Falcon Footnotes

It is safe to say that one chapel does not stick out to me as THE best chapel. However, the student lead chapels by our team of chaplains are unbelievable. Listening to fellow students talk about issues and topics that we as students are dealing with are so relevant to our lives! The chaplains like to do unique and exciting activities that truly engage the student body. Every student lead chapel service that I have gone to I have been able take something from it and apply it to my life. Those are Da’ Best Chapels!!

But when God’s Kingdom Steppers come to chapel it is Awesome!! Check it out. GKS at Chapel!

It’s that time of year. The time of year when there’s a major assignment in every class within three days. The time of year when sleep eludes me and I wake up before the sun rises or go to bed afterwards. The time of year when the rejuvenation of fall break has long since worn off, and Christmas, even Thanksgiving, seems years away. The time of year when I think…”Why (and HOW) am I doing this to myself?”
I tend to be quite a procrastinator (understatement of the year), and this becomes especially evident around now, when I have lots to keep track of. Tests, papers, projects, presentations: everything piles up and I’m just barely hanging in there. It’s times like this when I realize how important it is to take some time to rest. And by rest, I don’t mean sleeping in or taking an afternoon nap. I mean rest in the sense of slowing down, reflecting, worshiping, praying, and simply spending some much-needed time with God.
The tricky thing is: the crazier things get, the more I need to spend that time with God, but the less time I have to do it. I have to be more intentional about my rest and worship time and take advantage of the little opportunities that I have. For example, if I have a 15 minute block of time, I may REALLY want to take a nap, but how much good is that 15 minutes of sleep really going to do me? An extra 15 minutes in scripture would provide not the sleep, but the rest that I really need. Or, if I’m pulling another ridiculously late night and about to go to bed at 6…why not stay up just a few more minutes to watch the sunrise and marvel at God’s creation with some meditation and worship? I may think I need that extra few minutes before an exam to stuff all the information I can into my head, but spending those few minutes in prayer proves to be far more beneficial, time after time.
The Sabbath is especially important: dedicating an entire day each week to rest is one of God’s greatest ideas for sure. It’s crucial to step out of my busy schedule and just…slow down. Even if I do decide to attend the classic Bedside Baptist after a particularly sleepless week, I make sure to spend time in prayer, worship, and Scripture every Sunday. And I have a very strict no-homework policy for one day every weekend: sometimes Saturday, sometimes Sunday, but every weekend I make sure to just take one day off, no matter how much I have looming over me. And no matter how busy I feel or how much I need to do…the rest is ALWAYS worth it.
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Church away from home…

by Megan A.

When I came to college, I was concerned about finding a church.  At home, church was my family.  That was where I found many more grandparents, siblings, and friends.  I was involved with Awana, Sunday School, Youth Group, and Nursery.  Nothing inside of me wanted to have to find another church.  However, since I live in NY, the four hour commute to church on Sunday was not really a possibility.  Therefore, when I came to college I knew that I would have to take a large step out and find a new church where I could feel at home. (more…)

I’ve learned a lot of information here at Messiah but there are some things I have gathered that affect all areas of my life not just in the classroom. I went to a small, private christian school all my life and had Bible class every year along with sunday school at church each week. I knew my bible… Or at least I thought that I did. In coming here I realized that I really don’t a whole lot. There has been so many times where my mind has been opened up to new ideas and concepts. I’ve been stretched and had my mind put through the ringer a few times. The good thing is though that I am coming out the other side knowing what I believe in and being a stronger person for it. My faith is just that now: MY FAITH. It’s not that of my parents, sisters, or pastor but something that I have developed now on my own and have taken ownership of. That is probably the biggest and most important lesson I have learned here yet. Thank you Messiah College and the Bible Department

HEY everyone!
So, I’m guessing you’ve heard about chapel here at Messiah. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I hope it’s all good stuff! To be honest, I kind of thought chapel was going to be a pain when I first got here, just another obligation to fulfill, blah blah blah. BUT good news! We do have a wide selection of chapels to choose from in order to fulfill your 24 credits, ranging from Common (every Tuesday/Thursday) to Alternate (all over the place, whenever). I’d have to say one of my favorite chapels was a Common one we did this past semester, when College Ministries had us all sit in a large group and we had students read anonymous confessionals of students who attended Messiah. It was a very emotional service, and had me thinking about it for at least a week afterwards. So many of our chapels have that effect on students. So, some might think it’s a pain (like me at first), but so many students believe it to be one of the college’s strongest assets.

