UM Faith Planters, a Christian-based club, hosted a faith-based “Sip and Paint” event on March 20 in Residential College South for Women’s History Month. Students gathered at the event to worship, eat and conversate while painting.
Whitney Jones, a freshman public health major from Jackson, Miss., is one of the club’s founding members. She said the organization’s goal was to foster connection.
“We started UM Faith Planters to create a space where young people can grow in their faith while building genuine connections,” Jones said. “Women’s History Month is the perfect time to recognize how women have been pillars of strength, both in the Bible and in our daily lives.”
Students discussed not only the significance and support of women but also the way they perceive their beauty.
“I think it’s really important that we recognize the beauty in women through Christ, since I believe we were made in God’s image,” Jones said. “A lot of people see Christianity in a misogynistic manner, so we wanted to recognize how women in the Bible completed the world.”
Lia Sykes, a freshman mechanical engineering student and UM Faith Planters member from Columbus, Miss., spoke of her excitement for the event.
“Faith Planters is all about community service and fellowship,” Sykes said. “Tonight, we’re celebrating the women who’ve shaped us, whether it’s our moms, mentors or historical figures who broke barriers.”
Sykes said this event was significant to her because she did not come from a place that recognized women in a significant way. Not everyone grows up with strong female role models or seeing women and minorities recognized for their accomplishments.
“I don’t come from a place that really recognizes Women’s History Month,” Sykes said. “My first time seeing something focused on women wasn’t until middle school, and that was more of a STEM moment. So this event is very meaningful for me.”
The event also highlighted the club’s commitment to uplifting youth and the community through faith-based initiatives, a mission that Ira Jackson, a freshman law studies major, based his involvement on.
“I joined because I believe in empowering young people,” Jackson said. “I was originally just a volunteer, but I fell in love with our message. And it’s nice seeing women celebrated like this, especially in a faith context.”
Caydence Davis, a Southern studies freshman from Bartlett, Tenn., reflected on the broader meaning of womanhood during the event.
“Being a woman means claiming our space in a world that hasn’t always made room for us,” Davis said. “Events like this remind us that our voices matter, especially when laws and societal norms are still evolving.”
Lamarcus Lenoir, an English major from Tupelo, Miss., came to honor the influential women in his life.
“As a queer man, I’ve always leaned on women for support, especially Black women. It’s important to give that love back and challenge the misogyny that still exists, even in progressive spaces,” Lenoir said.
