Calvin Seminary and Calvin College share many things: a rich history, a beautiful campus, a well-stocked library. But more recently they’ve shared resources of the more animate kind – worship leaders.
Over the past several months, Seminary faculty, staff, and students have led services, played praise music, and delivered homilies in many of the College’s Chapel services. Paul Ryan, the Associate Chaplain for Worship and himself a Calvin Seminary alumnus, comments that “[t]he Seminary is responsible for a very significant part of my formation as a pastor and worship leader, and I’m always delighted to have an opportunity to introduce Calvin students to the faculty, staff, and students at Calvin Seminary.”
The recent series of Chapel speakers kicked off with Laura de Jong, a Master of Divinity student and an intern at the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. Preaching on Isaiah 60, she reflected that the passage is “written to this people; a people in despair and uncertainty whose circumstances looked grim,” and emphatically ensured the crowd to worry not: “The King still has another move.” Reverend Sarah Schreiber, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, followed a week later on Isaiah 61. In a deeply probing message, Rev. Schreiber examined the tension between “the already, and the not yet.” Leading up to the climax of her talk, she asked, “What about all the people Jesus didn’t heal… where was the good news for them? If Jesus’ coming signals….the fulfillment of all the wonderful promises that we read in Isaiah, how do we explain the fact that pain, and suffering, and sin continued to exist all around Jesus even while he was still on earth? And of course, we can ask the same question today…if Jesus said the promises of Isaiah were fulfilled in Him, at that time, then why are we still waiting? Did Jesus promise more than he could deliver?” Listen to her talk to hear her answer!
Chapels during the month of January focused on the question, “Who is Jesus in the first place?” Three seminary affiliates spoke on this theme through passages in Colossians. Reverend Scott Hoezee, Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching; Joella Ranaivoson, Master of Divinity student and Calvin College Campus Ministries Intern; and Reverend Rodrigo Cano, pastor of Alas Conexion Church, graduate of the Seminary’s certificate of Hispanic Ministries program, and first year Master of Divinity student.
Additionally, James Lee, another Master of Divinity Student, leads a monthly Sounds of Korean Worship service, while another M.Div. student, Chan Gyu Jang, regularly accompanies on the organ. Even the staff are involved: Director of Distance Learning Bob Keeley and Director of Admissions Aaron Einfeld both rocked with the praise band over alumni weekend last fall.
“I know that the seminary community has a lot to offer the college through preaching, teaching, worship leading, and mentoring. I’m eager to make use of seminary gifts in chapel in order to shape and nourish our worship life,” says Pastor Ryan.
In a sermon on Colossians 1:17-18a, Joella Ranaivoson began her wrap up with a notion that college students (and graduates!) often forget: “When we get to living like all of creation is held together in us, when we get to living like we are masters over creation, when we get to living like the answer to our longing and fears and questions is in ourselves, or in others, or nowhere to be found at all, that is us living apart from the truth that in Jesus Christ, all things are held together. When we refuse to rest, when we believe the lie that to be a good human is to be productive, that busy means we’re worthy, when we live like the world depends on us and our accomplishments, that’s us living apart from the truth, the truth that Jesus Christ is the holder of creation, not us.”
Calvin Seminary and College will continue to share their valuable resources as they work to further Christ’s Kingdom.