Saint Peter, Minnesota
2020
To listen to and reflect on students’ experience of worship and to experiment with music, visual art, and space in worship in order to deepen and diversify student leadership and participation.
Provide a brief summary of the purpose and goal of your grant.
The purpose of this project is to listen to a variety of diverse voices on our campus to learn how we might become a more inclusive, open, and affirming worshipping community. In immersing ourselves in this project, we’ve discovered worship touch-points that are both fundamental to who we are as the body of Christ and ways in which we can experiment with ways to live more fully into our mission.
We’ve focused on:
- Music leadership
- Building intentional community
- A mindset of abundance
What are two questions that have generated reflection on worship and helped shape your project?
These were the questions we were asking at the beginning of our project and they still remain true as we near the end:
What elements of worship are cross-cultural/experience and enduring? Answering this question more fully will help us build a lasting foundation upon which we can experiment with adaptable, contextual, and multi/cross cultural components.
How is God moving or at work on our campus? How might our answer to this question inform how we craft meaningful worship?
What impact has your project had on the worship life and habits of the congregation?
This past year has been transformative for our worship community. Our student leadership team has grown incredibly close in relationship with each other and that relational energy has transferred to our larger worshipping community. Our time of worship has become more intentional and there is a greater sense of purpose and clarity. We have increased our presence on campus significantly and are actively engaging students who may not normally be interested in Christian worship.
What have been your greatest challenges (or challenging opportunities)?
Like other communities, the COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably been our greatest challenge. Zoom, digital fatigue, and covid stress amongst students is very real and trying to cultivate community in a safe way really stretched our imaginations. However, we also discovered a lot of creative ways for connecting with one another and are stronger for it moving forward.
What would you like to share with other Project Directors?
Relationships, community organizing, and partnerships are key to creating an environment for vital worship to thrive on college campuses.