Eastipedia: Fellowship of Christian Athletes

*Featured image courtesy of @smefca Twitter

Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an East club which aims to serve as a community for Christians in the school to share faith and support each other through scripture.

Although the club is named Fellowship of Christian Athletes, it is not exclusively made of athletes. Anyone is welcomed to join, however members will pray for teams with upcoming games and encourage them through the season.

FCA meets every other Friday morning in the choir room. Leaders of the program, including Maddie Slaughter and Elsa Jane Posten, organize breakfast for each meeting and speak to the group. After grabbing food, often including bagels and donuts, members sit in a circle and listen to leaders or other members read scripture.

Senior leader Posten believes the meetings are most beneficial on Fridays because by then you have gone through the week and can release the stress by being with others of your same faith.

FCA is currently organized by students, although choir teacher Ken Foley is the teacher sponsor.

“It’s really great to have students [run FCA] because you all have something in common and we’re all learning together so that’s kind of unique,” Posten said. “So it’s more of a fellowship of students than a talk or someone speaking to you.

Although there are benefits to having students run the club, leaders are looking into bringing an FCA administrator who works for the nationwide organization to lead the meetings next year.

Posten believes high school leaders struggle with planning weekly meetings due to schoolwork and other activities, so bringing in an FCA administrator would allow the club to have meetings every week, instead of biweekly. An administrator could also draw in more members, as their numbers have been diminishing, and possibly contact guest speakers.

Posten hopes the club grows even after she graduates because it provided her with a group of people to turn to for support.

“Whether some people take the biblical aspect or the community aspect from it, we can be honest and vulnerable with each other and be like ‘Hey I’m struggling with this’ since we know each other so well,” Posten said. “To be able to find comfort in scripture and your faith is something that’s unique.”