Sigma Phi Lambda
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Sigma Phi Lambda (), also known as Sisters for the Lord or Phi Lamb, is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
founded in 1988 in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.


History

Sigma Phi Lambda was founded in 1988 at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Its Founders were: * Patricia Adams Hogan * Robin Maedgen * Gina Williams Goveas * Jacqueline Goveas * Eileen Howell Barlow. Phi Lamb was part of a broader movement to establish
Christian sororities While most of the traditional women's fraternities or sorority, sororities were founded decades before the start of the 20th century, the first ever specifically Christian-themed Greek Letter Organization formed was the Kappa Phi Club, founded in ...
during the mid-1980s, as the
Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
movement was on the rise in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Phi Lamb itself was also a part of the same movement as it affected men's fraternities. The establishment of Sigma Phi Lambda can be linked to the founders' experiences and interactions with their male counterparts, who had, three years earlier, founded the Christian fraternity,
Beta Upsilon Chi Beta Upsilon Chi () is the largest Christian social fraternity in the United States. Since its founding at the University of Texas in 1985, ΒΥΧ has spread to twenty-nine campuses. According to the fraternity's official website, Beta Upsilon ...
at
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Sigma Phi Lambda has also spread the idea of Christian Greek Organizations. After the establishment of the Texas Tech University chapter, a group of men founded Kappa Upsilon Chi to serve as a counterpart. Since establishment, the number of chapters has grown rapidly. The chapters on the campuses of the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Florida have well over 100 sisters, and the sorority continues to actively develop new chapters around the country.IRS 990s and financial profil
available through Cause IQ
accessed 7 April 2022.
Many local sororities arose during same period as Phi Lamb's founding across the country, but only a handful were successful in national expansion. Phi Lamb's success was accomplished through incorporation, a national board of directors and a national director. Sigma Phi Lambda was the third National Sorority for Christian women, independent of a Greek council for colleges and universities. Alpha Delta Chi was first in 1925 founded at UCLA. Sigma Alpha Omega was the first sorority to be founded in the 1980s resurgence of Christian Greek Life, founded at East Carolina University in 1987. Phi Lamb seeks spiritual development through their sisterhood. Their traditions develop these standards.


Structure, Traditions and Symbols

Sigma Phi Lambda is not like most traditional sororities because it is a non-denominational and non-Panhellenic sorority. While most traditional sororities and even some Christian sororities limit potential new members from holding membership in more than one sorority, Sigma Phi Lambda allows other sorority initiates to be initiated into Phi Lamb and also allows Phi Lamb members to hold multiple Greek affiliations including but not limited to membership in
National Panhellenic Conference The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...
and
National Pan-Hellenic Council The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...
sororities. Sigma Phi Lambda does not offer membership bids. The stance of the organization is that a woman is to choose Phi Lamb. Phi Lamb does not choose their members or exclude women from membership. Sigma Phi Lambda holds multiple social and philanthropic events each semester to promote external growth and outreach. These are sometimes done with other Christian organizations on campus. Devotionals or testimonies are given at such open parties. The sorority's national charitable focus is
World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide.


Symbols

The symbols of Phi Lamb include: *Official colors:
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, symbolizing the blood and purity of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
*Official mascot: A
lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
named Baasheeba, symbolizes the sisters' relationship with Jesus Christ. The mascot is also based on the nickname of "Phi Lamb" and the Psalm 100:3. *Official belief statement: the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
During chapter meetings, soft praise and worship music is played to wrap up individual prayer time. Phi Lamb has various prayer nights, prayer groups, and prayer partners within the chapter. Prayer partners are accountability partners that are set up for spending quality time with another sister to pray and get to know one another better. Phi Lamb has engagement circles that are a way of honoring ladies who become engaged while members. Gifts are given to graduating seniors. Officers cook and serve meals at retreat. Phi Lamb has an official dance that is danced to the song "Shackles" by Mary Mary.


Membership

Membership is open to any undergraduate or graduate student, another uniqueness considering most sororities limit membership to undergraduates only. Married women may also become members of Sigma Phi Lambda, so long as she is still a student. Members "pledge" for one semester where they are the "little sisters" before being initiated into the sorority. Initiation is a formal event. It is conducted according to a complete and secret script written by the founding mothers. The tradition of initiation is very important to Phi Lamb and is treated as such. There are several informal traditions each chapter follows in regards to initiation, such as: going out to dinner afterwards, giving James Avery pins during initiation, big sisters edifying their little sisters, and giving flowers to retiring officers at the closing ceremony for the new officers. Cable Groups Small groups that operate within chapter meetings, used for discussion, prayer, and various activities.


Organization

National Board of Directors – Phi Lamb is governed by a Board of Directors made up of five
alumnae Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
who make policy decisions for the organization. Executive Director – The Executive Director, or ED, helps found new Phi Lamb chapters, assisting the Board with daily tasks, and plans the All-Chapter Officer Retreat. Regional Directors – Regional Directors oversee multiple chapters. They work with the Alumnae Council and visit chapters to help guide the chapter in planning and decision-making. Alumnae Councils – After a chapter has been established long enough to have alumnae, an Alumnae Council is formed. Made up of three members, these must be former officers or founders of that chapter. The Alumnae Council provides guidance to the chapter and assistance to the Regional Director. Officers – Five officers are elected annually in each chapter, generally in the Spring. The offices are: President, Vice President, Chaplain, Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers perform the daily functions and lead the members of their chapter. There are also a number of appointed officer positions in each chapter depending on the chapter's individual needs. All officers must sign and abide by a
covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...
created by the national board. Actives – Active, or initiated, members of Phi Lamb are considered the "big sisters" of their chapter. They hold voting rights and may hold elected or appointed officer positions. New Members – New members of Phi Lamb, or uninitiated members, are termed the "little sisters" of their chapter. The terminology, an extension of a "big sister/little sister" dynamic was designed to reduce the risk of hazing, and is described by the sorority in familial terms: "little sisters are cherished by their big sisters" and are a vital part of Phi Lamb. Upon initiation into the sorority, they become Active members.


Sigma Phi Lambda Sorority Verse

Romans 15:5-6 ~ "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."


Chapters

This is the list of chapters of Sigma Phi Lambda. Active chapters and colonies are noted in bold, inactive chapters in ''italics''. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
Current chapter list from the national website
accessed 24 Apr 2021.


References


External links

* {{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed 1988 establishments in Texas