Spiritual Life

Chapel

MISSION STATEMENT

The Gordon College chapel program seeks to advance the mission of the College by providing programs that contribute to its educational and spiritual formation aims. As a mandatory part of a student’s Gordon education, the chapel program fills a central part of the co-curricular experience. Because of its nature as a public gathering of the entire College community, the chapel program contributes to the institutional, educational, and spiritual formation goals of the community in unique ways. These contributions may be summarized under the headings of Inspirational Objectives, Instructional Objectives and Institutional Objectives.

INSPIRATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Worship That Honors God and Empowers Christian Living

The chapel program seeks to provide community members with experiences of worship that rightly ascribe the glory to God due Him and orients worshipers in proper relationship to God and others through:

• Worship through a variety of musical styles grounded in God’s Word.
• The preaching of God’s Word to encourage the process of spiritual transformation of the believer into greater conformity to the image of Christ.
• Prayer to God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ.
• Preaching God’s word in creative ways that connect the never-changing truth of God’s Word to the ever-changing cultural context.

Exposure to Role Models Worthy of Imitation

The chapel program seeks to provide students with exposure to individuals and groups who embody the transformative truth of the Gospel in responsible and relevant ways by:

• Creating opportunities for Gordon faculty, staff and students to address the community on issues of their personal journey of faith and current steps of obedience.
• Bringing guests to campus whose testimonies, lives and messages inspire faithful and creative exploration of honoring God in the world.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Exposure to a Wide Variety of Christian Practices

The chapel program seeks to serve students’ understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of practices of Christian worship as they have found expression throughout history and across cultures and locations by:

• Introducing, explaining and practicing a variety of worship practices from a wide range of Christian traditions.
• Offering special worship gatherings employing the format of different Christian traditions.

Teaching in Basic Tenets of the Christian Faith

The chapel program seeks to increase the students’ understanding and appreciation for the basic doctrines of the Christian faith through:

• Teaching that is consistent with historic Christian orthodoxy and relevant to the contemporary context.
• Attention to the elements of the College’s Statement of Faith.

Instruction in Personal Integrity and Health

The chapel program seeks to assist the Office of Student Life in addressing issues relevant to students’ maturation as responsible persons of Christian character by:

• Addressing issues of personal health and integrity through the chapel program.
• Offering supplemental evening programs on topics such as human sexuality, self-image and spiritual disciplines.

INSTITUTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Mission Interpretation

The chapel program aims to serve the community by articulating and interpreting the mission of Gordon College through:

• Special worship gatherings which remember, mark and celebrate the nature of our corporate undertaking as a Christian liberal arts institution.
• Making explicit the coherence which exists among the many diverse programs and activities of the College.
• Interpreting and contextualizing the College’s mission statement.

Institutional Identity Formation

The chapel program seeks to provide occasions in which the institutional identity of the College is strengthened and affirmed by:

• Explicitly and symbolically underscoring the values and commitments of the College.
• Providing for public acknowledgment of the community’s celebrations and concerns.
• Encouraging participation by a wide range of the College community’s constituents.

Chapel Credit

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT

All students are expected to attend Chapel on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10:25 a.m. Full-time and part-time students living on campus must receive 30 Chapel credits each semester for a total of 60 credits for the academic year, regardless of work schedule. Commuters are required to receive 15 Chapel credits each semester for a total of 30 for the academic year. Part-time commuters do not have a credit requirement but are still encouraged to attend. Credit is only received for attendance at Morning Chapel on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Evening Chapel on Monday night, and select special Chapel events.

RECORDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Records of attendance are kept by the Chapel Office. Students can view their attendance and view a schedule of chapels bearing credit. Any missing credits must be reported to the Chapel Office within two weeks of the event. All students are expected to remain in good standing with their Chapel credit requirement.

1. Students are required to attend 30 chapels in both the fall and spring semesters, for a total of 60 chapels each academic year.
2. Students who do not reach 30 chapel credits in the fall semester, must make up missing credits in the spring to reach 60 by the end of the academic year.
3. Students who miss more credits in the fall than can be made up during the spring semester to reach 60, may attend a Spiritual Formation Intensive to earn additional credits.
   Note: These students must reach the required 30 chapel credits in the spring semester in addition to attending a Spiritual Formation Intensive.
4. Students who reach 30 credits in the fall, but then are behind in the spring semester, may attend a Spiritual Formation Intensive to help them earn additional credits.

If students have not fulfilled 60 credits at the end of the spring semester, they will be fined based on a sliding scale. Once the fine is paid, students begin with a clean record the following academic year. However, willful noncompliance over multiple years may result in suspension.

SPECIAL CASES

Qualifying students may submit a Chapel Credit Reduction Application to the Chapel Office. Forms are located online and must be submitted by the third week of classes each semester. See form for more information.

Percent reduced is based on how many times per week students have approved conflicts with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday gatherings at 10:25 a.m. We are unable to approve reductions for on/off-campus employment or personal internships. A new application must be submitted for each semester.

Students who miss a week or more of classes due to a serious illness may file for two credits per each week of missed classes by having a medical notification sent to the Chapel Office within two weeks of illness. Students who are married or commuting should receive their reductions automatically.

Chapel accommodations are available for eligible students. Please contact the Chapel Office with any questions.