Students, Asst. Chaplain see value in weekly Chapel services
It’s Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. Students and staff are seen singing hymns, reading scriptures, and praying inside of Roberts Chapel. Even though it’s only optional to attend every week, many students still make their attendance a priority.
Assistant Chaplain Josh Sumpter, who assists in leading the chapel services, likes how chapel brings the university together as a body of believers for thirty minutes each week.
“In the midst of the busy college lifestyle for students and faculty, I think it is important to take an opportunity and slow down our week to spend time with God and others in a time of worship, prayer, and of reading the word together,” said Sumpter. “We often have work to do, relationships to keep up with, business, and we often forget about our faith during the week, and I think chapel helps bring us back to that starting place.”
Sumpter said that it is helpful to students and staff that the chapel service is optional, especially with how busy the semester can become.
“One of the great blessings of Waynesburg University is that you have the choice to attend chapel,” said Sumpter.
At other schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania, such as Geneva College and Grove City College, chapel is required and students have to attend so many times per semester, said Sumpter. However, Sumpter also said that, with chapel being optional at Waynesburg, attendance unfortunately dies down throughout the year.
“It’s a natural trend that takes place every semester; the lifestyles of students get busier, so time is crucial for students and attendance does drop throughout the semester,” said Sumpter. “One of our hopes is to see it be steadier.”
Austin Anderson, a senior sports broadcasting and sports information major, attends the services on Tuesdays because he sees a value.
“It’s a chance for me to have organized structure of a faith community and be able to worship God in that sense,” said Anderson.
Anderson attended a Christian school before college and attended chapel there as well, which helped him see the importance of chapel in his life.
He was also part of the chapel team at Waynesburg, With such a busy schedule this semester, Anderson decidedto step away from the team, but still makes time to attend the services. For him, the option of chapel is always a comfort.
“It’s nice when I can go, the optional thing really kind of helps, because it makes people want to be there,” said Anderson. “I make more of a regimen to be at church more often, I highly do enjoy chapel but I don’t think it should replace Sunday morning worship.”
Anderson appreciates the length and timing of the service as well, because it fits into his schedule better. He believes that chapel should not be like a Sunday service and likes how Waynesburg makes it tactful.
Ryan Schwertfeger, a senior electronic media major, attends chapel every week because he enjoys the chance to gather together as a university and worship God as one.
“I think it’s important that I devote time to God every day and especially go to a place of worship with my fellow students,” said Schwertfeger. “Given that I have not found a local church that I really like and feel at home, at and I’m not a large fan of the contemporary music of Upper Room on Sunday nights, Chapel is a nice mix of old and new, a message, and a place to worship God with friends.”
At chapel, students and staff take out their hymnals and sing hymns together, and Schwertfeger looks forward to it every week.
“Hands down, my favorite part is singing the old and familiar hymns,” said Schwertfeger. “It’s not only when I hear the most people singing and participating together as a group in Chapel, but it speaks more to the history that we are still singing the same songs today that Christians on this campus, in this community, in this state, nation and world have been singing before we were even born.”