The A.J. Gordon Memorial Chapel is the place on campus that students know best. From the iconic steeple that has become Gordon College’s logo, to the beloved QR codes students scan about six times a week, Chapel is a fact of life at Gordon. But what do students have to say about Chapel? What do they think is the point of Chapel? What do they want from Chapel services? Is Chapel a representation of the vibrancy of the Christian faith on campus, or is it seen more as a chore and a performance?
Seven students who occupy various different spheres of campus share their perspective, welcoming others to step into their shoes and see the Chapel from where they stand (or sit). While it is impossible that these students will perfectly reflect the entire student body, their opinions and experiences are varied and speak volumes to the challenging task Gordon faces: curating a space of Christian worship, teaching, and community that meets each student where they are at, while also being required, unaffiliated to a singular church tradition, and being held in the middle of a school day.
Sarah Petrenko (‘27) is a junior studying English with a minor in Business Management. She is Ukrainian American and grew up in a conservative Slavic Church. She currently attends a non-denominational/Pentecostal church in Boston. Petrenko is also a member of the Chapel Design Committee, which designs specific Chapel services for students via student input and personal analysis.
Jordan Burwell (‘27) is a junior majoring in History. He was raised in the Baptist tradition and currently attends Revive City Church, which he describes as a non-denominational, charismatic church with Baptist ties. Burwell typically sits on the right, front side of Chapel.
Jake Bump (‘27) is majoring in Music Performance (Voice). Though he grew up in the Baptist tradition, he attends a very liturgical Episcopal church while at Gordon. Bump sits in the very back row of Chapel and calls himself “an observer.”
Rosa Olan (‘28) is a sophomore Elementary Education and History major. She is a Hispanic Catholic student and a native to New York City. Olan typically sits in the Chapel’s balcony and finds that sitting there allows her to genuinely engage with the service when she wants to without the pressure of following along when she feels disconnected.
Dr. Mark Shan (‘28) is majoring in Computer Science and is thinking about adding a Math major. He was formerly part of the Protestant church but is now part of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Russian tradition. Shan immigrated to the United States from China in 2002. Since then, he has vigorously followed his “academic mission” (which he defined as seeking well-rounded education to holistically pursue God). This pursuit has led him to earn two Master’s degrees and most recently, a PhD on “The Lost Christianity in Central Asia.”
Selah Bañez (‘27) is a Social Welfare major with a Psychology minor. She grew up in a large non-denominational church and attends a smaller non-denominational church while at Gordon. Bañez sits on the left side of the Chapel towards the front, behind the men’s basketball team.
Kevin Whalen (‘27) is a History major with a Biblical Studies minor. He is also on Gordon College’s baseball team. Whalen grew up in the Catholic church but is now attending a non-denominational church. He sits with the baseball team in the center of Chapel.
When asked to define the Chapel’s mission, the general consensus was that the Chapel aims to be a space that fosters a community of believers, reveals God, represents a diversity of backgrounds, and deepens students’ faith. When asked how well the Chapel achieves that mission, answers ranged from “Not at all,” to “It’s done well, in a sense.”
Some students were most concerned with a lack of denominational representation. Olan described Chapel services as very one-dimensional, having the “same format every time.” That repeated format is particularly unrepresentative of high church traditions like Catholicism. Olan continues, saying that while the Chapel format “works for some people… the students who aren’t from that faith tradition [Protestant non-denominational] don’t really gain anything from Chapel.”
In contrast, Dr. Shan finds that he has had very positive experiences in Chapel, despite being from a high church tradition. He believes that if the essence of Christianity—which he says is the presence of “divine energy” (the Holy Spirit)— is there, anyone from any denomination can get something out of the service. Shan says, “people can benefit for sure.”
Regarding cultural and linguistic diversity, Burwell says that while Black and Hispanic cultures are pretty well-represented, there are other countries and whole continents that have little to no presence in the Chapel, though they are present in the student body.
Bump challenges the Chapel to “tastefully…go broader” with representing other languages but also emphasizes the particular unity and beauty there is when the whole Chapel can sing together in “the language we do speak” (albeit not being everyone’s native tongue). Every student who spoke about singing in different languages agrees that having the English lyrics side by side with the other language is very helpful.
