248 Organizations Story from The Bison Oct. 25, 2024; Vol. 100, No. 6. Photos from The Bison Oct. 25, 2024; Vol. 100, No. 6. Friday, January 31, 2025 2B COMMUNITY Various denominations welcome all ANDREW RENEAU asst. copy editor Review: new business opens downtown, Wildflour bakery what teenagers are looking for now, like cheaper, more affordable snacks.” Today, Johnson’s sells cupcakes from her store on Spring Street, nestled between Quattlebaum Music Center and Burrito Day. She still offers the six flavors she sold at the farmer’s market but has added another six that change each week. Her favorite cupcake flavors are all except chocolate—she particularly enjoys coffeeflavored items. “If you have a passion, then I fully believe that God gave you that passion for a reason, and we should try to do something with it,” Johnson said. “I’ve met many, many people from around town simply stopping in to stock the pantry,” Harris said. “During the really cold months of December, January and February, we will put out a little sign that says, ‘Trinity giving fence.’” Freshman Racheal Sims has attended an Anglican church for much of her life. While at school, she attends St. Andrew’s Anglican AMANDA TOYE community editor Trinity Episcopal Chuch located at 200 N. Elm St. is one of many churches in Searcy. Trinity Episcopal Church has both an outdoor food pantry and a “giving fence” for people in the community to donate to and utulize. Graphic by BEN EVANS Photo by BRILEY KEMPER As a Church of Christ-affiliated university, Harding can struggle when welcoming students from different denominations. Because Searcy is a hub for churches of various beliefs, from Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, non-denominational and Episcopal churches, students and community members have many options. Sophomore Keaton Rochelle, assistant youth pastor for seventh through ninth graders, spoke about his experience as a part of Fellowship, a non-denominational church in Searcy. “Fellowship is a non-denominational church, they accept anyone and are willing to take in anyone because that’s what Jesus would do,” Rochelle said. “I think a lot of people are Church of Christ here at Harding, but at the same time there’s a lot of people that come that are Baptist, non-denominational, or that are here because they don’t per-say, have religion.” Rochelle said that Fellowship has more members from the Searcy community than Harding students. He has felt fulfillment by being in a position to help young students who need it the most. Trinity Episcopal Church, located in downtown Searcy, is known for its outreach toward the community. Offering a free food pantry that anyone in the community can use or donate to, as well as a fence on which they hang winter clothing for those in need, Trinity Episcopal has created a welcoming environment for all. Reverend Mark Harris, the priest at Trinity, shared some of his experiences with the Searcy community. Church and the Church of the Holy Trinity, an Antiochian Orthodox church, which are both located in Little Rock. “The biggest thing is tradition,” Sims said. “They are sacramental churches. The church services are what we call a liturgy. We form ourselves in the church that can reflect ourselves in our lives.” “We are called to be evangelists to the community in whatever way, shape or form that takes,”Harris said.“That’s what animates us. The core common Christian message of salvation in Christ Jesus.Then the rest of what animates us is our history and tradition of the Church of England, where the Episcopal church takes its heritage.” Harris said anyone is welcome to donate to the pantry or hang clothing on the fence. Walking into WildFlour Bakery presents a mix of simplicity and funk. The walls? A combination of pearl white and dark purple. The lights? Diverse. The welcome sign is rainbow, the interior is illuminated by white lights hanging from a tall ceiling and a set of changing colored bulbs hovers above the counter. Teresah Johnson owns the storefront and operates it with her family, but her entrepreneurial spirit began in her grandfather’s jewelry store, back before she owned her store. “I grew up on Spring Street,” Johnson said. “I spent every day of my life for the first ten years in that jewelry store.” For Johnson, baking and small businesses are two passions she has never lost. “If baking can bring joy to someone in any way, then why wouldn’t I want to spread that joy to other people?” Johnson said. She began cooking in her kitchen in 2017 and quickly progressed to selling cupcakes and her take on an oatmeal cream pie at a farmer’s market. Johnson recalled setting up her tent with tables, chairs and displays she moved using her minivan. She had six cupcake flavors and sold them in hundred-degree weather. Johnson said she began to see her future in a storefront after she purchased her food truck. “Once I got the food truck, that’s when everything really started falling into place,” Johnson said. Junior Kenzie James remembers visiting Johnson’s food truck while filming a package for student-run TV station HU16. “It was a very colorful pastel truck,” James said. “I think it caters to a lot of Warming Center brings shelter to those in need; offers coats Story and photo from The Bison Jan. 31, 2025; Vol. 100, No. 8. University addresses chapel Dr. Tiffany Brooks spoke Oct. 10 in chapel about her book,“Holy Ghosted.”Her summary brought strong responses from Harding faculty, staff and students, and the broader Harding community. A Harding staff member sent a letter to Executive Vice President Jean-Noel Thompson after Brooks spoke in chapel.This letter was also posted on Facebook.The letter focused on the content of Brooks’ message as well as the fact that she was a woman speaking on the chapel stage. Thompson said Harding responded to the Oct. 10 chapel to elaborate on Brooks’ arguments and demonstrate civil conversations in a chapel presentation on Oct. 18. “Clearly there was concern about the prioritization of holiness in relation to wellness or happiness, and we felt like that needed some more explanation,”Thompson said. Harding University is a community of faith where different opinions should be discussed civilly and model a pursuit of truth, Thompson said. “Social media can be so difficult to have a conversation in,”Thompson said. “Even in direct email, sometimes it can be difficult to convey what one’s intent is.To see it play out in real life in a conversation where there is care for all is so important. It’s not just, ‘Hey, let’s correct something,’ it’s, ‘Let’s really dig in and learn and continue to pursue biblical truth.’ God calls us to that level of care and grace and patience and gentleness with one another.” Associate professor and chair of the English Department Jon Singleton attended Harding with Brooks. Brooks spoke in several of his classes about her book after giving her presentation in chapel. “The initial post that kicked it all off misrepresented what I heard in her speech, having been there,” Singleton said. “Having talked to a lot of students, many students who heard her talk did not see any problem with what she said and didn’t see it as controversial. It was somewhat complex — the argument that she was making. I did not hear her to be saying, ‘Put your happiness over holiness.’ I heard her to be saying, ‘If what people are telling you what it means to pursue holiness is making you constantly unhappy, you might check if it’s also putting you in an unhealthy place.’” Sophomore Emma Gaskill said she felt like Brooks’ message had been decontextualized and misunderstood. “I thought she brought a new perspective that I really appreciated,” Gaskill said. “It sounded very rooted in biblical truths and Jewish tradition. I have to remind myself that I come from a different background so just because something didn’t bother me, Harding is rooted in certain traditions that even though I don’t align with, I need to respect.” Gaskill wished Harding was open about the chapel controversy and the drama on social media such as Facebook. “I’m glad they [Harding] addressed it and had a whole chapel for it,” Gaskill said. “I wish they would have been more direct in their language. I wish something would have been said more directly about the Facebook debacle,” Gaskill said. Singleton said it is difficult to run a university and that these kinds of situations force the students to be aware of the tension between a university, parents, students and the community that is normally behind the scenes. “There are usually a network of churches, there are donors, there are families of students that entrust their students to this school hoping that the school is keeping faith with them and keeping faith with God, and they’re not gonna come out having lost their faith or transformed so much that they’re not recognizable,” Singleton said. The Bison reached out to Brooks, who declined to comment. Senior Audra Graves performs Oct. 22 during a “Tuck Everlasting” rehearsal. The cast performed their first Homecoming show on Thursday, Oct. 24. Sophomore Weston Eads sings Oct. 22 in the Benson Auditorium. The play is directed by assistant professor of theatre Ben Jones. Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL This weekend the Theatre Department at Harding University will present “Tuck Everlasting,” a play about a child who stumbles upon an immortal family living near her home. Ensemble member Jiles Burnham said the ensemble was finished with the show’s structure around four weeks before the show. Since then, he said the focus on set shifted to ironing out small details. “This last Saturday I was in the Benson for 15 hours,” Burnham said. “We had rehearsal 9-4 p.m., and then I was building ANDREW RENEAU asst. copy editor ANDREW RENEAU asst. copy editor AMANDA TOYE community editor “Tuck Everlasting” cast members perform a routine from the musical Oct. 22. The Theatre Department held multiple rehearsals in preparation for Homecoming weekend. Photo by EDGAR CARDIEL Graphic by BEN EVANS set and painting stage until midnight. The atmosphere definitely shifts, especially because we are not trying to learn things anymore, we’re trying to perfect them.” Burnham said Tuck Everlasting is helping him become a better dancer, which is one of his weakest skills. “Doing a show that is so dance heavy has been really good for me because I feel like as a performer, dance is the weakest aspect of my toolbox, and something I am intentionally trying to improve,” Burnham said. Production manager Cassie Bennett said she feels the energy as they prepare for this weekend’s show. “I don’t know that the atmosphere has really changed — as we approach opening night and can see everything coming together, I think there is maybe more of a sense of energy,” Bennett said. In a reference to John 4:4, Bennett said she hoped their audience would learn how to appreciate the time they have together, and to live in the present. Senior Aubrey Jones will play Winnie Foster for Harding’s production. She described how the play had been in the works since the spring of 2024. “They cast four of us back in April, and then they have auditions again right before classes started this semester for the rest of the named roles and the ensemble,” Jones said. “There was also a short choreography audition process for both auditions.” Jones said working with the show has been a fun mix of support and excitement. “I especially have gotten to spend a lot of time with the folks playing the Tuck Family, and we’ve gotten to do a lot of rehearsal time together, and I feel like we’ve bonded a lot and had a lot of fun putting the show together,” Jones said. Tickets for “Tuck Everlasting” may still be purchased online on Harding’s website. Online tickets cost $20, and tickets bought at the door cost $25.There is no elevator access to balcony seating. The Theatre Department will put on their next show — “The Taming of the Shrew” — Dec. 5-7 in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center. Theatre presents ‘Tuck Everlasting’ musical Tuck Everlasting cast members perform a routine from the musical Oct. 22. The theatre department held multiple rehearsals in preparation for homecoming weekend. Photos by EDGAR CARDIEL
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