Thursday, April 13, 2006
Holy Week Worship at Unity Christian High School
From Betty Grit:
It was 8:00 on Wednesday morning and there was not an empty parking place nearby. Inside Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville, Michigan, students and teachers were in classrooms writing papers, talking, listening, or working at computers. In the gym seven students and two teachers were preparing for chapel. The sounds of cellos, flute, violin and voices prepared to lead students in worship.
Soon more than nine hundred students and faculty came into the gymnasium, filling the folding chairs that were set in rows for worship. The strains of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” played on cellos by two young women quieted the talking and prepared our hearts. Words from Isaiah and Luke along with the joyful notes of a flute playing “Joy to the World” and a violin playing “Silent Night” reminded us of Christ’s coming to earth. A few students smiled and whispered to each other. This isn’t Christmas!
A speaker reminded us that when we retell the Christmas story we too often forget that not all was “calm and bright.” The words of Matthew 2:13 to 18 were read:
Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Two students, a young woman talking about her precious little brother and a young man asking “What happened to the silent night?” helped us understand the reality of the world that Christ entered. “From the perfection of heaven to a crude stable and into an evil world filled with soldiers who didn’t blink an eye at fulfilling Herod’s decree. Do you see how desperately we need a Savior?”
The words of Isaiah 53:4-6 reminded us of God’s mercy, grace and love that knows no end. The words sank into our hearts as a teacher sang “Kyrie Eleison” and a student led us in a prayer of confession and thanksgiving. She concluded with the words, “As you leave this place, reflect on Christ’s love and sacrifice for you. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
Throughout our time of worship, art created by the students was projected to visually take us from Christ’s birth to his sacrifice on the cross.
As our time of worship ended, students gathered their chairs in small groups for fellowship. A conversation with Principal Jack Postma and chapel leader Sharon Veltema helped me understand the intentional way the school develops worship and fellowship experiences to help young people grow in their understanding of worship and relationship with God and with others. They seek to allow students to grow, change, and be alive in their faith. They are in the process of re-designing the Bible curriculum so that each student will have a Faith Development Portfolio when they leave Unity. This includes a non-assessed interview with one of the Bible teachers in which students are asked to articulate where they are on their faith journey. Every student, before graduating from Unity, will be asked about their personal relationship with the Lord. The school feels it is very important for a student to think about and articulate where they are on their faith journey.
We give thanks for Unity and other Christian high schools where the students grow in their relationship with God and use their gifts to lead worship.
Related Resource:
Planning High School Worship
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