I love Chapel at Bluffton. Every Thursday at 11am we get to take a break from classes, meetings, and stress and enjoy a time of worship with friends. I love Chapel services from the worship music to the speakers to the fellowship. Today we had a different kind of service – we had it in Bob’s Place (a place to hang out in our student union) instead of in our recital hall, Yoder, which is where it usually is. It was a great change of scenery and nice to see Chapel from a different perspective. The Chapel Planning Committee even had lunches for everyone after the service so we could all hang out and enjoy some time just hanging out together.
At Bluffton, Chapel isn’t mandatory at all, which I think is a good thing. The people that attend Chapel and other religious life activities on campus are doing so because they WANT to, not because they are required to. I have grown a lot in my faith during my time at Bluffton and I know that it is because I have made the decision to do so, not because I have been forced to. I’m so thankful for that on Bluffton’s campus and glad that I have the chance to talk with so many different people about their faith and really learn from them.
Religious life on Bluffton’s campus takes on a lot of different forms. We have Chapel every Thursday and Sunday Morning Worship every other Sunday (this is to encourage students to get out into the local community and attend local churches), spiritual life week each semester, BASIC (Brothers and Sisters in Christ – these are small groups that meet approx. once a week and take on lots of different forms.. some are set up like a Bible Study, while others are more discussion based. These are led by faculty or staff members) several different ministry teams and various other activities and events to go to. The religious life on Bluffton’s campus is strong and something that I feel like has enhanced my time at Bluffton in a major way. I would recommend considering what type of religious life you want to look for on a campus, as it can be a big factor in your college experience.
Here’s to growth,
Mary
Picture: some of the people on the Spiritual Life Week committee from last Spring.