Though church attendance continues to decline, many college students still believe in Jesus.
A tall grandfather clock ticks away beneath the high-ceilinged office in Hendricks Chapel. Reverend Brian Konkol, 38, sits in a leather lounge chair surrounded by a large couch, another chair, coffee table, stacks of paper and boxes of framed art that rest on the floor. Konkol, known for his plaid button-down dress shirts, bowties, large round-framed glasses, jazzy socks, and perfectly combed short brown hair, says the messy state of the room makes it feel like walking into open-heart surgery. But he has an excuse.
The Vineyard Church, a nationally recognized non-denominational church, holds services every Sunday night at Funk N Waffles.
While most students and residents in the Syracuse area spend Sunday nights preparing for the upcoming week, a group of about 29 churchgoers all attend mass -- at an underground waffle house. Each week, the Vineyard Church meets at Funk N Waffles at 6 p.m. to hold a more intimate and laidback service for worshippers.
The revered metal act performing at The Westcott Friday wants to concentrate more on musical substance rather than the Christian influence it's known for.
Underoath drummer Daniel Davison can't seem to forget the times peering out behind his drum kit to a blur of sweaty faces inside the glistening, powder baby-blue walls of the defunct Club Tundra in Syracuse.
The lively shows turned the club now known as the Lost Horizon into a state of near-chaos.
“I remember a bunch of the Tundra shows, and when Hellfest used to be up there,” Davison said. “Those are definitely some good memories.”