Page 33 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 3 Spring 2013

“Americans Who Tell the Truth” portraits by artist Robert
Shetterly – part of a social justice initiative that hung in
the stalls between Chapel pews – or the fact that the writ-
ings of Martin Luther King Jr.
were shared as a substitute for
scriptural readings.
“It got me thinking about the
role of Chapel today,” Allen says,
“I think it means a lot less today.
It’s the unintended consequence
of a good thought about how
we deal in an Episcopal school
in this age with the plurality in
society. I strongly disagree with
the Chapel website, which refers
to the world’s wisdom traditions
rather than faith. It’s just my per-
sonal opinion, but I believe that
by being exposed strongly to one
particular faith, you can under-
stand how other faiths are con-
structed. The School has lost that
flavor. It’s like saying, ‘I under-
stand food because I went to a
buffet.’ Religion at St. Paul’s today
is so generalized that it doesn’t
do the job.”
Spencer respectfully disagrees.
“Standing in a global community,
witnessing the diversity of relig-
ious expressions and difference
is a mandate of Christian faith,”
he says. “The mission of the
Chapel in a twenty-first-century
Episcopal school is grounded in
the incarnational theology that
lies at the heart of the Anglican
and Episcopal vision. This is a
theological perspective that
mandates engagement with a
multiplicity of perspectives and
ideas – this is how we can be both an Episcopal school
and affirming of other faiths.”
Allen also notes that the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul
is an explicit statement of Anglo-Catholic beliefs, accord-
ing to the Cambridge and Oxford Movements of the
Anglican Church. As proof, Allen points to the Chapel’s
consecration document, signed on January 27, 1929, by
Bishop of New Hampshire John Thomson Dallas, when
the Chapel was extended. The document, which hangs
in the building, indicates that the Chapel should be
“set apart for the worship of Almighty God, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost . . . separating it henceforth
from all unhallowed, worldly, and common uses. . . . ”
“Is the present use of the Chapel consistent with the
intent as expressed in the certificate?” Allen asks. “It
is not just a pretty building
suitable for meetings, but a
building that is an expres-
sion of faith that is being
largely ignored today for fear
of being exclusionary. That
fear, I believe, is misguided.”
Hirschfeld, who recom-
mended interviewing Allen
for this article because of his
respect for Allen’s differing
view, understands that alumni
may wonder where St. Paul’s
stands today in relation to its
religious identity, but he lauds
the openness of the modern
Chapel Program.
“We’re not as bound to the
liturgy in Chapel as in earlier
years,” he says. “The intention
around welcome is much
better defined and a bigger
part of our Episcopal identity
today. Some may agree with
that, and some may not. As
the roadside sign says as you
enter into a town, ‘The Epis-
copal Church welcomes you.’
I think that’s reflected in our
Chapel Program. St. Paul’s,
like the entire Episcopal
Church, is thinking about
its identity. And St. Paul’s, I
actually think, is more con-
fident in some ways in its
own identity as an Episcopal
school.”
Regardless of the differences
between previous generations’ religious experiences at
St. Paul’s and those of current students, it’s interesting
to note that a Chapel life survey conducted by the Pelican
and reported in Alumni Horae in the fall of 1966 revealed
that “students strongly supported daily Chapel, giving as
reasons that St. Paul’s is a church school, and that Chapel
is a worthwhile and necessary discipline and tradition.
Asked what meaning Chapel had for them, the majority
of students stressed not its theological value as much as
its beneficial unifying effect at the start of each day.”
Katharine Biddle ’14, who identifies herself as agnostic,
shares that feeling with her predecessors, describing her
Standing for
anything presents
challenges, but also
opportunities.
“
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