College doesn’t typically go the way some students expect it will when they enroll. They think they’ll major in a particular field that they loved in high school, but they end up switching majors three times and finish with a degree they never planned to use. They think that they’ll get to know everyone and become lifelong friends, but then they realize that even at a small university, three thousand students are way too many to actually meet.
Ashley Moon, senior math major, thought that she was going to find an organization that she was passionate about, but when she got here, there wasn’t an organization that really grabbed her. So, she decided she would make her own.
Moon joined SAC her freshman year to get involved on campus, but she knew that there was something more that she wanted to do. Before Union, she had been a part of a club that learned how to sing worship music with sign language and wanted to bring that to Union’s campus, so she created a group called Adoration during her sophomore year.
Adoration is a student organization at Union whose goal is to teach and perform worship songs in American Sign Language to minister to others in chapel, churches and in the deaf community.
“I really wanted to be a part of an organization here on campus,” said Moon. “But there wasn’t really anything that I was interested in, so I brought something that I was familiar with here to Union.”
Moon was able to bring this organization to life on campus, gaining a steady membership of 15. However, the club has faced some challenges along the way.
Richard Kidd, junior music major and a member of Adoration, explained the difficulties in getting to reach out to deaf people in the area. While some of them appreciate the willingness Adoration has to learn their language, others think their culture is being treated as a form of entertainment.
As they continue to reach out to the deaf community, Adoration will continue to meet in the Bowld to learn new worship songs for their own spiritual growth. Moon and Kidd both expressed how learning to sign with worship music has enriched their worship experience.
“I’m a music person, so I really get into the rhythms,” said Kidd. “And especially with this song, ‘You Are My Vision.’ Putting signs to it means I’m using another part of my body to worship, and because signs are visual, it helps to remind me of what I’m singing.”
Moon is graduating this spring and is handing down the club she created, her passion project, to Kidd. Kidd tends to shy away from leadership roles, but he understands that life isn’t always as you expect it to be. He didn’t expect to be involved in much on campus and certainly didn’t expect to end up in a leadership position, but that’s exactly where he’s found himself.
Although the club’s growth has been slow, members are cherishing this opportunity to learn and to minister to the deaf community in the future. Learning new signs, taking club trips to Sonic on Sunday nights and allowing a new language to trickle into their style of worship have created valuable memories.