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Spreading Christmas Cheer
The students of Block 7 gathered together in cc101 early Thursday morning to not only prepare treat bags but their voices. Like little elves they worked diligently, each fulfilling a role as they created an assembly line for filling the bags with goodies. It was their way of saying “thank you” to all the maintenance workers who, during the winter season especially, spend countless hours keeping Bethel beautiful. As they wrapped up decorating cards, Professor Cristian Mihut and I had the pleasure of leading them on our guitars through the carols we’d be singing across campus. We quickly became a choir with great gusto. Also, we became familiar with the lyrics as well as prepared our hearts and attitudes for serving the Bethel community.
We started spreading Christmas cheer in the maintenance building, catching the workers just at the end of their break. Crowding into a tight space we lifted our voices to “Joy to the World.” Our “audience” smiled with great pleasure. We wished them a Merry Christmas and thanked them for all their hard work. Then, we went on our merry way to the Academic Center (AC) where we would interrupt other Block classes who were stuck inside learning (note: learning is not a bad thing, just perhaps not as fun as spreading joy to others). Some classes joined with us as we belted “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “The First Noel.” It was a family gathering to say the least.
But we didn’t stop there. In fact, as we wandered throughout the AC we broke out into some spontaneous version of “Feliz Navidad.” It became our breakthrough song of the day, thus we entered into the Administration Building singing it loudly. Pouring out of the offices came faculty and staff members, two of which were President Cramer and Dr. Engbrecht who decided to break out dancing. The “mission” of our ministry and service was being achieved as people found joy through song and spirit.
Next, we meandered over to the admission building, into Wiekamp gymnasium, up to Coach Lightfoot’s office, and into the Dining Commons. You can watch those videos here. In the end, though our sound wasn’t perfect, we had unending joy. Our spirits were what mattered, and I think Christmas cheer was shared to a campus in need of some extra joy this holiday season. Finals are on their way and it’s an incredibly stressful time for students, faculty, and staff, but I think we helped to “lighten the load,” at least that’s my prayer.
