Gano Chapel Celebrates 80 Years Serving the College
by Karis Rosell

On Wednesday, September 27, the William Jewell College community gathered for a special Chapel service dedicated to celebrating the eightieth anniversary of Gano Chapel. Dr. Andy Pratt, vice president of religious ministries and dean of the Chapel, worked on the celebration for a year and chose this particular day because the Chapel was originally dedicated on Sept. 26, 1926. Participants in the celebration included alumni, trustees, parents of former students, professors and the Chapel Choir.

College alumni Bob and Cheryl Steinkamp, '67, reminisced about the Chapel. They reflected on memorable events during their time at William Jewell by asking the audience questions such as "Do you remember rolling marbles down the concrete floors during Chapel?" Dr. Lois Anne Harris, professor of communication, and Dr. Kim Harris, professor of communication, then shared faculty reflections about the Chapel from years past.

The Rev. Dr. Ollie Malone, Jr., '75, was the keynote speaker. According to Pratt, Malone was chosen to speak at the event because he is an alumnus and trustee, a great communicator and because he loves the College. Malone spoke about Hebrews 12:1 in a message entitled "So Great a Cloud of Witnesses." In his address Malone spoke of his time at William Jewell and the support he felt while a student. "I appreciate the moments of meditation I was able to receive here in this Chapel," Malone said.

After the sermon, the Chapel Choir performed "The One Hundred Fiftieth Psalm" by Howard Hansen. This was followed by a prayer of rededication for the Chapel led by Dr. Doyle Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jefferson City and trustee, closing the service. The celebration of Gano did not end on September 27th, but has continued throughout the semester by bringing speakers to campus such as Paul Simpson Duke, co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor and University of Michigan campus minister; Dr. Jerry B. Cain, former

William Jewell chaplain and current president of Judson College in Illinois. "I've tried to invite people who bring memories with them and bring different facets to the life of the Chapel and to the broader life of the College," Pratt said. "They were all invited with the idea that they were part of the semester-long celebration."

Pratt hopes the events of the semester will make the community reflect. "Anniversaries, like birthdays, are mile-markers and they provide opportunities to stop and reflect on what things mean," Pratt said. "I thought this would also be an opportunity to think about, 'Why do we have a chapel? What's the role of Chapel in the life of this College?' Not that we look into the past and we find some secret knowledge that now informs us but rather those of us who are here now at this point of life of the institution need to think about that," Pratt said.

Pratt hopes to make people reevaluate the place of the Chapel at William Jewell. "The Chapel is not some archaic holdover from the far gone day; it is a living dynamic part of what it means to be a Christian college that takes both faith and intellectual search seriously."