One student raised a totally different complaint. Whalen put it bluntly: the Chapel Office’s “scope of our student population is just wrong.” He describes the student body as having plenty of people who are not dedicated to their faith and others who are not believers at all. Whalen says that churches have altar calls and clear presentations of the gospel, so why doesn’t Chapel? Gordon has students that need the gospel, but Whalen finds that the typical Chapel messages are not accessible to students less familiar with (or less interested in deciphering) “Christianese”. What can the Chapel do about it? “Students listen to students” and “Scripture—not story-telling—is what changes hearts,” Whalen offers as suggestions. His perspective offers a surprising challenge to Gordon College; evangelism should be of similar priority to Christian discipleship in Chapel services.
A few students also shared their perception of student engagement in Chapel. Burwell gives student engagement a 6.5 out of 10. A little more skeptical, Whalen says that about 50% of students are engaged with Chapel. Of those 50% that are disengaged, he claims that “15% are doing schoolwork and the other 35% are playing Clash Royale.” He excludes the balcony from his calculations. The most doubtful of student engagement, Bañez says she believes that about 20% of the students in Chapel are engaged with the speakers, judging by the amounts of heads she sees looking down and voices she can hear talking throughout the message.
What would students like to see more of?
Personally, Petrenko says she would love to have Ukrainian represented every once in a while. She also believes that more challenge to the student body is healthy; the Chapel services that make her “a little uncomfortable” and teach her a new way of worship that are typically “the most rich” for her, and she finds the same holds true for other students.
Bump desires greater representation of more traditional liturgical backgrounds. He wants hymn sings with less obscure songs and more classics. Bump says Chapel hymn sings should be more up to the congregation’s choices, run similarly to the Homecoming Hymn Sing that is held every year.
Both Bump and Bañez want to see more depth in Chapel messages, which Bañez describes as teachings that “get into the meat of Scripture” rather than ones that only touch the surface and leave you wondering “what was the point?”
Shan’s face lit up as he described a Chapel service that had students say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Not only did it feel like home for him, as it is frequently used in his tradition, but he says it a precious opportunity to “join the Christian historical river” and partake in a prayer that has been prayed by the Church for centuries. Such a prayer transcends denomination, which is why Shan would like to see more historical prayers in Chapel.
Olan and Burwell suggest expanding the denominational variety of the speakers in Chapel in order to be more representative of the student body. Burwell says “Chapel is not growing with students,” maintaining its usual patterns without adjusting to the diversity and the spiritual hunger of students. He says Chapel services often fail to speak to the actual struggles, contexts, and hopes of students. Olan admits that it might seem “less practical” for Chapel to represent different traditions more consistently, but “it would be nice to see how people of different denominations experience their faith” through the liturgy of the service and through the guest speakers. Similarly, Whalen finds that students are more likely to listen to a speaker if it is one that they have never heard from before.
Hearing from these students makes it clear that the Chapel faces an extremely complex mission. Students who come from all sorts of backgrounds and who are in different places in their faith each want something different from the Chapel. As Bañez put, “The thing with a Christian college that does not have an affiliation to a denomination is that no one is going to be happy, really. No one is gonna feel like they’re fully represented, which is tricky but also the unique part of learning from different people.”
Various students also admitted that Chapel feels like a chore to them or the people around them. Chapel being required immediately makes it less appealing, though each student who expressed that feeling also said they understand why it is a requirement. Petrenko, however, encourages her fellow students to see Chapel as “a space where no one is asking you to do anything for 45 minutes. You can sit here; you can engage; that is totally your prerogative. But you have the opportunity to be at rest, regardless.”
Just as these students have raised challenges to the Chapel, their responses also look towards their fellow students, asking: how can we make this space feel more like home? How can we love one another by welcoming discomfort in worship that is less familiar to us but “home” to our neighbor? Is the gospel a message that can ring true for all of us? Can we accept the opportunity to rest at the feet of Jesus?
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