Students at John Brown University worshipped alongside their like-minded peers for chapel last Thursday. Chapel was divided by academic department into seven separate services.
“Faculty are some of the most significant spiritual influences on students, and we wanted to give our faculty an opportunity to address the spiritual needs of students in their majors in a more specific way than is possible in the large chapel,” Rod Reed, university chaplain, said.
The faculty designed their respective services specifically for the concentrations of their departments.
“Our hope was that each academic division would create a service that reflected the uniqueness of their majors and addressed their students’ spiritual needs in specific ways,” Reed said.
Students claimed to enjoy the chapel services.
Freshman Josiah Jackson, an electrical engineering major, attended the chapel for the division of engineering and construction management. Students from the division spoke to their peers, and Tim Gilmour, assistant professor of engineering, even participated in the worship band, Jackson said.
“It focused on how we’re supposed to give glory to God through engineering and construction management,” Jackson said.
Sophomore Tomas Sanchez, an electrical and mechanical engineering major, also attended the chapel for the division of engineering and construction management. He said he liked the focus on those specific majors.
“I think it’s really cool to see how God is in everything we do,” Sanchez said. “I really liked that every scripture the students read talked about how God is in construction management and engineering. We do things in order to praise the Lord.”
Junior Kelsey McIntyre, a psychology major, participated in the service for the division of humanities. She gave a four-minute talk to her fellow humanities majors about seeing God in psychology.
“I really felt a part of it,” McIntyre said. “We’re usually on the receiving end, but this gave an opportunity to put something into it.”