Worship Life
at Western Theological Seminary
Midday Prayer
Held in-person in Mulder Chapel at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday each week of the fall and spring semesters,
Midday Prayer is the core of Western Seminary’s communal worship life.
Why Is Chapel Called Midday Prayer?
This name is derived from history and from the practice of
members of our Muskegon Campus, the students, staff, and faculty
of the Hope-Western Prison Education Program.
Midday Prayer’s Weekly Rhythm
Western Theological Seminary at Midday Prayer . . .
Monday | . . . binding hearts as one in ardent prayer.
Tuesday | . . . singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Wednesday | . . . bearing witness for mutual encouragement.
Thursday | . . . indwelling the Word richly.
Friday | . . . giving thanks at the Lord’s Table.
The Flow of Each Midday Prayer Gathering
What is common to diverse prayer gatherings all around the world – from longtime past to this very day – informs the liturgy of our Midday Prayer.
Symbols and Sacraments
Why a candle, a Bible, a cross, a font? Why weekly communion, especially since Western Seminary is not a church?
There's more to Western Seminary's Worship Life
Convocation
A celebratory ceremony of ‘Convocation’ is often held in academic communities to launch a new academic year. At Western Seminary, Convocation is an occasion of worship. We give thanks to God for the community of faith and learning that is Western Seminary. Having identified a theme verse for the year, President Felix Theonugraha preaches the Word, grounding our aspirations for the year in the redeeming work of Christ by his Spirit. Finally, the seminary community prays for the seminary community, summoning the Spirit to bless students, staff, and faculty alike, wherever in Holland, Muskegon, or the world they may be.
Convocation 2026
is in Mulder Chapel
Tuesday, September 1, at 10:00 a.m. Livestream here.
The Prayer Room
Western Seminary has a Prayer Room dedicated at all times for personal or communal meditation and prayer.
Members of the seminary community are most welcome to avail themselves of this quiet and calming space.
The Prayer Room is located just within the inside entrance to Mulder Chapel. Once inside the glass doors,
immediately turn left.
Prayer Meeting
Each Wednesday of the academic year, students, staff, and faculty who wish are welcome to show up for a communal Prayer Meeting.
The gathering is convened by a designated leader, but the praying is impromptu, offered silently or aloud
by any who are present.
Prayer Meeting in the Prayer Room Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m.
Office Dedications and Blessings
When a newly hired faculty or staff member arrives to the campus, their vocational home in the building is dedicated to God for the work they will do there, and they are blessed in prayer and in song by those who have gathered.
Commencement
Convocation opens the academic year. Commencement concludes it. For Western Seminary, Convocation is a rich occasion of worship. We bless God for the community of faith and learning that is Western Seminary. A member of the seminary’s faculty preaches the Word, addressing especially the seminary’s graduates, whose accomplishments enhance their service to the Church and participation in Christ’s redeeming work in the world. Dean Starkenburg presents our graduates and President Theonugraha confers on them the degrees and certificates they have earned. We prayerfully bless our graduates, and Christ by his Spirit sends us out to celebrate!
Convocation 2027
is in Dimnent Chapel
Saturday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m. ET
The ceremony is livestreamed.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is Midday Prayer?
Midday Prayer is at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday each week of the fall and spring semesters. Each gathering is typically 20-25 minutes.
You can also join us online via livestream on Fridays by visiting our YouTube channel.
What is the weekly rhythm of Midday Prayer?
Western Theological Seminary at Midday Prayer . . .
Monday | . . . binding hearts as one in ardent prayer.
Tuesday | . . . singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Wednesday | . . . bearing witness for mutual encouragement.
Thursday | . . . indwelling the Word richly.
Friday | . . . giving thanks at the Lord’s Table..
Does a liturgy inform Midday Prayer?
The flow of Midday Prayer is Gathering, Psalm, Proclamation of the Word, Prayer, and Sending. This simple structure isn’t particularly Reformed, though the seminary’s confessional history is Reformed. This flow is ecumenical and historically evangelical. That is to say, this simple flow is an inherited gift of God’s diverse peoples from throughout history and all around the world, for God’s people throughout the world and all of us at the seminary today.
Meet the Worship Life Team
Rev. Sue A. Rozeboom, Ph.D.
Rector of Seminary Worship Life
Rev. Rozeboom earned her doctoral degree in Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre Dame and teaches Worship Foundations at the seminary. She is ordained in the Reformed Church in America and attends Boston Square Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more than twenty-five years, she has had the privilege of planning and leading worship, preaching, and presiding at Table in a variety of churches and communities, always passionate about how the Holy Spirit brings us into expected — and unexpected — encounters with the living Christ in worship. As Rector, Rev. Rozeboom sets a stride for seminary worship life, collaborating with the Student Associates for Worship Life to involve members of our community as planners, leaders, musicians and more.
Student Associates for Worship Life
Drew Bair
Drew Bair is entering his third year at the seminary, expecting to complete his MDiv over the course of four or five years. Originally drawn into formal ministry through music leadership and liturgy design, Drew has enjoyed deepened and broadened communion with the universal Church—across time, place, and tradition—through MDiv studies at WTS. Rooted in a local Anglican parish, he thrives on creative theological and liturgical exploration in the seminary environment.
Lauren Becker
Lauren Becker is a distance-learning MDiv student in her second year. Involved in the worship life of the church since she was young, Lauren is passionate about nurturing spaces for presence with God and others. She currently serves as a Youth Pastor and is discerning a call to church planting someday.
Nate Bjorklund
Nate Bjorklund is an in-residence MDiv student in his second year. Having been leading worship as a musician since fourth grade, Nate experienced a call to pastoral ministry while a student at Wheaton College. For him, seminary is the place to be for growth and formation, theologically and spiritually.
Martha Draayer
Martha Draayer is a bilingual educator and ministry leader in her third year pursuing both MDiv and Clinical Mental Health Counseling degrees at the seminary. Martha co-founded María Magdalena Reformed Church (Sioux Center, Iowa), a multicultural and bilingual congregation where her pastoral leadership centered on fostering belonging. She is passionate about worship that engages the whole person—mind, body, heart, and spirit—and inclines people to slow down, participate, and recognize God’s presence in the midst of ordinary life.