It’s Faith and Spirituality Week! Emilia Kelly from the La Trobe Christian Union has penned this blog entry for MyLaTrobe to explain the significance of the week in the context of COVID-19.
Now more than ever it’s easy to feel alone and distant from our community.
When before I could go to uni to meet people in my course and have conversations about how we are feeling in changing times, I now instead look at a computer screen for an hour at a time to see blank faces, hear small talk and then log off as soon as class finishes.
But, this time has given me space to reflect. To step back and see a bigger perspective. Despite being in a world constantly changing, one thing remains stable, my identity as a loved child of the living God. What feels like my anchor in the storm, my faith allows me to keep hold of the hope of the certainty of Christ and the joy that I am able to live life in a community with others.
This community I have found at La Trobe is one that I treasure greatly. The La Trobe Christian Union has provided endless support, connected me to friends that encourage me, and helped me find my feet in times where I feel like the ground is shaking beneath me. And considering the current events, words can’t describe what this has meant for my mental and spiritual wellbeing.
I am beyond grateful that La Trobe so openly affirms spirituality and fosters diversity. It allows people like me freedom to be open about my identity with others in a supportive and inclusive environment and help us find our community. Having a space where people from different cultures and for whom spirituality matters find a place, to the point where there are certain event days to celebrate this diversity is rare, and a gift.
So join with us in celebrating faith and spirituality day. An opportunity to listen and show respect to people’s stories here at La Trobe.