The Constant of Morning Prayer

As I start my fourth year here at the university I have ex-
perienced varying circumstances and various changes in
my life. But since only my second week here at the uni-
versity there has been one constant in my life; that one
constant has been attending Morning Prayer at the Uni-
versity Chapel.

If the university was in session and if I was in town, with
few exceptions, I was there at 8:45am, Monday through
Friday, for ten delightful minutes of Scripture reading
and prayer. Just as I need three meals a day for me to
function in life, so I need the ten minutes in prayer day
by day for me to carry on with life. It is my daily bread.

For the past two years the university Chaplain and I us-
ually have been the only daily attendants at Morning
Prayer. There are four or five others who come occasion-
ally. But I often have the sense that we are in commun-
ion with women and men who have prayed and worship-
ped in that beautiful Gothic chapel over the past four and
a half centuries. I had that sense ever since I first attend-
ed Morning Prayer in September, 2003, and I still feel it
to this day.

One of the reasons that I go to Morning Prayer is be-
cause I believe that prayer and praise should be offered
up daily at the the center of the university. The Chapel is
considered by some to be the hub of both the university
and the town. The Chaplain and I have committed our-
selves, as we are able, to lift up prayer and worship to the
Triune God from the very heart of the University and com-
munity. For me, that is just as important as writing my
dissertation. I have an abiding sense of calling to be there
while I am at the University.

And so we join in prayer with countless other people over
the centuries who have prayed that the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit would be at the very center of our lives, the
university, and our community. In the next few posts I
will share other reasons why I find it important to be at
Morning Prayer at University Chapel.

Shalom, JT