Theta Alpha
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Theta Alpha (ΘΑ) is a college women's sorority, founded on April 21, 2006 at Florida State University, Florida for Christian women or a Christian sorority. Three women founded the sorority, Laurie Bailey, Caroline Burns and Carissa Griffiths. Legally, the University of Florida chapter is the first recognized chapter, incorporating in May, 2006; however, the Florida State University chapter retained its title of the Alpha Chapter. [1]
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[edit] Mission statement
Theta Alpha exists as a ministry to glorify God. The sisters strive to carry out The Lord’s will, make Him known, and do His work. Theta Alpha’s sisterhood strives to establish unity among its members through a shared faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings. As a Christian organization, faith and spiritual growth are facilitated by accountability, fellowship, and tradition. [2]
[edit] History
Laurie Bailey, a student at Florida State University sought out to found a christian sorority at her school in the fall of 2005 after her boyfriend, Carlos Reyes, pledged Kappa Upsilon Chi Christian fraternity at the University of Florida.
After failure to establish a chapter of any other pre-existing national Christian sororities, Laurie with the help of Kappa Upsilon Chi brothers from the University of Florida, set out to found a new sorority all together.
The first weekend of April 2006, Bailey and the brothers met in Gainesville to establish all of the rituals, handbooks, pledging rules, constitution and legal framework of the soon-to-be national sorority. Bailey went back to FSU and interviewed women who were interested in being founders.
At the time that the Bailey met with the brothers, a pair of women in Gainesville, FL; Carissa Griffiths and Caroline Burns, grew curious of Theta Alpha and wished to learn more. Griffiths and Burns both attented the initial meetings of Theta Alpha at FSU and signed on to establish the Beta chapter that same spring.
The FSU chapter held the first initiation on April 21, 2006 at the Wesley Center on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee. On April 27, 2006, four women from the Beta chapter who had been initiated by women at Florida State, initiated six other women in Gainesville, Fla., at an undisclosed location.
The Beta chapter held its first formal rush in the fall of 2006 and initiated 18 new members on October 11th. [3]
[edit] About Theta Alpha (Traditions and Foundation)
Theta Alpha is a women's ministry designed as a traditional sorority to provide a structure that allows internal growth and external evangelism on collegiate campuses. Theta Alpha was designed to promote friendship, accountability and tradition that not only made a sister proud to be a Theta Alpha but more importantly bold enough to talk about faith issues on campus.
Theta Alpha accomplishes this internally through accountability groups that meet once a week, chapter prayer nights, the sisterhood retreat and the stated membership requirements. They accomplish their external goal through service, philanthropy and involvement.
The open motto (As one, for one) for Theta Alpha is based upon the open verse of the sorority which comes from John 17:20-22 - "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are--"
- Accountability Groups- sisters of Theta Alpha meet together once a week in small groups called "accountability Groups" to edify each other and to work on spiritual shortcomings.
- Prayer Nights- each chapter holds at least three nights a semester devoted to prayer at an on-campus location.
- Retreat- the sisters of each chapter retreat to a conference center out-of-town in order to grow closer together and in their faith.
- Requirements- Theta Alpha requires all pledges and sisters to attend church and bible study.
- "Theta Days"- the official philanthropy of Theta Alpha sorority. Usually, a dodgeball or softball tournament with competiting teams paying to participate. All proceeds go to Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans.[4]
Membership Categories
- Rubies- The name of a woman pledging Theta Alpha. During Recruitment Week, a young woman will or will not be offered a bid for membership in Theta Alpha after multiple recruitment parties, interviews and consideration from the chapter. If the woman is offered a bid, she will go through the Induction ritual where she will become a Ruby. The woman will remain a Ruby for forty days until she goes through the Initiation ritual and becomes a Pearl.
- Pearl- The name of an active sister in Theta Alpha.
- Alumna- After graduation, a Pearl will become an Alumna and have all associated rights. She can be involved in an Alumnae Chapter and participate in on an Alumnae Council.[5]
[edit] Organization
National Board of Directors
Established in 2006 with the founding of the sorority, the National Board of Directors serves as an ultimate organization of guiders for the national entity of Theta Alpha. The board consists of seven members (President, External Vice President, Internal Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain and the Chairwoman of the National Alumnae Council) elected at the Convention in a rotating fashion. The National Alumnae Council president is elected every year while the officer positions are three-year terms elected each year in pairs of two. All members must be alumnae status. The board is responsible for all policy decisions, the direction of the sorority, the out-sourcing of labor, the collection and filing of documents and the hiring of staff such as the National Director and Webmaster.
| National BOD member | Office | Alma Mater | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Bailey | President | Florida State University Alpha | Weston, Florida |
| Caroline Burns | Internal Vice President | University of Florida Beta | Cocoa Beach, Florida |
| Kristen Rupert | Chaplain | University of Florida Beta | Pensacola, Florida |
[edit] Undergraduate Chapters
Organized on collegiate campuses and registered as a campus ministry, undergraduate chapters are the core of Theta Alpha. Members of the chapter go through intake during the recruitment period held each fall or spring semester. New Members are considered pledges for a forty-day period after the Induction Ritual. At the end of this period, pledges go through the Initiation Ritual after which they are considered full-members, or Sisters. If a member graduates in good standing, she is granted alumnae status and can transfer her sisterhood status to a post-graduate chapters. Each undergraduate chapter is governed directly by an officer corps. Each chapter has a president, external vice-president, internal vice-president, chaplain, secretary and a treasurer. The officer corps is directly responsible for the day-to-day operations of the chapter, reporting to the Chapter Alumnae Board and to the National Board of Directors.[7]
[edit] Chapters
- Florida State University (Alpha)
- University of Florida (Beta)
[edit] Expansion
Campuses where expansion is known to be Active
- University of Central Florida; Orlando, Fl.
- University of North Florida; Jacksonville, Fl.
- University of South Florida; Tampa, Fl.
