Student and Alumni Testimonies
Constance (She/Her)
Constance calls Charleston, SC, her home. While working towards her high school graduation
she ran track, swam, and was very involved in theater which she liked. Her religious exposure
was not positive. Every other weekend, she attended a Lutheran church (not ELCA) with her
dad’s side of the family. Also, with a friend, she occasionally went to a Baptist church.
Constance remembers: Although I did not know myself very well, I knew that I did not really
align with some of the things they taught and said.
Those less than positive church experiences made Constance reluctant to engage with
church. After arriving at Winthrop, a friend, who was a Lutheran, wanted to try out WELCM
but needed someone to go with her. She asked Constance who replied: I used to go to a
Lutheran church and I didn’t like it-- but I’ll try it again.
Constance tried WELCM with her friend—and experienced a change of heart. WELCM’s
hospitality and caring atmosphere transformed her into a regular. In her view, WELCM is so
welcoming. It really lives up to its name. I don’t believe I have ever been to a church space
that has been so LGBTQ+ friendly. I had never seen that before in a church before. And it
was really important.
WELCM’s vision and mission spoke deeply to Constance: WELCM’s main focus is about love.
And that is so important for a church, because today many churches have become focused
on hate. That is not WELCM’s purpose.
According to Constance, WELCM has been successful in nurturing her faith. She put it this
way: For a while I did not want faith to be part of my life because I saw it as this negative thing
that would make me very anxious or upset. And now I don’t see it like that anymore. Now I
see it more like a light and like a loving space. I feel my faith has definitely grown a lot.
The love and appreciation Constance has for WELCM shows up in how she describes
WELCM to others: It’s really a good place if you want to get back into your faith; especially if
you once were in the faith and then you lost it because of something that happened in church.
Or if you are just trying to discover the faith for the first time; it’s really a great place to
go—because it is just so welcoming and such a warm space. easy.
Bella Fleischer (she/her)
Since graduating last spring, Bella has moved to Greenville and begun teaching as a first grade teacher! She’s been attending church with her parents and occasionally sings with the chapel musicians. She’s very thankful to live near family again and be able to stop by anytime for a home cooked meal or hug. They helped her a lot with setting up her classroom, and her cousin even helped her create a paper tree that she change according to the season. Her favorite thing to do with her students is to sing songs with them! Her new school, home, and church has made her feel so loved and supported. She misses the community and friends at WELCM! They always offered love, a fresh meal, and a listening ear.
Courtney Franklin (she/her)
No stranger to church, Courtney grew up in her local AME congregation and had been singing with its gospel choir since she was a young child. But, as a first-year student at Winthrop, she felt a need to “explore other ways of seeing God.” I wanted to “find who God was for myself,” she said. “I wanted a safe space where I could be honest with God.”
When she saw a flyer in a friend’s residence hall advertising WELCM’s Sunday evening prayer service Courtney thought: “I like prayer, I’ll give it a try.” She did. She enjoyed it. She started attending the weekly meals and programs and never looked back. She cherished the intimate conversations she shared with the other WELCM students and said that the physical space felt safe, even sacred, especially the garden where she enjoyed coming to pray. Courtney stayed involved throughout her undergraduate years, even helping to lead a contemplative Bible study and serving as WELCM’s representative to the ELCA Region Nine campus ministries.
Courtney explored other campus ministries as well, but was bothered they that expected her to be “specific type of Christian.” WELCM, she said, opened its arms to everyone and showed a true commitment to diversity and inclusivity. WELCM walked the walk, Courtney explained. It was “come as you are; it embodied its name,” and she loved being in its diverse community where “minorities were the majority.”
After the killing of George Floyd, WELCM took time for conversations centered around issues of Black Lives Matter and racial justice. What did they mean and how should we respond? “I had all these feelings and fears,” Courtney explained, and “I didn’t have another place to share those thoughts.” At WELCM, people listened and people cried. She saw that people really cared and showed that she could trust WELCM. It brought the community members together in a deeper way, willing to share their real true selves and show their vulnerabilities.
Now married to her high school sweetheart and finishing her graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Courtney talks enthusiastically about her experiences. “WELCM gave me a family,” she said. “I listened and I learned.” WELCM also helped develop the critical skills needed to be a successful counselor. “It opened my mind” she explained, “and made me better at inclusivity and acceptance and grace.”