By Abby Rathburn | Staff Writer
Once a week, the stained glass of Elliston Chapel glows as worshippers put on a completely student-led worship night.
Every Sunday night at 9 p.m., students gather at Elliston Chapel for an unofficial worship service, spending an hour worshipping and praying for the week ahead.
Wylie sophomore Aaron Cash is a leader of the group, often leading nontraditional services with worship on his guitar.
“In a way, it’s not a typical service where you have a straightforward worship leader and somebody guiding the entire service,” Cash said. “We do have structure to kind of just keep us going, but really it’s a space for people to come and worship together and to bring their own songs.”
That same sense of openness and flexibility is what many students find so enticing about worship at Elliston. Peoria, Ariz., junior Austin Bast said the laid-back quality of the services is partly why he enjoys it so much.
“I like the atmosphere,” Bast said. “It’s kind of come and go. It’s more of a place where you can just meet with the Lord. We kind of don’t have a plan here. It’s just worship … There’s no rhythm here.”
Although the format of worship is intentionally less structured, being an entirely student-led gathering, Cash is working to formalize Elliston worship nights to provide consistency without sacrificing the event’s spontaneous nature.
“It’s just been open around nine-ish on Sunday nights, and it typically locks on us, so that has happened,” Cash said. “Sometimes there are other events that go on and we have to pivot to move it elsewhere, but I am working on trying to find a way to reserve the space.”
Houston junior Abby Hollister said Elliston’s Sunday night worship holds a special place in her heart because of the freedom it offers. For Hollister, the space allows her to worship not only with her voice, but with her entire body.
“I just love being expressive in my worship,” Hollister said. “The fact that I don’t have to stand in a pew and just be very respectful, there is a place for that … but to be able to dance and express my joy and reverence for him by moving my body and singing loudly with my friends is just so amazing.”
Declared a nondenominational gathering, Elliston brings together students from across campus — many of whom would not have met if it weren’t for the late-night worship session. Through these relationships, they continue to grow in community and faith.
“I’m sure there’s all kinds of different denominations — all kinds of different churches here,” Hollister said. “It’s really special that we had that connection of Jesus in our hearts, and that we can just be here and worship together and have a restful and joyful time.”
At the very heart of Elliston worship, Cash said, is a freedom he believes many students are longing for. It’s a communal gathering, not with one person in charge, but with “God leading in the space.”
“It has brought to me a new kind of worship that I was seeking, and that I believe a lot of other people are seeking as well — a worship where it’s not forced to be there,” Cash said. “Nobody’s tied down to a set list. We’re all able to come freely worship together.”
