On Sept. 11, 2001, as the world tried to comprehend the complexity of emotions provoked by the terrorist attacks on America, President Baird Tipson quickly arranged a program in Weaver Chapel, where Wittenberg faculty, staff, students and friends could gather to try to assimilate the events of the morning. Pastors and professors spoke to a crowd that overflowed the sanctuary and onto the steps outside in an attempt to help everyone sort through the new and terrible confusion brought on by the atrocious acts.

One year later, Weaver Chapel again played a central role, this time for a memorial service to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the attacks and to offer those in attendance a chance to reflect upon the changes experienced both individually and collectively. Such has been one of Weaver Chapel’s roles in Wittenberg’s history. When tragic events — wars, crises, deaths and uncertainty in the world — challenged the campus community or when solace and comfort were needed, Weaver Chapel has served as welcoming beacon to all since its dedication in 1956.

As a student, Larry Houff ’66 remembered when the campus learned of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was working as a busboy at a sorority house at the time.

“I was prepared to leave work when a girl came in and told us he was shot,” he said. Houff said that he wanted — needed — to go some place, so he started walking to Weaver Chapel when he heard the chapel bell toll. Upon entering, he discovered that the chapel was packed with people.

“I felt a great sense of loss, but I did not feel alone as the campus community coalesced in the chapel,” he said.

When Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the Vietnam offensive began, students responded to these tragedies by seeking comfort in the chapel. There they found clergy prepared to offer support, both through church services and on personal levels. 

Robin Skinner Prinz ’73 remembered the chapel being filled with students, parents and professors following the Kent State shootings during Parents’ Weekend in 1970. A teach-in was then held in the chapel in response to the tragedies.

Years later, Houff, who served as the assistant pastor to the university from 1981-1997, recalled people pouring into the chapel during the Desert Storm invasion.

Prior to the beginning of Desert Storm, Wittenberg’s campus was divided, as were all college campuses, according to Houff. While some folks were supportive of the government's position, there were others who decided to protest on the chapel lawn. After the initial strike, however, Houff recalled that people came together, even if they disagreed.

“Together they prayed that whatever would come, it would not be destructive, that God’s will would be done,” he said.

However, most of the struggles that Houff and the late Pastor Michael Wuchter faced within the chapel walls were individual ones — a loss of a loved one or emotional distress. Houff remembers a grief counselor being brought to a chapel service to help students work through these difficult times.

Although it’s been five years since Houff served the university, he still misses the chapel, especially its “holy space.”

“I used to sit up in the clerestory in the mornings and watch as the sunlight, pouring through the east windows, transfixed the pillars with dapples of light,” he said.

He also remembered coming into the chapel at night when only two candles illuminated that holy space.

“I would be alone in that cavernous darkness,” he said, “and it was filled with presence.” — Phyllis Eberts ’01