A cappella, dancing, religious testimony and, of course, coffee transformed Houston Hall's Hall of Flags from a student union into a Jesus Week coffeehouse last night.
Event coordinators donned gray and green "Jesus Week 2002" T-shirts as they set up microphones, sold shirts and served coffee.
The festivities drew Christians from divergent sects, ethnicities and races. Jesus Week coincides with the Christian calendar's Holy Week.
"What's most amazing about the coffeehouse is that it is a forum for people of different races to get together and talk about their relationship with Christ," said College junior Lori Dean.
More than 200 members of the Penn community enjoyed coffee and baked goods in a unique worship session. The coffeehouse was led by College sophomore Venise Battle. She sought to inspire the audience by reading verses from Psalms and introduced performances which included dances, songs and testimonies.
The Caribbean Dance Troop, the Korean Dance Team and the Total Praise Step Team held their audience in rapt attention as they presented their culture's dance forms.
A cappella groups Full Measure -- whose repertoire includes Christian contemporary melodies -- and the New Spirit of Penn -- which added a gospel flair to the event -- performing songs that varied from rap to country. Other Christians represented their fellowships by performing interpretative dances.
"It's a time for people to get together to give glory to God... people can see that God is involved in our lives," commented coffeehouse coordinator and College sophomore Erin Hespe. "We like to celebrate the many talents that God has bestowed upon us."
Wharton junior Ben Otero opted to present his sermon in the form of a rap.
"We don't just praise God -- we praise Jesus," he said, before getting to the heart of his rap.
The audience seemed to react most strongly to the testimony offered by Wharton senior Kristen Marceda.
Marceda, who converted to Christianity only six months ago, discussed her struggle with anorexia, bulimia, drug addiction and unhappiness. She started attending campus fellowships in October and thought "only the Christians around me seemed happy."
The audience was very receptive to Marceda's story.
"I think, more than anything, she spoke the truth," College senior Christine Kim said. "It's good to hear someone who's willing to be honest."
"Normally, I'd be tentative to say something that personal in front of people, but I feel like if God was able to change my life so much, it deserves to be told," Marceda said.
The Jesus Week coffeehouse has been a tradition on Penn's campus for five years. The nine Christian groups on campus collaborate to organize the coffeehouse.
"It's a great chance to get to have entertainment, but also have a chance to hear the gospel message," said College senior Stan Chen, who helped organize Jesus Week.
