Goin' to the Chapel

Day 21 of the 31 for 21 Challenge

  

On Wednesday mornings, the residents of Shepherds Ministries attend chapel while our college students are in class. Usually chapel is led by a staff member, a volunteer group or a visiting pastor. But this past Wednesday, our first year students in Personal Development 1 practiced their newfound skills in public speaking by leading chapel for the residents with their teacher, Mrs. Kolkman.

I attended this service believing that I was going to take notes for this blog. That I was going to be an objective observer, someone watching from the sidelines.

But that’s not what really happened.

If you’ve ever visited Shepherds Ministries, or walked into Shepherds Enterprises while the employees were working, you already know that being just an “observer” isn’t really possible. The residents envelop you in hugs and big handshakes. They want to know your name and where you’re from. They invite you into their activities and interests immediately. 

Cathy, the woman sitting next to me near the front, asked me to tell her all the students’ names. I did, then thought, “I should be quietly taking notes,” so I moved to stand against the side wall, a great position for observing.

Mrs. Kolkman opened the service with a loud and joyful “Good Morning!!”  and the residents greeted her and the students with applause. A resident prayed and the singing began.

I was okay for a minute, still observing, silently listening to the voices around me – some singing Come, Now is the Time to Worship, some speaking the words, some droning, some tunelessly humming. I saw eyes closing, heads tipping back, arms going up in praise. 

Then Mrs. Kolkman started singing Yes Lord. I watched as our resident Tara, who’s maybe four feet tall, stood up and began swaying to the music. In the five years I’ve been here, I’ve only seen her sitting down. I started to really hear the lyrics:

“I’m trading my sickness.
I’m trading my pain.
I’m laying them down for the joy of the Lord.” 

I realized as my eyes were watering and my heart was doing funny little twists in my chest, that I was witnessing genuine worship. That most of the residents understood these words in a very real and personal way and suddenly I wanted to feel that joy with them. I wanted to stop observing.

Mrs. Kolkman asked the residents, “Who prays? Who do we pray to? What is prayer?”  She explained that the first year students were learning about prayer and then she invited the students forward.

Each student had drawn a picture about what prayer meant to them. As, one-by-one, the students came to the front of the service, their picture flashed up on the screen in back of them. 

I heard, “Prayer is a sword fight with life.”

“Prayer is calling out the name of the Lord.”

“Prayer is asking God for protection.”

“Prayer is talking to God about problems”

“Prayer is peace of mind and reassuring myself that God will provide.”

Students read Bible verses to support their beliefs about prayer, and Crystal added, “I pray because God loves me.”

I heard shy voices, confident voices, sincere voices and one voice that I’m sure belongs to a future pastor.

After each student taught the residents what they knew about prayer and Mrs. Kolkman wrapped up the service, the residents shook their hands and called out, “Hey, you did good! Real good!”

I lingered. My hand scribbled some unintelligible notes, but my mind was on something else – prayer, disability, God, adoration of Him in its purest, simplest form…

I had stopped observing and started participating … and I wasn’t ready for chapel - for worship - to be over.

“Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord, Amen.”

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.