My Business Guide

Alternative worship and fellowship opportunities open to all

Date 3/1/2001 12:00 AM | Topic: Features

Being a student at a private Lutheran school, it may feel as though everything revolves around the Evangelical Lutheran Church Association (ELCA). However, within the past few years, members of the Luther College student body have developed two forms of non-denominational worship, FOCUS and CORPS, that are available to anyone interested in Christianity.

FOCUS began in the spring of 1998, and more recently, CORPS was formed in the fall of 2000. Both FOCUS and CORPS are student led, and each makes it their objective to accommodate the wants and needs of the student body.

FOCUS meets on Sunday nights at 9:30 p.m. in the main hall of the CFL. Since its beginning, it has has more than tripled in size.

FOCUS is not your typical Sunday morning worship service. There is no set reading from the Bible, liturgy, or communion.

Instead, a 10-12 member band opens with upbeat tunes to get the crowd on its feet and plays a variety of contemporary Christian songs for the first thirty minutes.

Next, a member of the prayer team leads the congregation in a group prayer, and Katie Woltjer ('03) introduces the speaker for the evening. The speakers range from Luther professors and staff to youth pastors and ministers from students' home churches. After a 20-30 minute talk, the band regroups to play the last few songs of the evening, concluding at approximately 10:30 p.m.

Carl Gentes ('02) has been involved in the organization for the past three years, first on the drama team, and now as a co-leader of the band. Gentes stated that the objective behind FOCUS is "to offer a relaxed, contemporary worship atmosphere for all people on campus, for them to worship as they feel comfortable."

Co-leader of the FOCUS band, Rachel Wachter ('02), said she "hopes people feel refreshed after FOCUS, and that they might have been touched in some way. We want them to walk away with a peace of mind, a calmness, and the feeling of being closer to God."

For many people, FOCUS enhances their sense of community. With an average of 300 people attending each Sunday, it's hard not to catch the vibe from the crowd. It is also a place to go to get away from the stresses that come with the college schedule and realize there is life beyond Paideia research and senior papers.

"I want to open everyone's eyes, even those at FOCUS, to work on their definition of worship, and what it means to be someone who worships," Gentes said. "There is quite a mix of people who attend FOCUS, so it's not right for anyone to assume that we're all the same."

Gentes wants to accomplish a number of things before year's end by trying to reach out to a larger audience on campus to inform others about FOCUS and all the changes taking place. He also intends to work on organizational tactics, documenting the procedures of FOCUS, and how leaders are chosen.

This past fall Kelley Johnson ('04) and Woltjer attended a missions festival along with 20,000 others in Urbana, Illinois. They came back with many ideas on how to reach out to the campus through ministry. They felt there needed to be greater opportunities for fellowship, a place where anyone, no matter their denomination, would feel comfortable if they attended.

After making an announcement at FOCUS one Sunday evening, a committee was formed to brainstorm the idea of fellowship and how to reach out to more than just those who attend FOCUS.

The result was CORPS, French for "body," meaning the body of Christ, and like the military, was intended to create a sense of unity in the group. Using the campus as a mission field, the founders of CORPS wanted to provide a relaxed, comfortable opportunity to those interested in fellowship with other students.

CORPS meets on Friday nights, usually around 9 p.m., depending on the activity. Each week they do something different. The first gathering was at the Brunsdale Lounge in the beginning of February, with 60-80 in attendance, playing board games into the wee hours of the morning.

Since then the group has gone sledding and attended a SAC Spotlight event at Marty's. Attendees of CORPS have done what they can to inform others about this fellowship time, through word of mouth, and a "Dorm Storm" at their first gathering (going door to door).

CORPS is completely student run, so anyone who has ideas on activities or who would like to help in planning events is welcome to contribute to the group.

"In the Christian community we want to break down the barriers that exist on campus due to location, age, choice of majors, etc.," said Johnson. "We are trying to create an environment that can bring about strong relationships with others on campus, not necessarily for Christians only. This is an outreach to everyone. This is something for anyone who wants to meet people; we have an open door."

CORPS will meet Friday, March 2 at the Baker Commons from 9 p.m.-midnight for an indoor campfire.

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Katy Dane
Chips Staff Writer

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