Kansas Wesleyan students led a day-and-a-half of activities and discussions on April 22 and 23 at Goddard Place, near Morland, KS, for a workshop themed “Mud & Morals.” Jacob Buckman, of Lyons, KS; Kyle Roth, of Oklahoma City, OK; and Mallory Lantz, of Topeka, KS, developed questions that helped the junior high and high school campers think about ethics and morals, and they applied these questions to specific activities. Dr. Meredith Drees, assistant professor of religion and philosophy, was the students’ mentor.
On Saturday morning, 21 campers rotated between three stations led by the KWU students. They participated in a service project in connection with Earth Day, painted flower pots as a thank-you gift for someone who has impacted them in a positive way and did a drawing and team-building activity. The activities were followed by small group discussions on the environment and ethics, art and ethics, and ethics in general.
After lunch, a horse therapist arrived. He and the KWU students led the campers through three hours of activities with the horses with the message of problem-solving through taking a new perspective. Many of the campers reported that the horse activities “taught them to think outside of the box” and think critically.
Campers also engaged in a painting activity that represented making good and bad choices and discussed moral decision-making.
After that, the KWU students conducted a large-group discussion tying everything together by using the Socratic Method to explore questions about the day’s key points and encouraged reflection on the activities. They also included questions on animal ethics and animism, which were related to the horse therapy activities.
That evening a speaker from the area talked about his experiences in a gang, in prison and his transition to Christianity. His discussion included the themes from the day.
On Sunday, KWU students led everyone in a guided meditation, scripture reading and prayer at a nearby natural spring. The message focused on loving one another, focusing less on ourselves, and paying more attention to the interests and individual needs of other people.
