First Centered Worship at Union

 Family worship and closeness to God 

One thing that I’ve always found special about worship is the various ways that it can happen and how each leads us to God. Sure, there is the obvious music, but there’s also worship in silence and reflection, journaling, nature, and acts of service; these are various ways of expressing our devotion and desire to get close to God. The best part? We don’t even need to keep it at church. It can happen as you’re walking to class or getting ready for the day. Recently, we have been seeing young people explore and take on new, contemporary forms of worship and apply them to the church and their lives. The most popular form of that is modern music, but it isn’t just limited to a church service. Likewise, last Friday, Family Worship took on a different turn: Centered. 

Centered is a special form of worship that occurs a few times each semester with the goal of pointing students to God and trying to find Him in our lives. This service occurred during the usual Friday evening spot, but with a location change: the Atrium, the downstairs floor of the Don Love Building. While there were some pretty cool songs sung, the highlight was the time spent listening to and sharing testimonies about how students saw Jesus during the week. They could be as big as God guiding you to a big decision, or comforting you, or even as small as a short and sweet reflection right before you went inside. There is something special about a bunch of people coming together and sharing all the various ways God was with them. 

Another thing I find special about this is the calling for us to focus on ways we noticed God in our lives during the week. Oftentimes, it can feel like God isn’t with us or just not helping us as we trudge on through weekly classes, homework, and test preparation, but if we earnestly try to seek God, we will find Him. The songs were special, too, because many of them involved focusing on God’s marvelous character and bringing the message given by our testimonies all together. No matter the way we prefer to worship, there is something special and valuable about people coming together, talking about how great God is in their lives. That is why I found Centered to be a special Family Worship.

By Stephania Campoverde