Worship Chapel will not meet this Thursday, Jan. 19, as it transitions to a biweekly schedule for the rest of the semester.
Hosted in Collins Alumni Auditorium, Worship Chapel is led by a team of students and consists of five to seven a cappella songs sprinkled with biblical readings. It often leads the other breakout chapels in attendance.
Chapel Coordinator Jamie Keiser said that the decision to make it biweekly partially came about due to student behavior during the service.
“Last semester, we noticed that a lot of students were going to Worship Chapel because it was the quickest to get out,” Keiser said. (Though the chapel period runs from 10:55-11:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the semester, Worship Chapel generally ends around 11:30.) “And they can kind of just do whatever in that chapel.”
In theory, students that traditionally attended Worship Chapel by default will try other breakout chapels that interest them, and the biweekly Worship Chapels will be attended by students that are eager to participate, not just those seeking the easiest option.
Sophomore Grant Malone admitted that many students use their phones or work on homework during Worship Chapel. However, he noted that it is an “interactive” option that keeps students engaged, especially compared to some of the traditional, lesson-based breakout chapels.
“It doesn’t feel like a lecture or another class,” said the psychology major, who regularly attends Worship Chapel on Thursdays. “If I’m sitting down listening to someone speak at me, I’m going to be on my phone.” Malone added that he expected students to be frustrated at first with the new schedule, but that they would quickly adapt.
Keiser urged students to read the weekly emails from the Chapel Office that list the various breakout chapels, noting that there will occasionally be speakers in Collins Alumni Auditorium during the “off weeks” of worship chapel.
Though the schedule isn’t set in stone, Keiser said that representatives from several nonprofit organizations will be speaking in Collins on future Thursdays.
She also added that moving to a biweekly schedule gives the student worship team more time to prepare. Praise team member Grant Exline said that he saw the new chapel schedule as a positive change.
“I think it gives us more time to focus on the songs that we’re singing, to be able to get those songs across in a manner that’s going to be worshiping to God and helpful to those in the audience,” he said. “I think it’ll be beneficial for the team to focus more on what our objective is and how to achieve that.”
Though Worship Chapel will no longer happen every week, Keiser and the rest of the Chapel Office staff want to make all of the Lipscomb chapel experiences more meaningful for everyone.
“We want to make Worship Chapel—when it’s every other week—more thoughtful, and we want it to be a better experience for those that are really wanting that opportunity.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb University