Hi,
The Wren Chapel is not a Chapel of all faiths... It remains a Christian chapel! This will never be changed! History and tradition will bear that out no matter how much Nicol wants to change it. The dye was cast long before he took on the president's mantle. He cannot just start mixing things up. As someone said," Does he now want to take God out of the Alma Mater?" Is his rhetoric so silken that the Board of Visitors are so easily swayed? I am horrified at such an ill thought out move. The cross is not only a symbol of my faith but also a historic and valuable piece of our College Decorative Art, to be valued as such and forever on display!!!!
Sally Cronk Lombard
Class of 1955
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3 comments:
Just a note ... the cross does not belong to the College. While it has been around for a while, it is not nearly as historic as the building itself, nor as old as many other things in Williamsburg.
I can still pray in the chapel, with or without a cross. My faith in Christ is not dependent on that symbol.
Dear Charles,
So, I have managed prayer in wide open spaces, Buddist Shrines, Catholic churches, Jewish temples, Hawaiian shrines and Celtic stone circles. The point is that Nichol offended people who value the display of the cross. The Wren chapel is an Anglican Chapel of historic importance, not some chrome and plastic modern collapsible room. It is still a place of Christian worship. It is entitled to better respect and those people whose feelings are injured deserve better respect. They are entitled to freedom of speech. Your comprehension is very one dimensional.
The shabby treatment given the alumni is just another aspect of the overall tawdriness of Nichol's behavior. He knows that they will tend towards a more cautious viewpoint when it comes to allowing him to meddle with College traditions or religion on campus. That’s why he’s tried to keep this secret from them as long as possible. He’s audience, those to whom he panders, is the impressionable young minds in school now. While highly intelligent (the fact that they’re at W&M is proof enough of that) they lack the real-world experience to know when they’re being used. And while they may value traditions, their relative youth prevents them from engaging in nostalgia, much less reverence, for them, at least not to the same degree as most alumni. Like the carnival huckster who implies his peep-show is worth the price precisely because it is SO naughty, he lures them into his confidence. Why, he’s not just a college president, he’s a “rebel”, and willing to defy their parents (don’t all youth identify with that?). They see this as bold, enlightened and thrilling. To us he’s just another boring, shallow-minded, con-artist.
I’m afraid the College is no longer what it used to be, Ms Lombard. It has fallen into the wrong hands and is now merely a pawn in a larger political game. Nichol is a political animal first and foremost, and thinks his stewardship is to be used primarily for that purpose. W&M is rudderless, leaking badly and the Captain is drunk with power. It’s a sad state of affairs and not likely to get any better anytime soon.
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