INDIANOLA, Iowa — A new school year signifies many changes, and the Simpson Religious Life Community is no exception, introducing this year’s theme as “Seek the Summit.”

Rebecca Schmidt, an intern at Smith Chapel, said that RLC’s new theme can have several interpretations.

“The idea for the theme came from the Psalm 121,” Schmidt said. “The verse talks about lifting your eyes to the mountains and then looking further for God’s assistance.”

A primary reason for choosing this symbolism is that mountains are used in almost all religious literature.

“We really like the versatility of the theme because it doesn’t just solely apply to Christianity, Islam or Buddhism,” Schmidt said. “It’s an image used in almost all denominations, so it’s very inclusive of all religions.”

The idea of reaching the summit is also used for more than religious purposes but also for the idea of obtaining life goals.

“The summit could be a number of things,” Schmidt said. “Whether it be a short-term summit of passing a test or a long-term summit of a getting a career, it’s focusing on the journey you’re taking and how you’re reaching the summit.”

The theme will be mostly implemented during Campus Worship, which meets at 8 p.m. each Wednesday. The weekly meetings in the Smith Chapel have also changed their name from Quench to Campus Worship.

“Our main reason for changing the name was to try and move away from the contemporary feel it was giving,” Schmidt said. “Most of our music will still be contemporary in nature, but we are working on incorporating a couple hymns and big band kind of songs to get a variety of styles.”

Campus Worship will still follow the nondenominational style of service, but it is now an hour earlier and has gone with a more straightforward name.

“Campus Worship is the main event centered around the theme,” Schmidt said. “Most of the sermons are geared in the direction of mountain imagery and how we are all climbers of our own mountain.”

T-shirts and cups will also bear the logo “Seek the Summit” to promote the new theme around campus.

Regardless of religious affiliation, Schmidt encourages students to take the time to check out RLC’s events this year and see what all the hype is about.