Kaelyn Benoit & Kara Simard
The Southern Editor & Staff Writer
There is a series of new shuttle routes on Florida Southern College’s campus that are serving students every Sunday morning. The Sunday Worship Shuttle provides convenient transportation for students seeking to attend weekly church services from an array of churches in the Lakeland community.
Students can take the shuttle to their choice of four different churches, with the Resurrection Catholic Church shuttle departing at 10 a.m., the First United Methodist Church shuttle departing at 10:45 a.m., the Access Church bus departing at 11:30 a.m., and the Grace City shuttle departing at 12 p.m.
These shuttles will depart from the ROTC loop, located across from the Office of Campus Safety. Students will then be returned to campus within 20 minutes of the end of their chosen service.
Robinson explained the reasoning behind this new shuttle system and why it was introduced.
“The pandemic changed everything. We had two years of no programming in the chaplain’s office,” Robinson said.
Because of the tighter reins that COVID-19 put on campus activities, many students began to seek church services outside of campus quarters. Robinson and his team asked the question, “What’s the best way for us to do worship in our community, and help students connect with worshipping communities around Lakeland?”
The answer was to transport students out of the community, where they can deepen their roots in Lakeland while also building relationships on and off campus. Robinson noted,
“It can be scary to find your way to a church on your own, so we wanted to smooth out that path from campus to church as much as possible.”
Junior Elizabeth Todd shares this sentiment, reflecting on her past struggles to find a reliable source of transport to her weekly service.
“I think it’s great that we now have this.” Todd said, “I was once a freshman who had no idea where to go or how to get to church, and now for these freshmen they have that. I think it’s going to help a lot of people who are interested and want to give it a shot.”
Todd heavily values the connection with people that attending a religious service brings, and believes the increased accessibility for students will continue to foster this connection.
“I feel like the shuttle definitely helps facilitate that. You meet people who have a similar goal as you do. It creates bonds as well.”
In addition to it’s weekly Sunday routine, students should note that the shuttle will continue to run over both fall and spring break.
Whether students are looking to find a new church to call home for the school year, or to simply try out for the week, the Sunday Worship Shuttle offers a safe and easy way to worship off campus.
Rain or shine, these shuttles are a reliable resource that is ready to help desiring students take that step of faith.
