1992-1993 Cedarville College Annual Report

,• A KEY BENCliMAQK is a commitment to chapel. Perhaps more than any other area of the Cedarville experience, daily chapel services define and reveal the college culture. In 1976, Dr. Jeremiah dedicated what was to be the last new building of his presidency, a 2,000 seat chapel. Dr. Dixon continues the emphasis on chapel, devoting much of his time and energy to planning chapel services, preaching in chapel, and being in chapel every day he is on campus. Gifted preachers from across the country, alumni with vibrant testimonies, and missionaries from around the world challenge students toward a closer walk with God. Throughout a student's years at Cedarville, classes change, but chapel remains constant. CliAPEL 16 A fAMILYTIME. Cedarville will never be too big for everyone to join together for daily chapel. Maybe that's why alumni who have been away from campus often ask, "Do they still have daily chapel?" Alumni identify chapel as the time when they felt a part of the whole, and when they learned lessons beyond the classroom. For Cedarville's culture to continue, daily chapel for all students and faculty must continue. But as Cedarville looks toward future growth, it becomes obvious that the current chapel facility is inadequate to meet that purpose. Even now, some students and faculty must attend chapel in another building, viewing the service via a video projector. Alook at the history of chapel in the early '70s reveals that remote chapel services are not effective enough. Moreover, visitors want to attend chapel on almost a daily basis. For special services such as convocations, holiday observances, and concerts, hundreds of parents and other visitors wish to join students, but there is little room for guests in chapel. Cedarville's trustees recently approved planning efforts aimed at designing and building a new James T. Jeremiah Chapel. The existing chapel will be renovated into space for various uses, as determined by a College planning task team. TliE VI6ION fOQ TliE NEXT PQOJECT extends beyond chapel. Another area of the college culture in need of better facilities is music. This involves primarily the music department, but also includes ministry teams that need places to rehearse, students who pursue music as an extracurricular pastime, and space to host music festivals which bring high school students and others to campus to be exposed to Christian musicians and to learn more about their ai1. Better music facilities will undergird Cedarville's efforts to offer a balance of programming for the whole person, including the traditional liberal arts. ' ' Part of the 8enius of Cedarville is that we teac a Christian philosophical perspective on the performin8 arts. In the purest sense of the word, the exercise of our artistic 8ifts can and should be a conscious act of stewardship, a sacrifice of praise, and a way of knowin8 more about the character of Cod. ' ' {j2t,fL/Vu.r~r Dr. Charles Clevenger J Chair, Department of Music Music and chapel are vitally linked. Having the buildings linked makes sense as well. Since the music facilities will include a small recital hall, building both facilities will require similar architectural expertise. Major performing groups, from the Symphonic Band to the Concert Chorale, will use the new chapel for their concerts. For these and other reasons, plans call for a new music facility to be adjacent and connected to th new chapel. This vision is ambitious, calling for more extensive efforts than any previous project at Cedarville College. Planning has already begun with an architectural firm. The task team will present an initial proposal to the trustees in spring 1994. Dr. Dixon often says, "Chapel is the heartbeat of any Christian college." This next capital project will keep Cedarville's pulse going strong into the next century.