The Chi Alpha campus ministry group had its annual Friendsgiving potluck Nov. 13 at the Chi Alpha building at UCA. 

The point of this event was to bring people together and give back to the UCA community by bringing food and drinks to the event. 

The food was lined up in a row, with different sections for entrees, sides, desserts and drinks. 

After all of the food was prepared, everyone in the room blessed the food, and then it was time to eat. 

Instead of everyone lining up to get their food, the ladies got in line first, and the men followed. 

“As men, it is our job to let the ladies go first as a sign of appreciation,” freshman Ryan Somers said. 

Somers said that the Friendsgiving event was “a great opportunity to be surrounded by good Christian people and appreciate what God has given us.” 

Chi Alpha, which means “Christ’s ambassador” in Greek, has a goal not only to build a relationship with God but also to build friendships with other students around the UCA campus. 

“I came in from Oklahoma, and they [Chi Alpha] really embrace everybody — No matter what your background is, or who you are or what you like to do, and I have found some of my best friends here at Chi Alpha, ” Somers said. 

Sophomore Noah Johnson explained how Chi Alpha is great for building friendships and how this event helps with that. 

“For me, the best part about Friendsgiving is being able to be with all sorts of different people from all sorts of different backgrounds and just be able to cook different dishes and enjoy each other’s company, ” Johnson said. 

Johnson said the best part of the Friendsgiving potluck is being able to give back to the community around him. 

“Putting people above yourself is always a cool opportunity,” Johnson said. “There are some people who came here tonight that have not had a meal all day — it’s just always nice to serve people who are in need.” 

Johnson said Chi Alpha is a great place to “get connected to many friends and help grow your faith.” 

He said it has been great to get to build relationships with people that he didn’t even know last year. 

“Last year was very hard for me, walking around campus and not knowing a lot of people, but this year has been a big difference, being able to know people and have deeper friendships and bigger communities, ” Johnson said.