Inside L-S: Rise and shine for FCS!

Getting teenagers to wake up in the morning can be like pulling teeth, but for one club that meets weekly at 7 AM, an early wakeup time is a pre-requisite to participate. That would be L-S’s Fellowship of Christian Students, FCS for short. But besides knowing that it exists, what else is there to know about it?

Students participate in a fall prayer day

We talked with Caleb Gawne and Hannah Hess, two officers of the club, about it and their views.

The FCS is a student run club that meets every Wednesday morning to watch videos, sing songs, and listen to speakers. They are also in charge of Meet at the Flag Day.

Hess joined FCS because “it offers a great outlet for believers,” and Gawne joined “to connect with other Christians in the school,” and also for accountability. Both agreed that one of the best parts of FCS was the opportunity “to focus on the important things in life before a busy day,” (Gawne) and the “rejuvenation” of “coming together just to worship” (Hess).

Both agreed that as Christians, they have felt at times that people don’t respect their beliefs with Hess admitting that “there’s definitely that air when you start talking about faith,” that people end up thinking “oh, she’s that “Jesus Girl”. Gawne says that’s why they think it’s important to “provide a place where people can meet others that believe the same things,” Hess adding “it’s important to surround yourself with believers. Jesus didn’t call us to teach individually.”

And you may pleasantly surprised that even deep in Lancaster county, our FCS isn’t made of fire and brimstone. Although both say they have only asked a few people to FCS, Gawne saying the decision is “totally theirs,” and Hess saying “FCS is a good vehicle for faith, but not necessarily the best for new believers,” they don’t look down on others who aren’t religious.

“They are all people God has created,” says Gawne, Hess affirming “I can’t judge them. Jesus calls us to love them, and all of us sin.” And both strongly agreed that if some students were to set up a Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or other such FCS, it’s entirely within their right. Almost verbatim, both stated that even though they may not believe in another faith, everyone has a right to worship their own religion.

“Too many people die because of fighting over religion,” Hess bemoans, and that’s something she wants to avoid and lessen in the future.

--Justin Burkett, LSNews.org Managing Editor

Edited: BP