Students assume religious roles

Arms folded and gaze unbroken, Gary Cattell sat quietly on the steps of Willard Building yesterday afternoon. It was a role reversal of sorts for the man everyone knows as the "Willard Preacher."

Rather than preaching Christianity, Cattell listened intently as one student after another assumed his usual spot and shared their testimonies.

Meanwhile, a few feet away from the silent Cattell, Kevin Spizarny and several others manned a make-shift lemonade stand. The drinks were free, as were the prayers. Spizarny (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) offered to pray for anyone in need. One student, anxious about his employment prospects, took him up on the offer. "I prayed that God would give him grace with his job," he said.

These activities and more are part of United In Christ Week, seven days of Christian programs sponsored by numerous student spiritual groups on campus.

The week, which began Sunday night with a prayer meeting, has a full lineup of prayer, lectures and volunteer projects.

Buzz Roberts, campus minister for Christian Student Fellowship, said the week is about unifying campus Christians, a point Laura Kukich (junior-health policy and administration) reiterated.

"We just want to show God's love to Penn State, that there is a message of hope," Kukich said while handing out lemonade yesterday. "We want our message to be loving, not condemning."

Two prominent features of the week are speaker Gregg Cunningham and a free Christian rock concert. Cunningham, who will speak throughout the week on abortion and bioethics, displayed posters depicting aborted fetuses yesterday near the Palmer Museum of Art.

The rock concert, featuring acts Third Day, Silage and Grammatrain, is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rec Hall.

"A lot of people have a misconception about Christian music, that it's just organ music on the radio," Spizarny said. "But with concert, they can see that the music has a lighter side, that it can be fun, too."