Faith & Culture Meet: Inviting the Presence of God

On February 9, 2024, students, faculty, and staff gathered for an all-school prayer service to honor Black History Month. The service was organized by the Sisters of Culture (SOC) co-curricular, whose mission is to celebrate the ethnic backgrounds and cultures of the DSHA community, along with discussing contemporary issues through the lens of social and racial justice. SOC worked in collaboration with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion commission of Student Council. Rooted in prayer, the service included music performed by the SOC Gospel Choir and Grace Fellowship Church (GFC) of Milwaukee, a sermon by GFC Pastor Brenda Calhoun, and student reflections on faith and resilience. Caitlynn Bell, DSHA ’25, helped choreograph and lead two praise dances performed by SOC, and reflects on the importance and value of her experience.

Reflection by Caitlynn Bell, DSHA '25

    • Caitlynn Bell, DSHA ’25 (far left), dances to the praise song I Will Trust You with Dashers during the Black History Month Prayer Service. Bell choreographed the dance along with Nala Johnson, DSHA ’24.

My faith is extremely important to me as it has been one of the most unwavering factors in my life. Despite what I may encounter, I strive to be a walking testimony of who God is and what He can do. While growing up, it was strongly encouraged that my sisters and I establish our own personal relationships with Christ. Since then, I’ve found that it is important, as a people under God, that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

I am heavily involved in ministry at my church, Christian Faith Fellowship in Milwaukee, where I serve as a praise dancer. Here at DSHA, I’ve had the opportunity to express my faith and culture both through choreographing praise dances with Nala Johnson, DSHA ’24, for our Black History Month Prayer Service, along with singing in the SOC Gospel Choir for the past three years. I see it necessary to help students understand how far Black people have come and where we are going. The best way I know to do so is to present ourselves as a community and share our intimate moments with others and with God through the unity we find in communal prayer. I always say a personal prayer before going on stage to dance or sing, and I ask God to “use me as your instrument of praise.” I want to be able to impact the lives of those receiving Him by using the abilities given to me; I do not want anything to be done in vain or for personal glory.

It is impactful to worship God through such unique cultural experiences. They permit us as students to glorify God in a way that may be different or unfamiliar to the faith traditions of others. It is a space where we all learn and grow. I love that DSHA prioritizes these cultural and prayerful services such as the Black History Month Prayer Service, Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass, Interfaith Prayer, and others as well. I value that I have had many opportunities to be a part of these services as a way of presenting as a member of our powerful SOC community filled with young, purposeful, God-fearing women.

It was important for me to share my gifts with the rest of the school (outside of SOC) at the Black History Month Prayer Service because I knew that through my devotion and personal walk of faith, I could help guide others in the school community into a reflection of their own perception of who God is, and we can all learn from one another. It is not about being seen on stage, but about inviting the presence of God to fill the atmosphere. It is about the exaltation of God.

Serving throughout the years has allowed my relationship with God to grow. I am not perfect, and neither is my walk with Him, but I know that whenever I dance for His glory or sing His praises, I feel complete. In those moments, I am complete. I know that God has given me a purpose, and by faith I can fulfill that purpose. My experiences have allowed me to realize that no one person in SOC and no one person in the school community is separated from the rest; we are all one. We are one as a people, we are one under God, we are one as a school, and for SOC, we are one as a minority in our school—and all together as a school community we should seek to celebrate differences and find beauty in unity, as we take opportunities to better understand each other as one sisterhood and one Body in Christ.

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