The Victorian era
The new Chapel coordinator, Victoria Esson, has taken a personal approach to her new position. “I don’t want to be just a face that appears in Chapel,” she said. “We come as a community to offer up adoration to God, and rejoice through song in the grace, love, and hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-18).”
Photo credit: Tim Andries
Esson assumed the role after the former Chapel coordinator Tim McCarthy moved on. Victoria previously led Sunday Night Alive for two years while being personally mentored under McCarthy. She described McCarthy as “a person who has inspired a lot of lives… 14 years, that’s a long time, and I feel the position has molded to who he is.” She summed up returning band members’ experience without McCarthy in one word: “weird.”
Freshly graduated, Victoria was prepared this summer for the role. Her former plans involving her passion for music, Biblical Studies, and counselling, created conflicting paths. Now called to serve in leadership at Trinity Western University, Esson found it opportune to combine her three loves into a form of discipleship to encourage both new and well-known worship leaders and “empower people to use their gifts.” Her new responsibilities include keeping in touch with the eight worship leaders in charge of Sunday Night Alive, the dance team, the prayer team, and the sound and media assistants.
In light of change and heavy expectations, Esson felt that “it’s so easy to be crippled by fear. I fear God — not in the sense that I’m afraid of him, but that He is wholly other: someone I need to trust.” Entrusted with the leadership, Esson shared her vision that “focus far outweighs any fear.”
This focus comes from Scripture. In addition to rehearsing twice weekly for two hours, the praise band shares one hour of “team time,” a process which involves studying scripture. “We need to know what we’re telling people and what we’re singing; and know that we’re not just giving them random Scriptures and songs.”
One verse in particular, Matthew 7:15-23, Esson finds “terrifying.” The verse says, “… Many will say to me on that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly: ‘I never knew you’… ” Esson added: “Did we not worship You in song?”
Authenticity with others is important, but more so with God. This includes bearing the “good fruit” Christ speaks of. For the praise band, leading corporate worship exists not to cater popular songs, but as an example for students to examine themselves — about “putting deeds with faith.”
Esson described her new team as a great group of musicians and leaders. One thing she took from Tim McCarthy is to value the great “diversity” of worshippers in our Christ-centered community. She hopes to use these diverse stories to create, with song and prayer, “something that is beautiful.” She also cautioned: “Don’t get me wrong; but if music is the point, then that’s sounding wrong.” This accountability applies to herself and the band especially, as leaders in the experience.
Travis Heide
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