Most schools do not have a chapel requirement. Grove City is one of the few that does. Every semester students are required to attend 16 chapels. Chapels are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:25-9:50 a.m. with an optional worship time from 9-9:25 a.m. There are other chapel credit opportunities available such as Vespers which are Sunday nights and other lectures/worships/events can also give credits. It may seem like a hindrance in addition to the other classes but chapel has done great things for my experience at GCC.
First, chapel has saved my grades. I was the student that was not a morning person. I did everything I could to schedule my classes for later so I could sleep in. This past fall semester, I did not have a class until 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What a horrendous idea. I would sleep maybe 10 hours that night and wake up at 11 to get dressed, eat and head to class by 1. What I struggled with most was that after class I always had diving practice. I would get so exhausted afterwards all I wanted to do was eat and then lay in bed and do nothing. Notice anything missing from my daily activities? Homework and studying! That is kinda important to do. Having chapel got me up and dressed to be there at 9:25. Instead of going there and heading back to sleep, I would head over to STEM (the Science Technology Engineering and Math building) and in those three hours until class I would get my homework done, have time to eat before class and have social time. Utilizing this schedule I did not have to pull any all-nighters to study for tests or get projects and essays done.
Secondly, it made me a more social morning person. Having the chapel set in my schedule made me plan around that. I would grab breakfast with my friends right before or after chapel. I would plan to sit next to them and worship with them that brought me deeper in the relationships I had with my friends. Afterwards, I went to study with them where I was able to have social time now and allowed me to get social time out of the way to study later after practice if I had to.
Third, it brought me closer to God. Since I was an athlete, Saturdays I was forced to get up early for meets. That made Sunday my only day to sleep in, which I definitely did. I needed my sleep-in day, but because I slept in I could not go to church. Chapel, as it is not a true replacement for church, was a way I could have worship time and spend time with God and with my Christian family.
Yes, you can do the math and find out that I did not need to go to every chapel, but as you will hear, many students actually go over their chapel limit because chapel is more than a requirement, it is something that students at Grove City College gain a lot from.