As you may know Messiah has mandatory chapel every Tuesday and Thursday. Then throughout the year they have several Alternate Chapels that students can attend to reach their quota for chapel. Yesterday’s Chapel in Brubaker was amazing. We had a speaker named Stephen Gallagher who spoke about forgiveness and how it’s hard for some people to forgive when they have been hurt. It was a word from the Lord that not only ministered to me but also to a majority of the students. Then that night we had an Alternate Chapel run by the African Student Union and the Black Student Union on campus. It was just another worship experience. We sang songs in Swahili and Gospel tunes. It was great to have another opportunity to worship with the community. This was a great experience for me because the worship style was what I am used to. However, I can strongly assume that this was a different experience for several Messiah students and they enjoyed it as well. Throughout our busy day at Messiah, I am grateful for the times when we can slow down and worship the Lord not only during mandatory but during Alternate Chapels when you choose if you want to go or not. Take time for the Lord.

As my sophomore year draws to a close, it’s mind-boggling to think that I’m halfway done college. Where did all the time go? I feel like I just got here!

Right now is a great time just to think about all the great times I’ve had here and everything I have to look forward too. I’ve grown so much spiritually and I’ve gotten so much closer to God during my time here at Messiah, and it’s so exciting to think about the things God has in store for me for the next two years here.  I’ve learned so much in my studies, and I can’t wait for all the things that I’ll get to learn soon, especially once I start my student teaching! And I smile when I think about all the amazing friends I have made over the last two years, and I smile even more thinking about how much closer I’ll get with them in the next half of my time at Messiah, and all the new friends I’ll get to make.

College is hard. I’m not going to lie to you and pretend that it is all late night movies, games, and lounging campus with friends- its tough too. Finding the time to fit exams, projects, papers, and jobs into all that social time can be challenging (ok..so it MIGHT  be the other way around…). The wonderful thing about being here at Messiah, however, is that through it all- the stress, the fatigue, the work- God never ceases to be present. Just as the work load feels a little bit too heavy, a chapel service snatches your attention and focuses it back where it needs to be- right on God. When fear and anxiety seem overwhelming before one of your hardest tests of the semester, a professor prays for you, giving your learning up to God, and asking for his guidance through it. And just like that, the weight is lifted. Sure, there are still tests to take and essays to write, but it is all for the glory of God, and with Him, we can do anything! What could  be more motivating than that?

Spring is a wonderful time of year no matter where you are, but especially at Messiah!   The air gets warmer, the birds begin chirping, flowers are blooming and the trees are tinged with green buds.  Everyone shakes off their winter blues and the campus is overrun with students playing frisbee or wiffle ball, studying outside, or just lounging around and basking in the sun.  But to me, spring is more than just this.  As nature reawakens, God’s glory is shown throughout all of creation.  It’s nothing less than breathtaking to see the care and design God put into creating the amazing world we live in.   There are few opportunities better than now to slow down and take a break from a busy week to spend some time with God.  The beauty of nature shows both God’s amazing power but also his love and care.  It’s easy enough to enjoy creation during springtime, but what we really need to do is turn our gaze to the Creator.

Recently our student chaplain team devoted our morning chapel to a beautiful message about the wonder of God’s grace. With the entirety of the onlooking students sitting on the floor in a circle around a cross, the team read the haunting words of members of our student body who anonymously shared their struggles, fears, worries, and regrets. The message that followed was a reminder that God’s grace covers us all as we are, the struggling, messy, imperfect parts of his creation.We were reminded that we as followers of christ, and as a united student body should show love to everyone, so that every conversation might be full of the trust and honesty that we value in our closest friendships. Inspired by this, my friends and I have been encouraged to open up to each other and be honest about our struggles and emotions, and with the reminder of God’s grace and the trust that exists on our campus we have been able to grow closer together. Messiah’s student lead chapel services are an inspiration to the students, and it was wonderful to see the impact in my own life.