Hart Street Worship is a weekly campus meeting at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville that is based on open sharing and testimonies, much like a support group. Last semester a writer named Jakob Esaw visited us one Thursday night and wrote an article about his experience for DishMag.com. Here is an excerpt from his article.
“Casually dressed students chat and laugh, mingling with the officers who wear starched white uniform shirts, tucked into ironed black slacks. They’re getting ready for their Thursday night campus worship service where a deep sense of reverence will overtake the room, but for now, camaraderie and friendship keep the conversations lighthearted.
This small, dim-lit meeting room has a piano against the far wall and chairs gathered in a circle. The youthfulness of the nine university students throws the ages of the three officers into sharp contrast. But no one person can be said to have more enthusiasm than anybody else. The evening worship service begins promptly at 7:00. As songs of worship and praise crescendo, the congregants enter into a trance that is both Protestant and mystical. Hands go up in the air. People rejoice. They’re ecstatic.
If a stranger stumbled into this meeting, he might remark on how casual and impromptu this service seems. One might also remark on how these worshipers are filled with unmistakable joy.
One of the most striking features of these weekly meetings is how much they resemble group therapy sessions—and that is not a disparaging characterization. By coming together on a weekly basis and explaining the struggles they face, they achieve a remarkable feat that not all brands of Christianity can claim. This session of weekly venting and rejoicing has a democratizing effect, which gives a feeling that Jesus’ words were true: “When two or three are gathered together, I am with you.”
No topic seems taboo . . . And yet, cancer and spiritual doubt are two recurrent themes. For people who believe, for people who are going through hard times, these weekly meetings in which socializing has a spiritual focus can be both refreshing and reenergizing . . . They offer heartfelt testimonials, admitting to dark shadows of depression and grief while stoking the flickering light of ecstatic joy.”
–If you would like to read Jakob Esaw’s entire article, click here.
EXPERIENCE HART STREET every Thursday night @ 7:00 @ 70 Hart St., Nashville 37210
DIRECTIONS: Go to the main entrance of Trevecca’s campus at 333 Murfreesboro Road 37210 in Nashville. Enter the campus and go to the large Jesus statue traffic circle. Go 3/4 of the way around the traffic circle and 70 Hart St. will be on your left, across the street from a large parking lot. Enter the building and we are down the hall on the right.
Also, check out participatory Sunday worship at The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., Nasvhille 37207 @ 10:45 am.
