November Chapel Recap

We had another good month of chapel at Hillcrest! We have continued our weekly pattern of spiritual practice (Mon), small groups (Tues), faith formative input (Wed-Thur), and worship (Fri).

One spiritual practice that has been common on Mondays is “listening prayer,” led by Sierra Cheney (Spanish Instructor). Chapel participants spread out and are invited to ask God (1) what we are afraid of, (2) what is underneath our fear, (3) what God wants us to know about the fear, and (4) what we should do about it. This is an opportunity for students and staff to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, recognizing that he will not speak anything to us that is against what he has already spoken in scripture. This practice has provided us with a simple, accessible pattern for deepening our faith in the promise that God’s “perfect love casts out fear.”

We heard from a variety of speakers in November, including Andrew Lundstrom (First Baptist, Wellman), Orlando Dial (Bethel AME, Iowa City), Nick Detweiler-Stoddard ’03 (Washington Mennonite), Bryn Hovde (Art Instructor) and Andrea Farrier (English Instructor). We continue to be thankful for wise, encouraging words from our church community this year!

Other chapels this month included open-mic testimonies from students, bible study, a live TMAD podcast by Alex Zimmerman and Don Patterson, Bible trivia, hymn singing, and praise music.

We invite your continued prayers over the next three weeks as we reflect on the coming of Jesus into the world. As always, the community is welcome to join us for chapel every day (except for Tuesdays when we have small groups) from 9:59-10:19. We would love to see you!