Unfiltered is a new weekly discussion meant to bridge the gap between all secular and sacred questions, said Falon Barton, the campus minister for the University Church of Christ Malibu. Barton is also a former editor for the Graphic.
The purpose of the group is to better love the Lord, the community and creation. Unfiltered is hosted on Thursdays at 6 p.m., at the on-campus home of University Church campus minister Falon Barton, Barton said.
“This [Unfiltered] will be very controversial,” Barton said. “It won’t be prescriptive; it will be engaging the diversity of our spiritual lives.”
Unfiltered is a recent replacement for the weekly gathering, The Table, which was popular with the student body. The Table took place weekly at the Brock House beginning after the inauguration of President Jim Gash, in 2019, according to previous Graphic reporting.
President Jim Gash informed the Pastoral Care and Oversight Councilthat Student Campus Ministries would not be receiving funding to continue hosting The Table, Barton said. A donor had been funding The Table and had decided to discontinue their contribution, Barton wrote in an Aug. 28, follow-up email to the Graphic.
The set intention of Unfiltered is to be “honest, transparent and candid.” Students looking to have their questions answered regarding faith and the world now have an outlet to engage with, Barton said.
Barton said she began asking students what was most meaningful about The Table to incorporate what they felt they needed most in a new weekly small group.
“What I heard from a lot of students is that they wanted a place to talk honestly and candidly about their faith,” Barton said.
During Unfiltered, Barton, taking on a facilitator role, opens up the group for discussion after everyone has shared a meal together, she said. She encourages students with any interest in Christianity and spirituality to bring their unanswered questions to the table.
Senior Jackie Ferrari said she is excited about Unfiltered becoming a place where students can come and have open conversations.
“I’ve been wanting more space like this to make more community,” Ferrari said.
There is no set schedule for what topics will be discussed in the weeks to come, Barton said.
“My goal is for it to be about the things students care about the most,” Barton said.
Sophomore Sidney Brown said shewas drawn to Unfiltered because of the opportunity for students to choose a topicand talk it through — even if it is challenging to navigate.
Brown said what interested her in attending Unfiltered was “the concept of talking about things that other college students were struggling with.”
Multiple students raised the topic of mental health for discussion as they sat together in the backyard of Barton’s on-campus home.
Ferrari said she is interested in discussing Christian persecution, the LGBTQ community and mental health. Other students expressed interest in opening a conversation about climate change, science from a Christian perspective and discipleship.
Barton directed the student’s attention to quotes printed on slips of paper spread across tables in the backyard. She instructed the students to choose a quote they felt the Lord was speaking through.
Ferrari said she took comfort in the following quote by Corrie Ten-Boom: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
“The future is coming whether we want it to or not,” Ferrari said.“I have worries about not only the future but the state of the world.”
Brown is working on not overthinking her decisions — she chose a quote by Maya Angelou that embodies the courage Brown is working toward.
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently,” Angelou said May 24, 2008 at Schoellkopf Stadium.
“I feel that [courage] has honestly helped me in achieving these things [goals],” Brown said. “It’s been a big breakthrough for me.”
The purpose of Unfiltered is for students to encounter the Lord through exploring conversation in a safe environment, Barton said.
“I hope that it’s really meaningful,” Barton said. “I hope it’s a space for diversity of thoughts and diversity of experience.”
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