Dear Milligan Community,
We continue to move forward and look for ways to serve our community in the name of Christ. We have had a wonderful presence with the efforts at Crossroads Christian Church. Thank you for the ways you have so generously given of your time and your resources. They have expressed their gratitude and requested that we continue sending help—especially in the weeks to come. Our region has a long road ahead, and there will be countless opportunities for us to serve in the coming months. I hope we will continue to embrace these opportunities to serve. I have a few updates regarding campus life.
- Classes will resume on Thursday (10/3): Classes are cancelled for Wednesday, October 2. Offices will remain open. We will resume classes on Thursday morning, but we want to be clear that we are doing so with grace and flexibility. We understand there will still be members of the Milligan community who are unable to travel or are lacking critical resources like power, water, or means of communication. As we learn of these situations, we will be gracious and flexible as we try to meet material and emotional needs within our community.
- Attendance: Faculty, staff, and coaches, as we resume classes and practices on Thursday, we ask that you be vigilant about taking attendance. In our current moment, we are asking you to do this not so we can uphold our normal attendance policies. In the coming days, taking attendance will be a means of care for our students. Please inform academic and athletic offices of students who are not present so we can reach out to provide care and support. This will help us learn of students who might not have been able to fill out the forms located on our response website: https://www.milligan.edu/hurricane-helene-emergency-response/.
- Chapel: We will gather together in chapel during the normal hour on Thursday to pray, to grieve, to worship, and to share communion together. This week, especially, we invite the whole community to gather in the presence of God.
- Water: While we are under the boil water advisory, the Sutton lobby will be unlocked until 11 p.m. each evening to allow students access to drinking water beyond dining hall hours. We will also leave a few on the porch if anyone needs water even later.
- Library: The issues with power in the Welshimer Library have been resolved and the library is now open.
- Service: Faculty and staff, we think it is important that we continue to serve our community moving forward. As we have capacity and space in our workdays, please consult with your supervisors about opportunities for service.
As we resume classes on Thursday, we do so acknowledging that so many lives in our community have been radically altered by the tragedy we have experienced. We have no illusion that we are somehow returning to business as usual. At the same time, we know the power of being gathered as a community of faith. By our being together, we will have more opportunities to bear one another’s burdens, to grieve together, to serve together, and to walk together in the hope of Christ. I pray that our return on Thursday will be marked by grace, compassion, and service.
In Christ,
Stephen
