Curling

Alec (‘20) has long appreciated the simple, but deeply meaningful, practice of gathering around tables to talk, listen, and really get to know others in community. It was first instilled in him as part of the culture of curling. “After every single game, you sit around with the other team and you have a drink,” he shares. “It's very, very shunned if you skip out on that. [It] is as important as the game…you can sit around…with the other team just to talk about the game, talk about life.”

At the start of his first year at CU Boulder, Alec and his roommate went looking for a church to attend together. Visiting St. Aidan’s Episcopal, they met Bread+Belonging staff who invited them to an ecumenical talk by Eboo Patel that B+B hosted on campus. That was the first of many opportunities to meet people of different backgrounds and faiths and share around tables in intentional conversation. He remembers ecumenical friendships and gatherings with Muslim and Jewish student groups as experiences that helped him reflect on his own faith. A particular conversation about hospitality stands out for him. “What does hospitality mean in your religion, in your culture? Why is that important?” Alec recalls. “Being able to better understand and articulate what those differences and similarities are helped me be able to define what my own faith is.” 

He also fondly remembers several trips and retreats he went on with Bread+Belonging, especially the opportunity to meet a wide range of new people. The slower pace of travel and intentional time in new and unfamiliar places created a whole other set of tables to gather around. He recalls a group of Italian pilgrims the B+B group met while walking the Camino de Santiago.“We sang American songs, they sang Italian songs,” Alec shares, “It's those beautiful moments that aren't scripted, and if you don't leave time for that, they're not gonna happen.”  

Alec continues to make space for this kind of table fellowship. He remains an active member of St. Aidan’s, and leads in the wider church as a member of the Colorado Episcopal Foundation Board of Trustees. And, he continues to gather after curling games, to just talk about life. 

Your generosity sustains our ministry, creating spaces for intentional community and reflection for students like Alec. Thank you for being part of this important work with us.