomes anyone interested.

Golf course visioning plan

August 2020, a derecho damaged the golf course’s mature canopy trees. The GCGC now has the opportunity to celebrate and sustain a grassland habitat, said Ceci. He sees this as a paradigm shift from typical East Coast golf course designs.

Some of the architect’s recommendations would thematically build off their previous work with the College. In 2015, the College consulted Ceci, when he was employed with architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross, to work on the Grinnell College’s landscape master plan, which was directed at making outdoor spaces like Kington Plaza more robust.

food. “We want people to be able to consume food in a more ethically conscious way and have more consideration of the cultural dynamics and exploitative practices related to food production,” said Ogunmesa.

“There’s a lot of food production in Iowa, but we don’t always consider how that process brings in diverse points of views and cultures,” said Garcia.

On campus, recent composting and recycling initiatives have sought to engage students in more sustainable food consumption practices, but Jhanwar said he believes that there is more to be done. “One of the takeaways from this event will be learning the strategies for reducing our dining hall waste. We need to be more considerate of where our leftover food goes,” he said.

Past TEDxGrinnellCollege speakers have brought continued attention to the College through their video recordings. Jean Kummerow `71 spoke in 2016 about the professional use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, and she has received more than 997,000 views on the TEDx YouTube account. Adam Lange `11 recently broke 310,000 views on his “Think Like a Lawyer” presentation from 2018.

Ogunmesa said she believes this year can emulate prior installments and that increased program stability is attainable. “Before COVID, the event had a huge audience, and we’re trying to continue that theme. Ideally, it could be an event that happens every year,” said Ogunmesa.

Tickets for the event are available on the TEDxGrinnellCollege website through Feb 10. Seating is limited and likely to reach capacity. American Sign Language interpreters will be provided for the live talks.

Golf to connect; for others, a place for social and emotional, as well as physical, well-being.” Chavez-Silva wrote in an email to the S&B.

After members of the Grinnell Golf and Country Club nearly unanimously voted to allow Grinnell College to purchase the course, due to severe financial burden in 2016, the GCGC has been accessible to the public. The current visioning project is “a reflection of post-pandemic realities,” according to Bagnoli.

Many workshop participants also indicated that they wanted the GCGC to pursue a prairie style. In

MADDI SHINALL