More than 600 students across various Christian organizations and local churches gathered on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Statler Auditorium for an evening of Easter worship, part of the semesterly inter-fellowship worship, Ignite.
Ignite holds an event designed to bring together Christians every semester. This semester’s worship event included an evening of live music, prayer and personal testimonies to celebrate Easter.
Nicole Chen ’27, president of Ignite, led the event. Chen is affiliated with the campus ministry Cru, where she leads a community group and a smaller discipleship group.
Chen discussed how she approached planning the event, emphasizing the importance of including various perspectives.
“Just inviting people into the planning process,” Chen said. “Inviting different members from different fellowships into the planning process, and using our spiritual gifts that God has gifted us with to make this entire night.”
Promotion for the Easter event began on April 10, with the night’s worship set list announced on April 14. The night’s itinerary included 14 songs between readings of scripture from Psalms, Mark, Luke, Matthew and John.
The event also reintroduced personal testimonies to its structure this semester, featuring Emmaus Road member Taylor Lee ’25.
Last semester, the Ignite team removed personal testimonies from its usual structure to allocate more time for community prayer and worship in light of a Cornell sophomore’s death and a report of a sexual assault and drugging at a fraternity in a week of tragic events.
During her testimony, Lee shared a heartfelt story about her relationship with God, her desire for close relationships and the loss of her younger sister due to cerebral palsy. She detailed an account of a past dream that came to the forefront of her mind when her sister was in hospice. In the dream, Lee’s sister was smiling and able to walk.
“I suddenly looked at her, not with sadness over what the current circumstance was, but with joy as I thought about how if God does ultimately call her, then this image from the dream will be her reality so soon,” Lee said.
Lee’s testimony came at the night’s midpoint and was followed by group prayer and continued worship.
The night ended with a now-traditional mosh pit to “Glorious Day” by Passion Music and “I Thank God” by Maverick City Music and UPPERROOM. In the height of the final song, students pleaded for a final encore, where they sang a final reiteration of the bridge and chorus, building from a cappella to full backing instrumentals by the band.
The main event clocked two hours, followed by announcements for a local volunteering opportunity with Love Ithaca as well as the next Ignite, scheduled for November 14 at 7 p.m. Attendees were then invited to an after-event bonfire on the Engineering Quad.
August Ehrlich ’27, a member of Cru, found the event to be a success despite initial concern for turnout as it occurred on a family holiday.
“I wasn't sure that setting it on Easter was actually the right move,” Ehrlich said. “But it seemed to work out really well. And it's just a good end to a good day, you know?”
