A retreat accompanied by a monsoon fortified the spirits of the Grand Canyon University worship arts students featured on recently released Grand Collective extended play record "Goodness and Glory."
“This is my favorite project we do up here,” worship arts senior Noah Bjorkman said at the GCU Recording Studio, part of the Center for Worship Arts. “It’s the most creative one, and I love seeing what our community does when we just let it run wild and the sky is the limit. Make something to honor the Lord. And it’s so creative and joyful.”
The five-song EP is the sixth release in the series. It came out earlier this month and is available on streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music, or on YouTube.
The roots for this album were at a retreat to Compass Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona, where many GCU worship arts students have completed internships. They discussed themes, album direction and songs.
“There are a lot of projects that we currently do where the focus is collaboration, and the Grand Collective was one of them,” said Moises Felipe, Center for Worship Arts director. “But this was the first time that we were going to do a retreat. So I remember the day of the retreat was a rainy day. I was driving from here to the church location where the retreat was, and it was pouring when we got there.
“It was so sweet just to speak to the students and motivate them toward creativity and to see what the Lord can do with a surrendered mind, a surrendered heart, to surrender that moment into the Lord. What can the Lord do with the moment that we surrender into him?
“And to their surprise, the feedback I got was that every single song shared was really incredible. Something happens when we come together and collaborate.”
Bjorkman served on the executive leadership team, gave input on the album cover, played the piano on “Remain in Me” and “When You Move,” and performed vocals on four of the five songs.
Those experiences form “one of the biggest reasons why I think being here is so great,” Bjorkman said. “It has completely shaped how I view music and how I have learned to create it and collaborate with others. It's completely changed my experience here at GCU.”
Sharita Stewart, another senior worship arts major, saw the symbolism of coping with inclement weather during the retreat.
“I feel the story from the beginning to the end is powerful, like us going through a monsoon to get to a church to write things that glorify God, and we did safely,” Stewart said.
She participated as a writer for the first time and marveled at the process of creators working toward the same goal of using their skills to glorify God while working in a room for several hours.
“I get chills listening to (the songs),” Stewart said.
Hailey Lang, who graduated in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in worship arts, has contributed to each Grand Collective album during her four years at GCU.
“Being able to produce this time as an engineer, I've learned so much from doing this, and I feel like it's really going to take me far,” Lang said. “And being able to be a part of this has just been a blessing and honor, and to go out with having this under my belt is just awesome. I'm very, very grateful for it.”
Felipe said he was delighted with the students’ investment, from the start of the retreat to the completion of the album.
“Something happens when you collaborate in songwriting, because songwriting can be very personal sometimes,” Felipe said. “But when you develop trust, and then the culture is fresh and healthy, you develop that level of camaraderie and openness to share what you have. And if I share, then someone else is going to feel open to share, too. And creativity flourishes.”
***
Listen to "Goodness & Glory" here.
***
Song List
***
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
***
Related content:
GCU News: Nerves can't rattle Center for Worship Arts director at Rededicate 250
GCU News: Latest Grand Collective EP a passion project for its 100 student contributors
