Editorial: Violence against worship in the name of curriculum?

by Christian Bell, Editor in Chief

This editorial continues a multi-part evaluation of some current issues at CTS. The aim is to offer a critical consideration of topics that are being discussed by students and faculty at the seminary this year.

A reasonable expectation for an enthusiastically Christian seminary is that it would be a community of worship. And yet, a few casual observations would suggest otherwise.

Whenever I’ve been to chapel, the number of students I see in attendance is fairly low. Back in the Student Center and the study lounge, on the other hand, desks and tables are packed full of students. While some people use the time to socialize, many students find the chapel break to be a half-hour to hour-long opportunity to catch up on reading or finish last-minute studying before the ubiquitous Friday morning quizzes. (Greek and Hebrew students will know what I’m talking about.)

Faculty and staff aren’t off the hook either. While many faculty and staff attend faithfully nearly every service, other faculty members (whose names won’t be mentioned here) are never seen in the chapel.

To further contextualize the problem, the Seminary Choir, of which I am a member, had to cancel a planned 3-day tour to Chicago due to lack of participation. When more than 1 or 2 members of a twelve person choir can’t come, it’s hard to call the remaining group a quorum.

Twelve people in a choir? How did that happen?

Last year, there were more than two dozen members in the choir, and our weekend tour of Ontario last January was a great time. What changed in a year’s time that led to the attrition of more than half the choir’s members?

One thing that changed was the curriculum.

Formation for Ministry (FFM) groups needed more consistent times during the week to hold their meetings. It was decided that Tuesday during chapel break (chapels at CTS are on Wednesdays and Fridays) would be the best fit. The problem was, the choir practiced on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during the break. With free time in schedules as rare as January heatwaves, the choir was resigned to a single 90-minute practice during elective class time on a weekday afternoon. As a result, many members of the choir were simply unable to continue participating because they had class during choir practice.

On one hand, students see chapel time as an opportunity to catch up on, or take a break from, the significant workload of classes. On the other hand, new initiatives in the recently revised curriculum have squeezed out extracurricular activities such as choir.

It’s an odd thing to consider that the seminary’s curriculum can have a detrimental effect on spiritual formation. After all, spiritual formation is one of the explicit things the new curriculum set out to address. But what good is spiritual formation if there is no communal worship to express it in?

Students can start by treating chapel time for what it is – chapel time. Exceptions arise, papers come due, and some people are working or at internships, but there’s a significant number of students who are on campus at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and simply opt not to go. Shirking worship is a curious phenomenon amongst future church leaders. Students should be willing and eager to go to chapel. The Chapel Planning Committee and the people who lead chapel put good time and effort into crafting worshipful and glorifying services. To come and participate is to respond to Christ’s call.

While we’re at it, consistent faculty absences are nearly inexcusable. As with students, there are certainly exceptional times and circumstances that would prohibit faculty from attending, but professors – all professors – should be willing to sit next to students and worship with gladness.

For the seminary’s part, balancing the requirements of class times and extracurricular meetings within the complicated matrix of hundreds of students’ schedules is no easy task. Even so, decisions that affect community worship – particularly chapel – should be undertaken with great care. The choir needs more consistently available times to practice if it is going to continue to be a part of the seminary’s worship life. And students shouldn’t have to constantly choose between going to chapel or studying for a better grade. Perhaps quizzes and tests should be disallowed after Wednesday and Friday chapels?

It’s important that we worship together. It reminds us that despite theological and ecumenical differences, we are all here to answer the same calling, do the same work, and serve the same God.

Worship is essential to our common identity as a seminary. Let’s not be quick to do anything violent against it.

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