‘The Table’ kicks off year with Coffeehouse Worship Night
Click here to listen to “10,000 Reasons” performed at worship night.
Sterling College club ‘The Table’ kicked off the beginning of the school year with a Coffeehouse worship Night at Clives Staples yesterday. The women-oriented group invited all of the women on campus to enjoy hot cinnamon rolls and coffee for the evening, all while worshiping the Lord and singing praise into the dinky coffeehouse walls.
Leading worship were juniors Abigail Walcher and Natalie Schwizer, both members of the worship team for the chapel at Sterling College. Through six songs and the strum of a guitar, Walcher and Schwizer filled the room with praise, and others quickly joined in harmony.
“Judging from the volume of the worship, I think people were really into it. I love doing it in Clives because of the echo and I thought it was very casual and there was a lot more freedom in the worship,” said Walcher.
There’s never any amount of pressure for Walcher or Schwizer when it comes to live performances, because deep down they know that it is not about them, but what they can do to lead in fellowship in Christ.
“Anytime I get nervous, I tell myself that I am not the one that needs to be on display here, this is to worship and serve the Lord, and He’s just giving me the abilities and gift to lead other people in that. It’s very beautiful that I can use that gift to give glory and honor back to Him, and how other people do it as well,” said Schwizer.
The worship was led through six songs (one more compared to last year’s coffeehouse worship), a reflection, and a testimonial, all in an hour. Songs included in the worship were “How Great Is Our God,” “Jesus Paid It All,” “10,000 Reasons,” “Build My Life,” “Good, Good Father,” and “O’ Come To The Alter.”
“‘How Great Is Our God’ is one of those songs I remember listening to as a kid and I appreciate the nostalgia,” said Schwizer.
The Table focuses a majority of its time in fellowship with the other women on campus; its mission statement is: Creating a place where women can gather around the table of God’s goodness. By setting up free-flowing worship nights like this one, not only does The Table exemplify that statement, but lives up to the standard of leading through those words.
“All of these people are joining together to sing praises to our Lord. At the same time, we each have a personal relationship with Him that He cares about so much,” said Schwizer.
Having this been the second year that The Table has hosted a coffeehouse worship night, there were high expectations for the club and how they improved the experience from last year. Senior Kaitlyn Lumbert, president of The Table, knew the risk of hosting an event after the first day of classes but was proud of the payoff.
“We wanted to start strong in our events, especially since it’s so hard to get the first one going for a club. We questioned the success of hosting an event on the first day of school, but it worked,” said Lumbert.
Officer of The Table and senior Lindsey Kauffman felt that hosting a worship night would relieve some of the pressures of being a student, and give time for the women in the Sterling College community to set their sights on something bigger than themselves.
“I know I was stressed out on the first day of classes, so having this afterward really put things into perspective and focused my heart toward Christ instead of stress and anxiety,” said Kauffman.
There was no fear in the coffeehouse yesterday night, only praise. Those that sang felt a deep connection with the Lord, to the point where many entered a worshiping state of consciousness.
“I just love hearing everyone’s voices sing together. With eyes closed, not really worried about the people around them, it’s nice seeing everyone in a worship state of heart,” said Kauffman.
Between the songs, both Lumbert and Kauffman gave a reflection and testimonial, respectfully. Lumbert’s reflection focused on Romans 12, verses 1-2, talking about presenting everything to the Lord.
Over the past summer, Lumbert was involved in a study group based around Discipleship Focus. They read ‘Discovery: God’s Answers to Our Deepest Questions’ and focused on a whole chapter about giving all of oneself to the Lord.
Major Quote: “Watch as the Lord transforms you through your life.”
Kauffman carried the testimonial, quoting from the Book of Psalms, chapter 18. While the passage was relatively long, Kauffman focused on verses 16-18, a powerful scripture about salvation from sin by Christ. Kauffman wanted to make this a learning experience, and she felt that Psalms was the best place to start.
“Learning together is a huge aspect. We don’t want to preach at one another and we just want to come together and walk with Jesus hand in hand.”
Be sure to follow The Table on Instagram to keep up with all of their events over the year.
Sterling College Observer 