The light from above

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson gets upset after a foul call during the first half of Saturday night's game against Texas A&M at Allen Field House.

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson gets upset after a foul call during the first half of Saturday night's game against Texas A&M at Allen Field House.

Smoke from rocks of incense fills the sanctuary. One priest circles the pews in his finest Sunday robes. Chants echo through the room. Rays of early morning sun shine down on the white-covered heads of the crowd. The sights, sounds, and smells come from a place far away.

But this church is in the heart of midwest America in Shawnee.

Kidane Mehret Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrated one of its largest celebrations of the year on Sunday, Aug. 26. Hiwot Hailemariam, 2007 graduate, was one in attendance.

Hailemariam was born and raised in Ethiopia. She moved to the U.S. with her family more than a decade ago. But she has worked hard to hold on to her cultural traditions.

And for her the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a centerpiece.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the only pre-colonial Christian church in Sub-Saharan Africa. It became the official religion of the Axumite kingdom of northern Ethiopia in the 4th century CE.

The celebration at Kidane Mehret was for the Virgin Mary, the saint for whom the church is named.

 

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