Talbot and Fives chapels reached capacity on Tuesday and Spiritual Development was ready with a new solution to the end of the semester chapel credit rush. When Calvary Chapel filled up, students were directed over to Sutherland Auditorium for an overflow service instead of taking home the prayer projects that were passed out last semester. If a chapel in Sutherland Auditorium reaches capacity, students will be moved to Calvary Chapel, said Chad Miller, director of spiritual formation and soul care. A guided prayer service, led by a Spiritual Development staff member, provided students with chapel credit.

As of May 2, chapels had not yet experienced overflow, but the plan of actions was already in place. 

“We’ve been ready to go with overflow sites for two weeks now, and we haven’t needed it once, which is promising. So hopefully that reflects that everybody’s kind of on track with chapels a little bit more,” Miller said.

Eleven students were brought to Sutherland Auditorium on Tuesday morning when Calvary filled to capacity with more than 400 attendees, according to Lisa Igram, associate dean of Spiritual Development.

The overflow service is a time of prayer and reflection similar to the Fives chapels that take place Tuesday evenings, said Todd Pickett, dean of Spiritual Development. He noted that a simpler service makes logistical sense for an overflow service and coincides with past student feedback.

“We find that students tell us that these are the kinds of thing that they need, especially in busy times. They need the spiritual space to pray, to be with God, to reflect and so we think this is a good format for them,” Pickett explained.

Students who attended the overflow for Talbot chapel were grateful for the chance to slow down. Sophomore film major Wesley Campbell said he found the chapel refreshing.

“I don’t like saying I haven’t found the time to pray but I sort of haven’t been doing it just because [I’m] busy … I ended up being happy that chapel was full because it was something different,” Campbell said.

OVERLOW CHAPELS TO BE LED BY STAFF MEMBERS

Students can expect the overflow service to involve recalling one’s identity in Christ through prayer, though the exact focus will be determined by the staff member that day, Pickett said.

“I think students tend to think they are the things that they do or the things that they are involved with, so the prayer reflection helps us remember and recall that we are in Christ, and that’s our primary identity,” explained Miller.

The overflow chapel will start later than the regular chapel because students will be ushered to the overflow site up to the end of the usual ten minute grace period after the chapel’s scheduled time and it will take extra time to settle in, Miller said. As a result, it will last about 25 minutes so that students can still finish chapel at the normal time, Miller stated.

VIDEO STREAMING DITCHED IN FAVOR OF A MORE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Broadcasting the chapel into an overflow site was considered while developing this semester’s plan, Pickett said, but was ultimately turned down in favor of something more personal.

“We feel like something is lost in having to project an image and not having an embodied leader,” he said.

The prayer projects were shelved in favor of the overflow service as a result of students who did not feel like the written reflection, which was simply signed and turned in, was the chapel experience they desired, Miller said.

However, some students do not find the guided prayer service as an appealing option either. Kaycee Dobbins, a freshman nursing major, said that she prefers to watch the chapel speakers, even if it is by screen in an overflow site like during conferences.

“I don’t focus well when they just tell me to pray,” Dobbins added.

Last semester was the first time that Spiritual Development dealt with significant chapel overflow and provided an alternative activity for students turned away due to capacity, Pickett recalled. Chapels began overflowing last semester about four weeks out from the end of the semester, according to Miller.

The higher number of graduating seniors may have also prevented earlier overflow this semester, Miller speculated. Seniors in their final semester do not have to attend chapel for credit, according to chapel policy. Last semester only had 224 graduating seniors, while this semester has 650 graduating seniors, according to a report from the registrar's office.