It has been 10 years since Clarice L. Osborne Memorial Chapel first became a fixture on Baker University’s campus. Baker students, faculty, staff and friends will have the opportunity to celebrate the chapel’s presence on campus during its 10th anniversary and rededication chapel ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The chapel service, which will not be held on its traditional day of Thursday because of University President Pat Long’s inauguration, will be held in the front yard of the chapel.
Minister to the University Ira DeSpain said 10 visitors from Great Britain will be in attendance at the ceremony, including Annie Stockwell, who is the sole-surviving member of the church as it stood in Sproxton, England.
In a letter she wrote to Baker about her forthcoming trip to Baldwin City for the rededication, Stockwell expressed her feelings about the chapel being moved to Baker’s campus.
“It was one of God’s miracles that the chapel was taken to America,” Stockwell wrote. “The right people at the right time were involved.”
Craftsmen who have worked on the chapel will be in attendance, in addition to several couples who have been married in the chapel including Greg and Brandy Webber, the first couple to be married there on Aug. 10, 1996.
DeSpain said the speaker for the day is Scott Jones, who is the United Methodist Bishop in Kansas.
“As part of the service, Bishop Jones and President Long will join together in what’s being called a ‘Statement of Covenant Renewal,'” DeSpain said. “The purpose of that is to reaffirm the relationship between Baker and the United Methodist Church.”
DeSpain said former Baker professor Dean Bevan and former Baker president Dan Lambert were responsible for finding the chapel in the early 1990s.
“Dr. Dean Bevan found it,” DeSpain said. “He was the faculty member teaching at Harlaxton. Dr. Lambert asked Dr. Bevan to look for a boarded-up chapel that would look good on campus. Seven miles from Harlaxton, Dr. Bevan found it.”
“When the church stood in England, it closed in 1988. Dr. Lambert and Dr. Bevan had that conversation in 1990 or 1991. We had to find a generous donor, and Mr. Osborne agreed to pay for the entire project if we would name it after his wife who had died in 1991, so he paid for the entire thing.”
Worship services were first held at the chapel Aug. 29, 1996, with 165 people in attendance.
Since the chapel doors were first opened, more than 18,500 people have signed the guestbook, with signatures representing all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and 61 foreign countries.
DeSpain said he has seen a change on campus since the addition of the chapel.
“I’ve been able to be here the entire time,” DeSpain said. “I’ve been able to watch the chapel grow up. I’m aware of the huge impact that the chapel has made on campus. The visibility of the chapel has made a huge difference, especially in times of crisis – when students have died or when 9-11 happened. It’s been a place to gather and experience those things together.”
Sophomore Sarah Jones said she is glad to be at Baker at this particular time in the chapel’s history.
“I think it’s really exciting, especially because I go to chapel every Thursday,” Jones said. “It’s a really special place for me personally, so I think it’s cool to be here for its 10th anniversary and rededication.”
DeSpain said he is anticipating the attendance of more than 200 people at the service.
“It’s not only something for dignitaries off campus; it is the weekly chapel,” DeSpain said. “I’m hoping that people who normally attend chapel will use this as their weekly worship time.”
During the ceremony, Baker’s Concert Choir and the Buehill String Quartet will both perform. In addition, hymns sung during the service will include, “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” which was the last song sung in the chapel as it stood at Sproxton and the first one sung in the chapel when it was reconstructed at Baker.
In case of adverse weather, the ceremony will take place at the First United Methodist Church of Baldwin City.