Staying Together While Being Apart
Hannah Brummer, Reporter & Designer
How local youth groups are staying strong during these hard times. Being forced to leave friends and go home in the middle of the semester was hard for a lot of students but it was the reality that hit campus in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students at Hutchinson Community College come from all over the United States, some even travel all the way from around the world. So this kind of change can be difficult. Some of the youth groups in Hutchinson found different ways to stay connected to students. Kailey Waybright, Hutchinson, started Catholic Dragons also called Catholic Dragz, at the beginning of the school year. “Father Michael, Father Aaron and I really wanted to get college kids involved at church because college can be hard for students coming from outside areas,” said Waybright. She wanted to bring together students that may not have had a church in Hutchinson to call home. To reach out to students, Waybright put up fliers around the campus, posted on social media and had the priests of the churches in town to preach about it. In 2013, Josh Goertzen started a Bible study in his parents’ living room that eventually expanded to Grace Bible Church into a group called CORE, where many HutchCC students attend every week. “The young adults in our church got together and decided to start a Bible study. We had a desire to see young people come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and for those who already knew Him, to grow in their faith,” said Goertzen. During the school year, Catholic Dragons meet every Monday night for about two hours. “Catholic Dragons does a variety of things. First we start out with a meal provided by parishioners, then a 10-15 minute Bible study, then game night, trivia, or once a month we will have Mass and Adoration. I leave group activities completely up to what they want to do. I’m always open for new and fun games or activities,” said Waybright.
The group always finds something fun and exciting to do. Every Wednesday night for hours CORE meets at Grace Bible Church for teachings, worship and small groups. “We have various girls and guys Bible studies throughout the week. We’re all close friends so we’re always spending time with each other throughout the week as well,” said Goertzen. This pandemic has had a very big impact on the world, not only negatively but in some positive ways as well. People have been finding more ways to stay in contact with family and friends they cannot see during the stay-at-home orders put in place by the Kansas governor. CORE has also been doing games, video calls, and they have a big group text where they talk to each other daily. “I think it’s caused people to push pause on their busy lives and spend time with the Lord. I also think it’s created a large desire to be with each other in person. I think negatively, Christians are created to live in community with each other so that part is challenging during this time,” said Goertzen. Catholic Dragz has occasionally held Zoom meetings where they talk, catch up with each other and play online games like Pictionary. “Since the pandemic started, Catholic Dragons did have to end it’s year because the diocese of Wichita cancelled all activities. Of course it had affected us negatively because of the bonds and friendships we’ve made,” Waybright said. “We were not ready for those to come to an end, especially with those who will be transferring to universities. But affecting us in a positive way by keeping us all safe.”
► Josh Goertzen preaches to the CORE group at a Wednesday night class. CORE started in 2013 as a small Bible study in Goertzen’s home. Photo provided by Josh Goertzen
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5/22/20 7:23 AM
