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Sisters Chapel
by Merchuria Chase Williams
Our beloved Sisters Chapel remains fifty years hence our entry at Spelman the center of informative and inspiring
activities. In spite of the fact that chapel and Sunday vespers were required. We received much from the activities
planned by our chapel director Rev. Norman Rates. The awe generated from the selection of thought provoking
speakers, notable musicians and vocalists, and the times we simply sang hymns seem fresh in my memory. Many
of us thought hymn singing was a waste of time. We could still be sleeping as the mandatory chapel time was
required at the awful hour of 8:00 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today, however, those classic
hymns are not unfamiliar and we know many of the songs that are sung across the nation and world in worship
services.
As we reflect on our time at Spelman, the chapel was the hub of many significant experiences we had. Many of
the persons who addressed us were service oriented and helped instill in us that we were being equipped to
serve, to speak for the voiceless, to be change agents in our circles of involvement, to be responsible voting
citizens, to understand and take ownership that as Spelman educated women we could do anything. We were
expected to be trailblazers in whatever our chosen vocation.
We remember chapel, vespers, call meetings when there was a crisis to be addressed (dress code, civil rights
activities, black power movement, trustees lock up), Convocation, Founders Day activities including walking
through the arch upon becoming a senior, the Christmas Carol Concert, and graduation—all events in Sisters
Chapel.
Today we still return to Sisters Chapel for an array of events; the traditional ones such as Founders Day and
Reunion and those that connect us with the community like the rally for Stacey Abrams Class of 1995 during her
bid for Governor or forums on issues of the day. Sisters Chapel remains one of the spaces that continue to help
make Spelman “beacons of heavenly light undaunted by the fight.”
