Students participate in ‘Silent Saturday’
Ecumenical Christian Ministries holds day of silence
Students and faculty at the University of Kansas gathered Saturday at Ecumenical Christian Ministries to participate in “Silent Saturday.” They were encouraged to read, write or even sleep, as long as they were completely silent.
Monday, November 12th, 2007
Jenny Faber decided to fill her Saturday with something that was usually pretty rare during the week — complete silence. Faber, Hays junior, joined a small group of KU faculty and students to “slow down” from their busy weeks and participate in Ecumenical Christian Ministries’ “Silent Saturday.”
“We’re around people all the time,” Faber said. “To be in an environment that is this calming, it gives me time to concentrate on myself.”
Participants gathered at noon Saturday at ECM and worked on homework, knitted, read or even slept. The only requirement was to be in complete silence.
Thad Holcombe, ECM campus minister, said moments of silence and meditation dated back to monastic times. He said contemplative silence had a history with almost every religion. Holcombe said he was surprised at the number of students that said they had certain places on campus where they went to sit in silence.
Photo by Jessica Crabaugh
Megan Dodge, Overland Park senior, reaches for a snack during the ECM's Silent Saturday. All participants agreed that the day is great for getting away from the rush of everyday life and is good for studying, relaxing, or just reflecting and evaluating one's life.
Holcombe said the silence and lack of distractions could be disturbing for students at first because it gave people the freedom to explore all the thoughts in their heads.
“Silence is provocative in that way,” Holcombe said. “It’s nice to have permission to just pause and reflect.”
Jonathan Blum, Lawrence junior, said with cell phones and other constant stimulation from everyday life, it was easy to get distracted, and it was nice to commit to being silent.
Nancy Hope, associate director for the Center for East Asian Studies, said she wanted to enjoy an afternoon filled with reflective reading instead of work.
“Work is just snowballing,” Hope said. “It’s precious to sit quietly and not think, ‘I need to do this, I need to do that.’”
After two hours of silence, the group sat together, ate apples and cheese and reflected on the feeling of quiet.
Megan Dodge, Overland Park senior, said the two hours of silence wasn’t difficult for her to get used to. She said she felt like she accomplished a large amount of work and enjoyed having the focus to work on a presentation.
Faber said when she first participated in a Silent Saturday the feeling was unusual, and it gave her time to think of the little things going on in her life. She said she always left feeling relaxed, de-stressed and like she had a productive day.
The group continued its silence until a 7 p.m. vegetarian dinner. Holcombe said the next Silent Saturday was scheduled for Dec. 8. He said because it was the day after Stop Day, it would be a good opportunity for students to start studying for final exams.
Faber said she planned to attend any coming Silent Saturdays and encouraged other students to give it a try.
“I get excited because I know how good it is for me,” Faber said.
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
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