Near the end of her first year, Lisbeth Garcia took a leap of faith.
Like many first-year students, she was excited but nervous to join a student organization. Nevertheless, Garcia braved the fresh faces, experiences and ideas and came out the other side with a new community supporting her.
“I opened myself up to the club, and I think I just really clicked,” Garcia said. “I could feel comfortable in my own skin and be freely [able] to express my ideas.”
That community was Fish — a student-led Christian fellowship that meets Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the Anchor. Alongside their meetings, Fish organizes carpools to church services and hosts events like campus walks and worship nights, which are open to all students.
Importantly, Fish is not affiliated with any one Christian group, such as Catholicism or Protestantism.
According to core leader Raphael Mendies, Fish is one of few student-led organizations that seeks to unify Christians on campus.
Other student-led Christian fellowships include Asian American Bible study group Koi — which also meets Wednesday evenings. Catholic Conversations meets Thursday evenings and is an opportunity for students to discuss Catholic teaching and culture.
Though not associated with any denomination, Mendies says UP’s motto inspires Fish’s goal of providing students with a united Christian fellowship.
“Our values [are] to seek truth,” Mendies said. “So as Christians, we believe that the Bible is the main source of truth in our lives. We might have differing opinions on how to interpret that, but I think having that as the centerpiece is a really good, solid starting point.”
For Mendies, supporting that Biblical centerpiece also means providing Bible study during their meetings. This study includes students reading and discussing different Scripture each week.
Mendies says the core team, Fish’s leadership board, decides which Scriptures to read depending on what they’re hearing students discuss and question most.
Sometimes, those questions have to do with Fish itself.
“A lot of the questions at our initial ice cream social were ‘Why are we called Fish?’” Mendies said. “So we wanted to do that first from Luke 5 to talk about the story of why we’re called Fish. It’s not an acronym. It’s actually that we’re called to be ‘fishers of men.’”
Campus Minister for Faith Formation Kayla Garchar adds that being “fishers of people,” or disciples of Christ, means opening up Fish to be a space for those who are non-Christian.
“When Jesus tells his disciples, ‘Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of people,’ … that keys into the discipleship factor of Fish, of students being formed and equipped to go out and share the faith with their peers,” Garchar said.
Isaac Portillo, Fish core leader, also says Fish intends to unite Christians and non-Christians by inviting all students to participate in their events.
And community is certainly one of Fish’s drawing points for its members.
Member Emma Jeppesen says Fish provides students with a community like no other. During their meetings, students ask about each other's days, share hardships and pray for one another.
“We’re very close-knit and we care about each other and we pray for each other,” Jeppesen said. “We’re spending time with God but also with each other to help us grow closer, obviously as a community on campus here and with God.”
Fish’s Core Team is tasked with not only upholding this community but also articulating a vision for Fish’s future, according to Mendies.
This academic year, Portillo is looking forward to recruiting more Fish members. Garcia’s goals for the year include making memories of events and Bible study.
For Garcia, the memories and community she gained from Fish are what she appreciates most.
“[Fish] didn’t make me feel judged or looked down upon, it just made me feel so heard,” Garcia said. “That’s all I wanted, I wanted to be heard.”
Camille Kuroiwa-Lewis is the Editor-in-Chief of The Beacon. She can be reached at kuroiwal26@up.edu.
