Making the Move..

In case you haven't heard already, Wednesday Night Chapel will be moving from its home in Wesley Chapel, to the Kellogg Center Stack starting tonight, March 17. This is a move that all of us on the Chapel Leadership Team have talked about, and with Chaplain Dan, we think it's the best thing for our community.

With this move, I pray that we further realize that Chapel, or any worship service for that matter, is not the four walls that its housed in. It's about a community, lifting their voices in praise for their Creator, it's learning about that Creator together and challenging in each other in love and unity. By meeting in the Stack, we now have the opportunity to grow that community. To take the Chapel we know and love, and move it from a sequestered corner of campus that very few people know about, to a meeting place that all students can potentially walk past and observe. As Christians, we're called to be lights, and a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. So please join us in being that example to our campus as we worship together each week in our new home.

CA

Made to Worship..

Above is an interview with the late, great Michael Jackson, where Oprah Winfrey gives a brief example of the reception he's given around the world. To all those who don't know "how to worship," let this be proof that the capacity to worship is inherent in all of us. Often times, it's just a matter of what we choose to direct that worship to. So if thousands upon thousands can worship the king of pop, how much more can we worship the King of Kings?

CA

Changing the World..

So.. I don't know about you, but I'd kind of like to change the world. Maybe it's a remnant from the time my brothers and I used to dress up as superheroes and "flew" around our living room, but more likely I think it's just a recognition of the fact that as Christians, we were made to be world-changers. We were put on this earth for such a time as this. Right now, there are thousands of brothers and sisters suffering under a new reality. A reality that is crumbled buildings, and broken lives. But the amazing thing is that God can work through all situations, if we allow Him to. That's where we come in. The money (however small in amount) that God's blessed us with, can in turn, bless others. Crazy concept, eh? When we reach into our pockets and give, we're not only allowing God to move through that gift to help those people in Haiti, but we're also opening the door and allowing us to bless us in return, as givers, as faithful ones.

There are several ways on campus that you can give to those that need it more in Haiti. Every week this semester in Chapel, we'll be taking donations to help rebuild a children's hospital that brings comfort to the hurting in Port-au-Prince. Pennies, nickels, dimes, dollars, all can be used and blesses God's heart.
Also, for the next two Fridays (February 5 & 12) Java N' Jazz, a coffeehouse in downtown Albion is gathering local musicians, artists, dancers and poets to perform for a benefit they're calling "Jamming for Haiti." There is no cover charge, but there will be opportunities to donate, and listen to some performers hoping to raise funds and awareness.

My prayer as a Chapel community is for us to be sensitive to the ways that God wants us to move, and for our hearts to break for what breaks His. If money is beyond tight for you right now, and you're unable to give monetarily, never, ever underestimate the power that God gave us through prayer. Prayer is what makes mountains move and what can comfort a nation. So use it.

CA

ONE WEEK, ONE WEEK.

Hello my lovely Chapelites,

I hope that this finds you well, rested and sick enough of break to want to be back at Albion. I'm getting there myself. In one week, four hours and forty minutes we'll be gathering in Wesley Chapel for the first service of the semester. If you've missed Chapel even half as much as I have, it's a night that you won't want to miss. This night will be even more important, as a new and improved band will be leading us in worship, and other new leaders start serving on Wednesday nights. If you would like to be a part of this servant leadership team, please send any member of the current team an email, comment on this blog, send a letter, smoke signal, something. We believe that God's given every member in our community different gifts to see his Kingdom come on Albion's campus. If your gift could help us Wednesday nights, we'd love to get you involved.

See you all in a week!

CA

T-SHIRTS!!!!!

As our very own Mark Anthony just reminded me via Facebook: This week we will be selling our new and improved Chapel T's. If you're interested and wanting to support your community Chapel, come by and bring $5. These will be well worth it...
Hope to see you there!

In Peace,

BB

Final Chapel of 2009!!!

Well everybody, this Chapel will be the final one of this semester and of 2009. This week we invite you to join us as we worship one more time before finals and winter break. As a special portion of this weeks Chapel, we will be saying goodbye to some dear friends, namely all of those seniors who are graduating early and moving on to the world outside of Albion. If you are a senior who will be graduating this December, we invite you to come for one last Chapel and tell us what Chapel has meant to you.
I hope to see everyone there!

In Peace,

BB

ps We would like to thank anyone who came to, or helped make the Christmas Worship service happen. It was really great to see such a powerful display of the entire life of Jesus.

Deck The Halls...

Hey everybody!

