By Fabiola Joubert
The word of God continues to bring students together on the Western New England University campus. On Thursday afternoon, the Upper Room Christian Fellowship club brought together a room full of students, ready to study a book of the Bible. This all took place in room 319 of D’Amour Library, where students meet every Thursday at 5 p.m. to discuss the word of God, pray, and share fellowship. This semester’s focus is on the book of Ephesians, and on September 18th, the club opened with the first chapter of the book.
The room carried a warm and welcoming presence as students gathered together. Across the room, two large tables filled with students who all grew quiet when the leaders began to pray. The room grew still as students bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and at the end, all in unison, uttered softly an ‘amen’ that echoed across the room.
After prayer, the Fellowship leaders each sat at one of the tables to lead discussion of the first chapter of Ephesians. The leaders and students introduced themselves and shared what their favorite type of pizza is, then took turns reading the scripture. After each passage, leaders paused to explain each section; occasionally, students asked questions or explained how they thought the message could be applied to their daily lives.
For many students, these Bible studies are more than just a meeting. It has become a place to grow and connect with others on campus. Alexa Walker, a senior English major and one of the Fellowship leaders, shared how much this club has shaped her life at Western New England University. “Being a part of Upper Room has dramatically changed my view on how campus life is. I’m a commuter, so it’s kind of hard to meet a bunch of people, and here, you just meet so many people who believe what you believe, and even those who don’t–who are willing to learn and discuss things, it’s awesome. The Bible studies have been the biggest blessing to me.” Walker said.
Michael Mason, a sophomore Civil Engineering major, reflected on what stood out to him the most during this week’s study. “To me, it was definitely the amount of new people who were willing to talk about the Bible and were open to putting themselves out there, even though it can be new and sometimes confusing. Ephesians 1 is one of those books in the Bible that is so heavy if you want it to be–you can turn it into society, you can turn it into yourself, you can use it to look at relationships. That’s one of the things about Ephesians 1–it gets people to actually want to talk about it.” Mason said.
When asked to describe the study in one word, Mason chose “evangelist.” He said, “Because of all the people we had today–we came together as a community, all while also talking about the word of God. I love how the word of God is slowly spreading around campus little by little. I feel like each time we have more people joining us, and I just love it.”
As the word of God reaches more students on campus, the Upper Room Christian Fellowship club continues to welcome new faces each week. While the group moves forward with its study of the book of Ephesians, it remains a source of faith, fellowship, and encouragement on campus. Each week, what starts as a quiet room in the library ends with a group of students filled with faith and hope. In every prayer, every verse, and every “amen,” this club continues to bring light and hope to the Western New England University campus.
