The Bishop W. Angie Smith chapel celebrated its 50th anniversary with a multicultural rededication ceremony on Nov. 8.
Dr. Amy Oden, professor of early church history and spirituality, delivered the rededication address. The celebration featured the OCU orchestra, Ad Astra Women’s Chorus and the Spirit of Grace Liturgical Dance Troupe. The ceremony honored the school’s Methodist tradition and the traditions of other cultures with Peruvian, South African and Spanish hymns.
Two Native American students performed a non-verbal interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer, dressed in traditional garments. The Rev. Dr. Sharon Betsworth, director of the Wimberly School of Religion and religion professor, said the language of the chapel service mirrored the original consecration service in the 1960s, but the artistic elements were more modern.
“I really like bringing in that multicultural aspect, which probably wouldn’t have been thought of in the 1960s,” Betsworth said.
Consecrated in 1968, the Bishop W. Angie Smith chapel was named after the United Methodist bishop of Oklahoma and New Mexico area from 1944 to 1968. His retirement coincided with the opening of OCU’s chapel, so it was named after Bishop Smith to honor his service, Betsworth said.
The building was designed by architect Pietro Belluschi, who also worked on the MetLife Building in New York City. The stained glass was designed by Gyorgy Kepes of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each side of the sanctuary corresponds with a season of the year, with fall on the west side, summer on the north, spring on the east, and winter on the south. Sunlight shines through the colored glass during each season, covering the brick walls in color. While the chapel’s design is striking, Betsworth said its location on campus is also special.
“It’s on the edge of the campus, so it can be seen both by people driving by, but also basically anywhere around the quad,” she said.
The chapel’s central location and role in OCU affairs keeps the school connected to its Methodist foundation, Betsworth said.
“Being a church-related institution, having the chapel as a centerpiece of a lot of what we do is very representative of our United Methodist heritage,” she said.
Besides the sanctuary, the chapel building contains classrooms, the Watson Lounge and other versatile spaces. Betsworth said this multipurpose nature of the building harmonizes academics and religion.
“The fact that we have worship space, office space, classroom space, and fellowship space all in the same building reflects a quote that I love from a hymn of Charles Wesley, which is, ‘unite the two so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety,’” Betsworth said. “So that we’re teaching and worshipping in the same space, and I always have appreciated that.”
Caroline Piper, senior dance management major and president of Kappa Phi, said the chapel hosts a variety of student organizations and events, and that everyone is welcome in the building.
“It’s a place that all people are welcome, and so many majors, clubs–I mean, everybody’s welcome there,” Piper said. “We have Monday night worships there, DAX and Kappa Phi, chapel, but then also classes, and also the theater students use it, which I think is amazing.”
Piper said the chapel holds many memories for her, and that is what makes it so important.
“It’s not just the building itself that makes it a special place, but I have so many memories in that building that make it special,” she said. “I met some of my best friends there, and I’m a part of this great organization Kappa Phi.”
As the campus grows, the chapel is attracting more students and spreading love throughout the campus, Piper said.
“The essence of spreading God’s love from the chapel is really spreading this year, and it’s so inspiring,” she said.
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