West Liberty University’s (WLU) Campus Ministry² (CM²) hosts a looming event every Thursday evening from 4-6 p.m in the Interfaith Chapel Lounge. Students can come to the event for the entire duration or drop in and out. Students are also allowed to take their projects home so they can work on them in their free time. The looming events began back in fall 2021 and have continued ever since.

CM² is a collaboration between Catholic Campus Ministry and Protestant Campus Ministry. Shirley Carter, director of Catholic Campus Ministry, and Diann Nickerson, director of Protestant Campus Ministry, both decided their programs needed to work on collaborating with one another instead of being separate programs. They decided that they needed to do something fun as a fellowship opportunity for students to participate in.

Nickerson said, “Looming is an easy hobby to learn and allows for conversation and fellowship. As a new member of the WLU community, I thought it would be a great way to meet and learn about the students in a casual way, all while doing some community service work.”

This semester, CM² made hats for the Wheeling Freeze Shelter. Nickerson said, “I would like to continue by making hats for an anti-bullying campaign for a local school in the fall. I hope to work with the principal and teachers at West Liberty Elementary School in the upcoming weeks to get approval to provide the hats in October for Anti-Bullying Awareness Month.”

Nickerson hopes that more students will learn about the looming events and projects and participate. She noted that between four to six students come to the looming events. “We provide the tools and the yarn so there are no out-of-pocket expenses for you to just try it!”

Haley Blakemore, junior English literature major, has attended some looming events. “Looming is highly soothing and simple to learn,” said Blakemore.

“I think attending the looming event can provide three major benefits for students. It will allow them to experience a fellowship and allow them to make friends with new students. Hobbies can be a great stress reliever and many of the students this past year said once they learned the basics, it was easy and fun and people can feel good about working on a service project that helps others. Students can work toward donating to whatever agency or organization that touches their hearts,” said Nickerson. She added that she believes making something gives students a sense of accomplishment and pride.

The times and days of the event may change in the upcoming semesters in order to meet the needs of the students who attend. If you’re interested in learning more about the looming or how you can get involved with campus ministry, contact Diann Nickerson at [email protected] for more information.