So, rather than giving you a play by play of the semester, I wanted to tell y’all about one of the most influential parts of my experience here at UPSem- worship.
This may sound slightly cliché as this is a Seminary, so worship is to be expected. However, I never expected and have never experienced worship like what occurs here on a daily basis. Every class is opened in prayer, most close with a benediction, and the discussions and lectures that happen between are a whole new kind of worship that I would never expect in a classroom. Beyond that, we are blessed enough to have two additional worship services each week.
Every Wednesday, the UPSem community gathers together in one of our two chapels (the more traditional Watts Chapel, and the more contemporary Lake Chapel) for the main worship service of the week. This service follows the same form as what you might experience each Sunday with hymns, choir anthems, liturgy, a sermon, communion… straight out of the Book of Common Worship. The incredible thing about this is the student participation in all aspects, as well as the changing “theme” as we reach out to all in the community. Just last week we had a Korean service in honor of the Korean elders that were meeting on campus, and the week before we had a technology based service where we tweeted our confessions. It truly is an incredible experience.
On Thursday, we gather together in one of the two chapels for a brief service of music and prayer. These are led by students in the community each week and serve as a nice “re-focusing” point as we get closer to the weekend. I was lucky enough to be able to lead an Iona service a few weeks ago, the first worship service that I have ever led. It was a wonderful gift to be able to look back on my trip to Iona in 2010 and use it in my ministry now.
All of this being said, I have realize now more than ever just how important worship is to our life. In college, I attended church every Sunday and occasionally a bible study during the week. During the rest of the week, it was all too easy to push continuous worship to the back of my mind. Now, everything I do is centered around worshiping God and it has changed my tremendously. I can only pray that each and every one of you will one day experience the power of continuous worship. There are times that I do get distracted, but I am blessed to be in a community that won’t let you stay distracted for long. Even sitting here at my desk, I can’t help but worship God as I look out the window at the rest of campus.
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