Lubbock’s Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry offers haven for LGBTQ+ worshipers

By Avery Mendoza Looking to reform a local church, one religious leader has created an inclusive place for students and Lubbock residents seeking a place to worship. After being ordained in 2019, Mother Leann Wigner took on the mission of leading Canterbury Episcopal Church into a new era with an “inviting space” to welcome all […]

Pandemic Preaching: Local congregations adapt to COVID-19 precautions

By: Branson Nash When COVID-19 first swept across the nation last March, numerous local businesses were forced to close their doors, including churches. With the pandemic, the buildings that once held hundreds of people on Sunday mornings had to find new ways to safely allow their congregation to attend. For Live Oak Community Church in […]

Fire and Brimstone, Not Fireball and Weed: Brother Jed Returns to Texas Tech

By Haylee Uptergrove There is a certain ruckus to be heard in the Free Speech Area this week. Anyone walking by the Student Union Building Tuesday afternoon could hear the combative voices of students clashing with the older, more measured tones of a few choice visitors who visit campus once a year. “God does love […]

Muslim Imam: ‘We Feel That We Are American’

By Mary Onishi “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon was blasting through my car’s speakers when I pulled up to the Islamic Center of the South Plains, one of two mosques in Lubbock. I walked into the quiet entrance of the mosque where I was asked to slip off my Chuck Taylors and leave […]

Travel Restrictions Bring Stress, Fear for Students

By Nathan Lawson Since President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27 banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, immigrants in the Texas Tech community have voiced their feelings. According to a fact sheet issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the seven countries being denied entry to the United States are Iraq, Syria, Sudan, […]

Losing, and Finding, Their Religion

After graduating high school, young adults face many changes; friends, location and ideologies are all often challenged during this period of transition. One ideology that often changes is religion. LifeWay, a non-profit organization that is one of the world’s largest providers of Christian resources, studied 18 to 22-year-olds and their attrition from church during that period of life. The results […]

Weekly Poll: Religion

According to the Pew Research Center, 47 percent of college students consider religion very important, with 36 percent of them attending religious services at least once a week. In Lubbock, previously ranked as the second most conservative city in the United States, students have an abundance of student ministry options, with most places of worship […]

Texas Equality Groups Wary of Other States’ New Laws

By Rachel Blevins Mississippi became the latest state to enact what some officials branded as a “religious freedom law” last week, when Gov. Phil Bryant signed the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” into law. House Bill 1523 states it was created “to provide certain protections regarding a sincerely held religious belief or […]

Brother Jed and Where You Go When You’re Dead

Tanner Warmoth contributed to this article. Brother Jed Smock, 73, has preached at college campuses in all 50 states and some abroad for over four decades. This spring, like in years past, he created a scene in Texas Tech’s Free Speech Area with his controversial statements. Smock, who represents The Campus Ministry USA, said he has been around […]

Texas Tech Student Mosque Vandalized

After the Texas Tech student mosque was vandalized Monday night, Adam Telfah started a gofundme, raising $625 in 19 hours. The senior electrical engineering major from Cypress, Texas, said the fundraiser is not only intended to raise money for repairs to the broken door and lights, but to raise awareness of the true message of Islam. […]