BY ALYSSA ALLEMAND | PHOTO COURTESY OF EAGLE CRU
Eagle Cru is a new organization on campus that offers interdenominational Christian opportunities to Edgewood College students.
Cru is an international group that has many chapters on college campuses throughout the world. The title ‘Eagle Cru’ is used to clarify the club’s affiliation with Edgewood College.
After participating in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s weekly Cru meeting, five Edgewood College students were inspired to start their own chapter on campus. These students said that the Cru meetings were welcoming, joyful, loving, and unbiased. Wanting to provide that same type of environment at Edgewood, they met with some members of Cru staff.
Cru is an interdenominational Christian student organization, meaning that all students are welcome regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or church background. When asked what the club represents, president Natasha Sichula said, “We believe that God loves all people, that sin separates people from God, Jesus died and rose in order to restore people back to God, and we must individually place our faith in Christ to have a restored relationship with God.”
On Thursdays, there is a weekly Cru meeting at UW-Madison involving about 300 students meeting for worship from 9:00-10:30 p.m. Edgewood students meet in front of Sonderegger for the 8:20 p.m. SafeRide Shuttle to the UW-Madison campus.
One of Eagle Cru’s main gatherings is its Bible study, which occurs every Wednesday from 7:00-8:15 p.m. in Predolin 118. Members use passages from the Bible to discuss spirituality and community growth. “We dig deep into God’s Word, and find ways to apply it to our everyday lives,” said Sichula. “We build community through sharing our personal stories of trials, successes, and God’s hand in our lives.”
Eagle Cru is a different organization than that of Edgewood’s Dominican Life. Cru functions more evangelically, while Dominican Life has roots in the Catholic tradition. Edgewood College sponsors and funds Dominican Life through the Division of Dominican Life and Mission. While, Eagle Cru is student-led and is funded through Cru, as it is an international nonprofit organization.
Eagle Cru has about 20 members along with 6 student leaders: Natasha Sichula, Jose Montalvo, Annie Petras, Isabelle Castleberg, Denae Allen, and Olivia Castleberg.
There are a few events coming up for the organization. Nov. 10-12 is the Legacy Conference, which is specifically for ethnic minority students. “The goal is for students to grow in their faith as it relates to their ethnic identity and share experiences with other ethnic minorities,” Sichula said.
The Cru Winter Conference will be held Dec. 28-Jan. 1 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This event will include more than one thousand students from the Midwest joining together to work on service projects and explore their spiritualities. Sometime in the future, Eagle Cru is hoping to organize an event to fundraise for hurricane relief.
Sichula said, “We have grown so much as a group and are always motivated to invite other students to join us in our Bible studies as well as attending our combined weekly meeting at UW-Madison.”
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