This week we are going to switch things up a little bit. This Sunday, 11/15, @ 7pm, Chapel, along with many other Christian groups on campus, will come together in the KC to celebrate and worship the birth and life of our Lord. I invite all of you to come, bring friends, and reach across the isle to people you don't usually talk to, to help make this service a true celebration of the life of Christ by the entire body of Christ on Albion's campus. I hope to see you all there.

Merry (early) Christmas,

BB

Meet the Chapel Team..

Say hello the people who not only call Chapel their community, but who make Wednesday nights possible, whether from behind the scenes, or from the stage. They're also pretty nice people, so if you haven't met them yet, I suggest you do. I like new friends.

Also, if you have an inkling to join in the Chapel ministry, talk to any of us. We love using people and the gifts God gave them.

Meet Senior Christy Anderson..

I’m Christy Anderson, and I’m a senior, majoring in English and Music. Chapel’s been an important part of my life at Albion since my freshman year. Not only have I found a community of wonderful people who love God, but also a place to minister and use the gifts God’s given me. There’s nothing like leading worship on a Wednesday night, and feeling His presence inhabit our praise. Chapel’s been such a special place for me, and I love seeing it touch other’s lives as well.

Meet Senior Mark Anthony Arceno..

My name is Mark Anthony Arceno, but I highly encourage you to call me by some derivation thereof (some popular ones are M.A., Ma, Manthony, Marcus Antonius, and MAn... two points if you can create a new one). I'm a senior this year and just came back from studying abroad in the wonderful countries of South Africa and France. Theoretically, I'll be graduating this upcoming May, with a double major in French & International Studies (Africa), and a double concentration in Ethnic Studies & Public Policy and Service. My current research interests focus on identity in terms of the intertwining relationship among religion, ethnicity and language. With this said, I love Chapel because the community it creates is rather diverse along many lines. Though we share a common element, i.e. God and all associated with Him, our backgrounds and experiences make us entirely unique. I also happen to be a particular fan of Chapel this year not only because of the great leadership team that continues to grow, but also because of the djembes!

Meet Senior Ben Bower..

I'm a senior this year at Albion. I'm a religious studies & philosophy double major and a communications minor. I'm looking forward to a future career in ministry, and I have been a drummer for Chapel since my freshman year. Chapel has been a special place for me since I started playing with band. I've gotten to know so many wonderful people through worship, and Chapel has been a great excuse for me to keep drumming! I hope that everyone who attends Chapel will walk away in a mood of worship, feeling a closer connection to their God. I'm looking forward to continue participating in this ministry this year and I hope you will join me!

Meet Junior Jeremy Covell..

My name is Jeremy Covell, and I'm currently a junior at Albion, majoring in Biology with a concentration in Pre-med. Over the past few years of attending chapel my feelings have slowly evolved. From the first evening I walked in as a lonely, shy, and unsure first-year to just about a week ago when I was cheering the band on as an excited, daring, and blessed junior. I was blessed in large part because of chapel, which has introduced me to a family away from home. Chapel slowly became a place where I could go to drop all of my worries at the door, whether they were social, academic, or physical I knew I would be able to walk out feeling completely energized and joyful. But, I certainly didn't feel that way after my first chapel or even my tenth chapel-- only after slowly developing deep and lasting friendships with those at chapel did I finally feel my worries lighten and after a while disappear completely. So, it's no surprise that I joined the chapel leadership during the second semester of my first year, and I haven't regretted a single moment of it.

Meet Senior Mallory Fellows..

Personally, Chapel has always been a place for me to go to get away from the campus mentality and I guess the mentality that I get sucked into in my daily life. Whatever my problems, coming into Wesley Chapel for worship every Wednesday night made all of them extra noise disappear. Suddenly, it became easy to Be still and know that my God is there with me. Not only has it been a place for me to grow spiritually, the people who I get to see every week complete the fellowship experience and I am truly blessed by the relationships that have grown in that space!

Meet Senior Tony Gorga..

For me, Chapel's a community of open minds and open arms. It's a welcoming place we can come to be with Jesus and with each other. The Epistles of John constantly remind us that, above all things, we are called to love. That is the basis of our faith; and a love for God and each other draws us to Chapel each week.

Meet Junior David Keyworth..

I am a psych, history double major I am a junior, and I love chapel because it is an opportunity in the middle of the week to come together with my brothers and sister in Christ and praise the lord. It is a chance to forget everything that is going on and worship. It is also a chance to serve the lord with talents while worshiping him and helping other worship him.