Carol Penner, an assistant professor of Theological Studies at Grebel, has been on the planning committee since the website was initially conceived. “Two of Grebel’s core values are faith formation and leadership development. The Together in Worship project directly resources church leaders, helping them as they plan worship services,” Carol explained. “The students involved in the project had the opportunity to develop their own worship leadership skills.”
Sarah Kathleen Johnson, who chaired the committee, won Grebel’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award this year and was heavily involved with the new Hymnal.
Choosing songs, prayers, and readings to go on the website took a lot of work and much of it was done by Master of Theological Studies students at Grebel. Mollee Moua, Paul Plato, Joseph Kim, Peter Kranenberg, and KyongJung Kim were all involved in cataloging the bulk of the resources into the website. Undergrad student Kim Rempel had a co-ordinating role the second summer she worked on the project, training students involved.
“Members of our team from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Eastern Mennonite University have received two significant grants this year, which will allow us to add more visual art to the website,” said Carol. “This project encourages collaboration of faculty from Mennonite colleges.”
“It’s a thrill to see something that was just a dream become a reality,” added Carol. “Seeing the live website is a payoff for all the hard work our team has put into it!”
Congratulations to all of the Grebelites who contributed to this project. This website is an invaluable resource to the Mennonite Church and the broader ecumenical community and will be used for many years to come.
Explore Together in Worship: togetherinworship.net
Written by Abby Rudy-Froese