Spiritual Pursuit Fridays: Worship Outside of the Chapel Walls

Offered as an opportunity to share faith practices and worship expressions in smaller groups, student leaders prepare and host different spaces across campus for other students to join and encounter God in different ways. Whether through writing, music, painting, poetry or praying, the student led sessions acknowledge there are many ways to worship and connect with God. 

We asked our student writers to reflect on Gordon’s first Spiritual Pursuit Friday and offer an inside look at some of the spiritual expressions led by their fellow students.

Letter Writing to Jesus – Hudson Sylvester ’28

As I made my way down the hill from Nyland Hall, I found myself beginning to get nervous—worshiping outside of the Chapel in a unique way was intimidating. Upon entering Chesters I weaved my way through a group of students that I could sense were eager to worship. 

Eventually I sat down at a booth where I was warmly welcomed. Two students stood up and explained what our Letter Writing to Jesus session entailed. They encouraged us to break our letters down into three parts—gratitude and praise, growth and challenge, guidance and hope. 

As I began writing I noticed how grateful I was for this opportunity. When I pray, I don’t usually take the time to fully process what I am thanking God for and the blessings I’m asking to receive. Letter Writing to Jesus helped me slow down and add depth to my conversation with God—while also giving me a prayer to look back on that I know will prove how abundant His provision is.

Community Engagement – Sue Wanjau ’27

The Community Engagement session demonstrated an intersection of worship and hands-on service—showing that our worship can sometimes look like writing a kind message or preparing a simple sandwich. For many of the students who joined, it was their first introduction to the work and impact of Gordon’s Community Engagement Office.

Our session opened with a discussion on food insecurity and highlighted the work of My Brother’s Table. As the largest soup kitchen on the North Shore of Boston, the organization has served over nine million hot meals since it was founded in 1982. We also took part in A Liturgy for the Labors of Community which changed the atmosphere of our gathering into one of reflection. There was a sense of gratitude, compassion and solidarity with those in our communities who experience food insecurity. Together we then prepared sandwiches, packed snacks and drinks, and wrote heartful messages for those who would receive the bags. It was easy to see the genuine care that went into every assigned task. 

Gratitude – Joziah Castillo ’26

The Gratitude session was a space for students to come and reflect on the things they’re grateful for from God. Each student was given a pen and paper, and we were encouraged to respond to prompts like: How can you implement gratitude into your daily life? What are some things in your current environment that you are grateful for? And how is God speaking to you in the small mundane moments?  

We spent about 5-10 minutes silently responding to each prompt. I valued the quiet space to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness, while also participating in an experience that cultivated gratitude among us as students. 

Chaplet of Divine Mercy – Lettie Valvano ’28

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a practice of humble and repetitive prayer. Often in our day-to-day life we strive to communicate efficiently and in the quickest way possible. In the Chaplet of Divine Mercy session, I found myself surrounded by experienced Catholics meditating on the meaning of the words “Have mercy on us and the whole world.” While I felt a little out of place at first, the feeling was soon washed away by the collective focus on the prayer. 

Students passed their fingers over rosary beads which were supplied to us along with a small prayer pamphlet. As a protestant who fumbled over signing the cross, running my fingers across each prayer bead was more intuitive for me than I expected. It offered me an opportunity to really think about those who need God’s mercy. As a group, we prayed for ourselves and our world, and we shared in our communication with the Lord. We were released with a lingering, peaceful voice in our hearts.