by Jessica McGrail
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or FCA, is a big part of Minarets, and it’s back! On Monday, Sep. 21, FCA held a 2020 opener at Yosemite Lakes Community Church. With decent sized attendance, the meeting consisted of raffles, games, and a sermon delivered by Pastor John Lorenzana of YLCC that touched on topics like leadership and courage.
This club has proven to be an effective way for students to get involved during this era of distance learning. FCA currently holds meetings every two weeks at the Tower at YLCC. This is found at the back entrance of the chapel, by the ramps.
Although this location is far for many students to drive, especially those who live in the Fresno/Madera area, club members insist it is worth the trip. Senior Justin Bowe explains the many benefits to FCA being held at the YLCC youth center instead of on the Minarets campus. These benefits include the “many more resources for games like pool, basketball, or even riding on the skateboard ramps. The outside atmosphere of our meetings should bring lots of exciting times.” Bowe is a part of the FCA leadership team along with senior Jeremiah Stott and senior Jessica McGrail. There are many games in the making, including hockey, basketball, water balloon toss, cornhole, and many others, says Bowe. This list of games is open for suggestions and recommendations by the members of the club.
Pastor John, advisor of the club, explains that FCA “is a time when student athletes can come together and have lunch and connect with their peers.” This being said, the club has undergone some changes due to the current pandemic, so social distancing is encouraged. The pandemic has also shifted the frequency of the meetings from every week to every other week. The goal of the club is “connection and encouragement” as Pastor John says, “to not give up gathering together until we can come back together on campus at Minarets.”
For students who cannot make it to the bi-weekly huddles on Mondays at 12:00 p.m., the FCA Instagram page will offer weekly devotionals from student leaders to encourage those not able to attend. The leadership team understands the difficulty of these times and wants to make sure they are reaching out to students who are not able to participate in the bi-weekly huddles by giving them some encouragement to get through the week.
To keep up with the dates, events, and devotionals, students are encouraged to follow the club Instagram page: @minarets_fca.