H2O Life Groups are relocating from residence halls to academic spaces at Kent State University, primarily in an attempt to increase the safety of students living in the residence halls. Though this is sad for our church / student organization on some levels, we’ve been truly impressed by the university officials that seemed to sincerely appreciate our impact on the campus while simultaneously trying to address the security concerns in this era of the “Unidentified Shooter.” They’ve done their best to accommodate the unique demands of our Life Groups with new reservations in academic spaces across campus. So now, we’re doing our best to make this transition as smooth as possible for our students.
The Centennial Life Group, for which I serve as a Staff Coach, will be shifting to the newest academic building on the North side of campus: Crawford Hall. So this afternoon, I took some time to scout out the new space and bring back a report to our student-leaders (so that they can bring the report back to the rest of the students who are a part of this Life Group).
The app on my smartphone said that it would take eight minutes of walking to cover a total of 0.4 miles through “Gentle Hills” from our normal meeting spot to the new meeting spot. Which isn’t too bad.
According to my Garmin Instinct Solar Crossover, however, the distance was only 0.3 miles, and the total variation in elevation was only 20 feet. Not bad at all.
For those who will be driving to our meeting location, it appears that the parking restrictions in the lot nearest to Crawford Hall are the same as the restrictions for the lot between Centennial Courts and the Center for Performing Arts, which previously provided the most convenient parking.
The main entrance from the South will bring our group directly to the space where we’ll be meeting on the Second Floor (with plenty of space for parking bicycles outside, too!).
The statue of Ambassador Edward F. Crawford, just inside this South Entrance, will be a helpful landmark for finding our meeting spaces.
Directly down the hallway to the right of the statue, we’ll find Classroom 232.
It’s a large lecture hall that will serve as a good gathering spot for the whole Life Group.
Immediately adjacent to this large room is a slightly smaller space: Classroom 230. This will house one of our Discussion Groups on Thursday nights.
A hallway on the East side of the building provides connection to the other two rooms that have been reserved for our Discussion Groups:
Classroom 222 (which is about the same size as Classroom 230)…
And Classroom 229A (this happens to be the smallest of the rooms in our reservation block, but its also the one with the rolliest desk-chairs!).
There are also conveniently situated single-stall bathrooms right outside of this second pair of classrooms.
So I think our Life Group should be set up nicely in Crawford Hall. Yes, it feels a bit more academic and businesslike. But it’s not like the lounges in Centennial Courts were all that luxuriously comfortable, anyway. I feel confident that even with this change of locations, the movement of God will not be diminished. So far the students haven’t missed a beat, but this will be a new rhythm requiring some adjustment.