Three verses in gilded lettering circle Hendricks Chapel’s interior molding — two from the Gospel of John and one from 2 Corinthians. The text is the building’s sole permanent religious symbol.

The text is a nod to Syracuse University’s Methodist tradition, but it also echoes wisdom literature of other religious texts. God is only mentioned once.

Despite the university’s Methodist founding, the chapel was modeled after the Roman Pantheon, a place for all the gods. The long-ago demolished Women’s Gym was moved so Hendricks could physically be at the heart of campus, according to SU Archives records.

‘The niches where there would be Roman statues in the Pantheon are empty (and) suggest there are many concepts of the divine that people bring with them,” said Tom Wolfe, senior vice president and dean of student affairs and a former Hendricks dean.

“There has been this long-standing tradition in this place that’s just saying, ‘Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.’ And remind us if we’re not welcoming you,” Wolfe said, mentioning that Hendricks was one of the first chapels in the nation to install wudu stations in bathrooms so Muslim students could wash their feet before prayer.

As Hendricks, nearly 80 years old, moves into a new chapter under its sixth dean, Rev. Tiffany Steinwert, universities nationwide are trying to make their religious life centers as inclusive as possible in response to their increasingly diverse student bodies.

Other university chapels had to contend with traditional iconography like large crosses and stained glass windows with Christian themes as the religious landscape on campuses became more diverse, Wolfe said. The president of the College of William & Mary resigned in 2008 after causing controversy when he tried to remove a cross from the university’s chapel to make the building more inclusive.

Many universities now house interfaith centers in buildings not previously associated with a certain religion, said Hannah McConnaughay, an outreach education and training associate for Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that encourages interfaith interactions.

But Hendricks embraces its circling text, striving to exemplify the words and architecture that embody its services and faith traditions.

God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and the truth (John 4:24).

Hendricks Chapel was one of the first university chapels in the nation to establish a policy that said the dean of religious life did not have to be affiliated with the school’s traditional backing, which is Methodist at SU. While the Hendricks dean no longer has to be a United Methodist, he or she must have some faith tradition, Wolfe said.

National criticism resulted from the chapel’s reorganization because it was no longer the dean’s responsibility to be the Sunday morning preacher, he said.

“All of a sudden, we saw the chapel actually being ahead of the curve,” Wolfe said.

Rev. Paul B. Raushenbush, vice president of the Association of College and University Religious Affairs, said schools have been increasingly open-minded to hiring religious leadership from any faith tradition in the past few decades.

“It’s about expanding the circle of who can provide leadership in those roles,” he said. “And that’s a very important trend.”

Since Hendricks’ policy was changed 30 years ago, however, it has never been led by a non-Methodist dean. Steinwert continues the tradition.

Not for that we have lordship over your faith but are helpers of your joy (2 Corinthians 1: 24).

The recent addition of a pagan chaplain brings Hendricks’ chaplain count to 11. While it’s likely the most diverse group the chapel has seen, it’s not the largest. Because of limited outside funding, the Protestant Campus Ministry now embodies what used to be separate chaplaincies for American Baptist, Presbyterian, United Methodists and United Church of Christ strains of Christianity, Wolfe said.

The Rev. Ken Clarke, director of united religious work at Cornell University, said he thinks 11 is a healthy number of chaplains, especially because funding often limits the number a school can hire.

Hendricks does not have that problem because its chaplains are sponsored by outside sources. ‘We call it a guest-host relationship,’ Wolfe said. ‘They’re guests in that they’re not employees of the university, but they’re also hosts in that they’re recognized as apart of the university.’ Funding and benefits come from outside organizations like local churches.

Raushenbush, vice president of the Association of College and University Religious Affairs, said 11 is not a high number for a school that sponsors its chaplains with outside resources.

But despite the numbers, Wolfe thinks Hendricks chaplains are special: ‘They’re the kind of people that when you invite them over to your house for dinner, they show up with a meal. And without asking, they clear the table and do the dishes. And if you ask them, they’ll even take care of your kids.”

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

‘The best interfaith chapels are good at communicating the commitment to each person and each group bringing the fullness of their identity and celebrating that fullness while recognizing that there are conversations we can have and concrete actions we can have together,” said Becca Hartman, research associate for Interfaith Youth Core.

Clarke, of Cornell University, said interfaith programs are strengthened when people understand and respect the different religions, their commonalities and the distinctions that make each faith tradition unique. Students with different religious backgrounds can work together on public service and community service projects to work toward this, he said.

While numerous interfaith initiatives have taken place at Hendricks since its founding, a recently established group at SU called Students for Inter-Religious Understanding is engaging in the discussion every Monday at 8 p.m.

‘The idea is to create a safe space (for) people of diverse backgrounds from every different religious identity, including the non-religious,” said junior Josh Cook, a member of SIRU.

Topics that typically would not spark conflict are chosen each week, Cook said.

Past examples include dietary guidelines, religious experiences with conversion or de-conversion, changing faiths or losing faiths, social justice and the meaning of pluralism.

“One of the things that has allowed us to keep growing and building friendships is we, first of all, focus on common ground, but we’re also student-initiated, student-led and we’re really concerned with building relationships, building friendships,” Cook said. “We want a circle of people that can genuinely share and reflect on their experiences.”

 

Published on March 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm