More than 100 people braved the stormy weather to participate in an Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service held at Tusculum College on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Each person was asked to light a candle during the service to symbolize the college’s commitment to community, to one another and to efforts to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
According to Tusculum President Nancy B. Moody, the event was the first of several planned to kick off the Individual Wellness through Community Engagement Initiative. The prayer service was planned as a campus-wide program with the primary purpose of encouraging the Tusculum community—including students, faculty, staff and alumni—to lead and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
The program included several religious leaders from a variety of faith traditions who spoke and prayed to promote spiritual health among all people.
“Wellness is a lifelong pursuit and often requires peer encouragement,” said Wayne Thomas, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and one of the architects of the new program. “As such, our aim is to indoctrinate its importance and approaches on our campuses through continuous communal activities that reach our entire population and focus on social, physical, intellectual, emotional and/or spiritual health.
“Additionally, we recognize that people succeed better if every aspect of their lives is attended to, thus addressing our students’ wellness and satisfaction significantly improves retention.”
Participating in the program were: Mark Stokes, chaplain of the Presbyterian-affiliated Tusculum College; Rev. Linda Bass, pastor, Christ United Methodist Church; Rabbi Arthur Rutberg, of the B’nai Shalom Congregation in Blountville; Taneem Aziz, president of the Islamic Center in Johnson City; Dr. Nancy Thomas, English professor at Tusculum College and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church, and Marina Munjal, president of the Appalachian Dharma and Meditation Center in Johnson City.
Each of the participants offered a prayer or blessing and encouraged those present to walk in friendship and unity.
“There is far more that unites us than divides us,” said Rabbi Rutberg.
Rev. Bass offered prayers for guidance, love, protection and grace and the ability for all to use their gifts to change the world.
Aziz told the group that in today’s world, we are “shoulder to shoulder in our uniqueness” and added that everyone, given the opportunity to do good, should do so without qualification or the expectation of receiving anything in return.
Munjal, who is Buddhist, said that she sees her religion as kindness and offered a traditional Buddhist blessing, “The Metta Prayer,” which is a prayer for the well-being and happiness of all beings.
“The spiritual, however it is practiced, is a part of each of us,” said Dr. Moody. “For some, it is how one finds peace, for others it is how they find meaning and purpose in life. Meditation, prayer, study, exercise and fellowship can all be part of our spiritual caretaking and, tonight if you have not already, I hope you will begin your journey to find how to nourish your spiritual self.”
Participants in the Tusculum College Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service each lit a candle to symbolize the college’s commitment to community.