Women rarely have the opportunity to share their spiritual voice in chapels at Oklahoma Christian University. Women’s chapel, a new alternative chapel, aims to change this.
Women’s chapel, a revival of a previous chapel, meets every Thursday.
After noticing a need for a place for women to share their voice and build a community, sophomore Shaila Russell took charge of bringing back women’s chapel.
“There are a couple of different directions we are going with women’s chapel,” Russell said. “I want to keep it student-led—there are a lot of girls who are interested in helping out, speaking and sharing their testimonies. We also want to reap the rewards of pouring into the relationships that are being made in women’s chapel and being able to see those grow.”
Ruth LeFan, Ethos coordinator, helped start women’s chapel again and said she is glad women’s chapel has returned to campus after going on hiatus.
“I know we had women’s chapel in [2014], when the Ethos program began,” LeFan said. “It started to fade out of popularity after a few years. I think this is a chance to start over.”
Women’s chapel is primarily student-led and will feature female students as speakers. All female students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. Currently, it is an exclusively female chapel.
“[We] want to make a difference in the women’s community,” Russell said about the student leaders. “We want to educate [ourselves] and other women on being more biblical and growing our relationships with God in areas which may not be met without women’s chapel.”
Women’s chapel met for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 7, with Russell sharing a message on Ruth and Naomi and God’s desire for us to exist in a community. Women were encouraged to share prayer requests in order to foster encouragement. After the message, a series of questions allowed attendees to discuss what they learned and share their thoughts on the topics at hand.
“[Women’s chapel] is about being able to go somewhere you can feel safe to ask questions and to debate topics that you may not bring up in other settings,” Russell said. “In other chapels, you cannot really speak out and talk about issues, questions or concerns. In women’s chapel, we designed it to discuss what we think or how we may improve.”
LeFan said she believes women’s chapel is a way to unify women across campus.
“I think it’s important women’s chapel exists so women on campus can have a place to be together and meet without the boundaries of club, class or major,” LeFan said. “It is a great chance to connect with people in a smaller setting.”
Additionally, LeFan emphasized the importance of having a place for women’s voices.
“There are not as many places for women to be involved in chapel,” LeFan said. “This is a great place for girls to be as involved as they want to.”
LeFan shared her goal for women’s chapel to be a place where women all across campus may grow together.
“I would love to see more interaction between faculty and staff and students,” LeFan said. “I would also love to see more students leading and building confidence. I want this to be a place for girls to have the chance to lead in a comfortable setting.”
Russell said she encourages girls to visit women’s chapel in order to grow personally and in a community.
“Women should come for themselves and for the betterment of their knowledge,” Russell said. “It’s about growing community, but it’s also about being able to plug yourself into somewhere else.”
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