By Alec Durfee · Contributing Writer
On Saturday evenings, the sound of piano playing and singing can be heard from inside Grove City College’s iconic Harbison Chapel.
A look inside would reveal roughly two dozen students standing in a circle below the chancel steps, singing from red Trinity hymnals.
Each week, the college’s Hymn Sing club assembles for a time of worship through singing hymns and fellowship.
“People call out their favorite hymns by number from the hymnal, which we do for about a half-hour,” senior leader of Hymn Sing Eli Weikal said.
“Then, we have a brief period where we will go around and each student says their name and answers a ‘question of the day,’ chosen by club leadership. After introductions, we will take (hymn) requests for about 20 minutes or so, before we close with prayer for the night,” Weikal added.
The Hymn Sing group began in 2009 with a group of freshmen who all attended the nearby Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The group would host a time of bible study, singing and prayer in the chapel every Wednesday evening.
This eventually morphed into mainly hymn singing on Saturday nights. As time passed, the growing gathering of Grove City College students even gained the attention of the college’s former President Paul McNulty ’80.
“In 2016, President McNulty invited the Hymn Sing group to his house during the December study day. It became an annual tradition for the McNultys’ to invite the Hymn Sing group over,” sophomore Joshua Youngquist, a member of Hymn Sing leadership, said.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders of the Hymn Sing group discussed forming an official campus club to reserve rooms and raise funds for the group more easily. In 2023, the group voted to become a club and completed the process shortly after.
Youngquist believes the current Hymn Sing club rallies around the common fellowship of Grove City College students with less emphasis on official membership.
“We are less a club that sings hymns, but more a worship-focused fellowship that has added a club component to be able to raise money and support the different events we do,” Youngquist said.
“Unlike other campus activities, Hymn Sing allows you to show up as little or as much as you want … it’s a cool way to meet people who aren’t in (your normal) circles, including many freshmen,” Weikal added.
While Hymn Sing primarily offers an outlet for students to sing hymns together, the club also provides additional opportunities for student fellowship. “Family dinner,” organized by Youngquist, is a weekly gathering in MAP Dining Hall, where many students who attend Hymn Sing eat together at one large table.
The club also plans extra events, including an English country line dance each semester and an annual Labor Day hike to McConnell’s Mill State Park.
“Community is definitely a big aspect of the group,” Weikal commented.
“We get some freshmen who enjoy it and stick with it all four years. We also get other people who only start attending spring of their senior year.”
No formal sign-up is needed to participate in the Hymn Sing activities, though members keep in touch via group emails throughout the year.
“If you like singing hymns and you like fellowship, or if you like English country dancing and dinner in MAP on Wednesdays, we’re a great place to be,” Youngquist said.
To learn more about the college’s Hymn Sing Club, email Eli Weikal at WeikalEJ21@gcc.edu or visit Harbison Chapel on Saturday evenings from 9 to 10 p.m.
