The Ole Miss Wesley Foundation kicked off the semester last Thursday night with its fourth annual Burgers and Blues celebration on the front lawn of the Wesley House on Jackson Avenue.
Blues band David Dunavent and the Evol Love Band provided musical entertainment while students sat at picnic tables eating hamburgers and hot dogs donated by the community.
Burgers and Blues was created by the Rev. Eddie Willis four years ago when he was hired as the Wesley Foundation director. Willis’ goal was to find a way to raise awareness of the Wesley Foundation and to get students interested in everything the ministry had to offer — thus the advent of Burgers and Blues.
The Wesley House is open almost all the time for students to come and go as they please. It can be used as a place for people to study, hang out with friends, talk to anyone about issues they are facing or even to cook a meal.
“It’s a home away from home for students,” Willis said.
Willis is an Ole Miss alumnus, having graduated from the university in 1991. Holding a master’s degree in divinity, he returned to Oxford to become Wesley Foundation director after Wade Holland, the director when Willis was a student, stepped down.
Along with his current job at Wesley, Willis is also a minister in the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, but his calling is to minister to students.
“I have a passion for bringing a relevant message to the student body that Christ loves them, and do that in such a way through the spoken word and music,” Willis said.
The Wesley Foundation holds its weekly worship and Bible study on Thursday nights at the Paris-Yates Chapel at 7. Even though the Wesley Foundation is technically a Methodist ministry, everyone is welcome.
Willis is backed by a leadership team of 12 students who help plan events and assist the director in whatever way they can. One such leader is Jonathan Hester, an intern who is also in charge of the worship band at the Wesley.
Hester has been working for the Wesley Foundation for a year and a half and loves seeing the ministry grow. He takes it upon himself to lead the praise team and maintain relationships with the students.
“I try and fill the role of a mentor, counselor or just a friend wherever I am needed,” Hester said. “It has been an amazing experience getting to a deeper level of not just emotional, but spiritual understanding with the students.”
