By Grace Renstrom ’23
In the fall of 2020, students were facing a world of turmoil as they returned to campus. Not only was the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong, but North Central University students were also coming back to Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd over summer break—which shook not just Minneapolis but the world.
Many students felt overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, a sense of loss and grief, and loneliness that followed months of isolation. Although we were back on campus, health protocols impacted even our ability to worship together in daily chapel. The world was entirely different from when we left campus in March 2020.
Worshiping, seeking peace
For the student leaders at North Central, this presented an opportunity to band together and decide how we would lead the student body in this unprecedented time. During training prior to the start of school, student leaders came together to worship and seek peace. While we didn’t know it at the time, our moment of worship before the fall 2020 semester would be a significant moment—not only for us but also for the student body. God was moving, even amid the uncertainty.
In November 2020, Skylar Burns ’23 and I met for a Praise Gathering (PG) rehearsal. In a typical rehearsal, our team would play through the set for the following Wednesday. However, during this particular rehearsal, the PG leader felt that there was something else that Holy Spirit was trying to do. Seeking to see the Holy Spirit lead, we skipped our regular set. Skylar was improvising, and, inspired by Revelation 7:9, the first lines of the new Worship Live release, “Finally in Unity,” emerged through her singing.
Loss and grief
During the next several months, as we continued to work on the song, students at NCU faced new challenges from external events. In spring 2021, we felt more grief and confusion following the death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and our hearts broke over the loss of Bill Green, a former staff member at North Central University, to cancer. Bill was beloved among students at North Central, and many considered him to be a mentor, father figure, uncle, and friend.
In response, we once again threw ourselves into worship, just as we had at the beginning of the year—seeking answers, seeking peace, and seeking God’s movement in these moments of hardship. These moments of worship felt like a breath of normality for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
I believe that God works in perfect timing, and for some reason, one day in chapel, the lyrics just flooded my mind. In every line, I thought of our student body and how we had endured so much on campus.
Finding these words was so powerful! I ran to the stage where Skylar was leading worship and shared the lyrics with her right then. After that day, Skylar and I continued to work on “Finally in Unity”—I adapted the lyrics as the process evolved, and Skylar provided polish—and we poured our hearts into the process.
The soul’s cry
When the song was performed in chapel for the Worship Live recording session in January 2022, it was received far better than anyone could have hoped.
“Finally in Unity” reflects the unique experience of North Central University’s student body and the situations we have traveled through in the past two years. It is the soul’s cry and release of our student leaders. It is the mourning and joy of our faculty and staff.
As students, faculty, and staff at NCU, we continue to pray for peace and unity, not just for the student body or for Minneapolis but for the world. Until such a time, we continue to worship expectantly.
Grace Renstrom is a North Central University Senior majoring in Global Studies.
Finally in Unity
The great hope
The fight of a restless soul
I don’t see You
But I know
There’s a Healer
I know by the touch of His robe
If I reach out
Then I’m at the door
And it’s open
An endless sea of Your chorus
Every tribe, every tongue
Together as one
Finally in unity (Finally in unity)
Finally in unity
Together as one
We worship as one
You always win
You’re the light when the mind is dim
The outpouring,
The revival
No more spiral
No wandering out of control
Your Kingdom comes
When Your will has been done
Shout the chorus
This fight is not against flesh and blood
Unite the war cries of the nations
Together as one (When we are)
Finally in unity (Finally in unity)
Finally in unity
Together as one
We worship as one
Finally in unity (Finally in unity)
Finally in unity
Together as one
We worship as one
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
And ever and ever
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
And ever and ever
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
And ever and ever
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
(And we are)
Finally in unity (Finally in unity)
Finally in unity
Together as one
We worship as one
Finally in unity (Finally in unity)
Finally in unity
Together as one
We worship as one
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
And ever and ever
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
Your kingdom reigns forever
(Your kingdom reigns forever)
And ever and ever
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
