Worship groups seek to link humanity Students’ faith inspires, bolsters their academic and social lives at the University of Maine

ORONO – Students at universities and colleges sometimes struggle with balancing homework, social lives, family and jobs.

With all of the daily challenges, many University of Maine students make faith a regular part of their lives, too, in Muslim, Catholic and Protestant religious groups.

The Muslim Student Group faces both the challenges of finding the time and place for frequent daily worship and the many social and cultural changes its students face.

Led by Dr. Mahmoud ElBegearmi, a professor of Egyptian studies, the group meets Fridays for prayer and Saturday evenings to study the Holy Quran and Islamic law at the Drummond Chapel at the Memorial Union.

After one Friday prayer, Hussein Elhaj, Mahmoud Alnabulsi, AbdulAziz Al-Nugaiteeb and Essam Al-Shalabi talked with Dr. ElBegearmi about how their religious group affects their daily college lives.

Elhaj said at his home in Miami, Fla., the Muslim community is dispersed, but in Orono, the smaller group’s members are closer, making it easier to find time to get together.

Elhaj said that the Muslim group helps him academically and makes him feel a part of the Orono community. He looks forward to the meetings for prayer, study and to be with friends.

Because Muslims must pray five times each day, arranging prayer times can be a problem, especially during classes. Al-Shalabi said that professors are helpful to allow for the prayers, which require three to five minutes.

But during laboratory work, the student generally finds time to pray immediately afterward. Prayer may be delayed but not skipped ElBegearmi said.

Mealtimes also are challenging because Islamites are forbidden to eat pork or drink alcohol, and

foods require special preparation.

The university does not accommodate Muslim dietary needs so students drive to Boston to the nearest Islamic market, taking turns with trips to supply the two refrigerators and freezer at the home of one of Elhaj’s relatives.

The Newman Center, home of the Catholic campus ministry, has existed for 60 years. Father Koury, who prefers to be called Father Joe, filled in for an ill office manager during a recent interview.

A difficult challenge facing his parish, Father Joe said, is connecting with students who spend more time off campus than those in past generations.

Between off-campus activities and Internet communication, there is less time for traditional church activities, Father Joe explained.

Campus Minister Sister Mary Sweeny said that the center’s role is to support students who suffer stress and to provide a place where they may find “an hour of peace” in a place where they learn to “value themselves.” The center has 100 students registered. Some attend full time, and others attend less often.

The center also has a long-standing commitment to the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen, where members often help with meals. Sister Sweeney said that the center makes everyone feel welcome and offers a Wednesday night Journey in Faith gathering, where members may explore Catholicism. “We forget that not everyone understands things that may be common to us,” Sister Sweeney said.

At the Wilson Center on College Avenue, Chaplain Bill Friederich and student intern Sarah Dow aim to provide a place where visitors feel comfortable.

Friederich, like Father Joe, recognizes the challenge of running a ministry that is relevant to the 21st century and tries to communicate with students. “The days of posting the church schedule on a kiosk are long gone,” Friederich said referring to students who communicate frequently with the computer.

Dow said that the center and her faith are integral parts of her life and she is there because she wants to be.

Students today, Dow said, find themselves “feeling empty” and the center provides a place where they may feel “safe and supported.” She also talks of the trip she took last semester with seven other students to the Riverside Church in Manhattan. The group worked with other members of that congregation in a soup kitchen, where they fed and provided fellowship to the homeless.

The thread that connects the various religious groups at the university is that each is concerned with justice and kindness and giving a sense of belonging in a world where people are more frequently apart.