南希·沃斯库尔教堂
The only building on Westmont’s campus which clearly, 无论是形式还是功能,indicates that we are a Christian college is the small chapel in the formal gardens built to honor Nancy Voskuyl, 总统和夫人活泼的女儿. Voskuyl, who died in a tragic accident on Sycamore Canyon Road when she was a freshman at the college.
Nancy Kathryn was a passenger in an MG roadster that went out of control and sideswiped a utility pole at about 1:20 p.m. 12月17日, 1959 when she and a friend were returning to campus from a luncheon at Mission Inn in time for an afternoon class. 教授和夫人. Eldad万德利普, also returning to campus following lunch at the Inn, 谁是第一个到达现场的. 一辆蒙特西托消防车, returning to the station after responding to a call, 停止提供援助, 但为时已晚. Dr. 范德利普去了学校,通知了琼斯博士. Ed Bouslough who was meeting with the Personnel Committee. Dean Frank Hieronymus then called to report the accident to Dr. Voskuyl who was at the Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles. Funeral services were held in Grace Church of Santa Barbara. 教堂里坐满了人, indicating a small part of the outpouring of sympathy from the college community, 教会, and the many friends of the Voskuyls and Westmont in the Santa Barbara area and across the state.
遵循此服务, 许多朋友, 包括几位董事会成员, gathered at the Voskuyl 首页 and in the course of the conversation, an appropriate memorial for Nancy became a topic. Dr. Voskuyl does not remember who suggested a small chapel, but those who were present quickly recognized a chapel as the right means to honor Nancy. 夫人. 科尔当场答应给他5000美元. 其他的礼物很快就送来了.
After rejecting a contemporary idea for the design, Dr. Voskuyl, 在唐·迈克尔森的建议下, turned to a Los Angeles designer of stained glass windows, and his design of a small New England style chapel with a steeple and windows looking to the surrounding woodsy site seemed particularly appropriate. W. T. 出售柯维纳的计划.
A Trustee committee approved the plans and the Board, 在9月14日的决议中, 1960, approved a contract with Michealson Brothers for $15,包括家具在内, 致1960届毕业生, 南希的妹妹, 露丝, 是一名成员, 做出了贡献.
Dr. 和夫人. Bouslough捐赠了彩色玻璃窗, 吉娜·金玛和她丈夫画了牌匾, 将, 写了一个纪念南希的剧本. 它写着:
突然消失了
哪里一切都是清澈明亮的
珍贵的是记忆
南希·凯瑟琳·沃斯库尔
1941-1959
....我将住在
在耶和华的殿中
永远.
Ps. 23:6
The building was dedicated following the Spring semester convocation on February 6, 1961. Duane Johnson, President of the Sophomore class, and Drs. 肯尼斯·梦露, 大卫·哈伯德, and Edmund Bouslough led the college community in the dedication ceremony.
The building is always open for individual or small group meditation and prayer. There is a piano and a small organ to enhance the atmosphere when appropriate. Weddings are performed in the chapel from time to time. 首先,它是一个复兴的地方. Dr. 沃斯库尔在献礼时写道:
How well I remember attending a mid-week service in the Lake Avenue Church of Pasadena a little more than a year ago and asking for a special prayer on behalf of the spiritual life of these young people who are entrusted to our care. One member of that group prayed long and fervently in response to this request. Little did I know that God would answer that prayer in a most unusual way—one of sorrow and of joy. The next day I received a call from campus that our Nancy had gone to be with the Lord. Her going has made a profound impression upon those of us who were close to her and upon the students and community as well, 也许比平常的方式更多.
Within a few more days, the thought of a Prayer 教堂 as a suitable memorial was gathering strength. Now one year later it stands with open door ready to receive into its recesses the student, 教职员工, the friend who wishes to spend a little time of quiet. 新英格兰殖民地, symbolic of the faith which brought the first settlers to this country, 深红色的地毯和白色的长椅, windows through which one is united with God’s out-of-doors, all add to the beauty of the spot which we hope and pray will be a blessing in the lives of those who come.
. . . .
最近博士. Bouslough used an illustration in a message with this precious thought: “It matters not how long one lives, 但问题是.” For those of us who knew Nancy, nothing more need be said. 她在这里侍奉她的主, 她的父母特别高兴, a living example of a Christian teen-ager to her friends and now in her memory a place that will be specifically for communion, 以及与永生神的亲密关系. The prayer of our heart is that this 教堂 may be used ever to honor His glory and for the strengthening of the spiritual lives of our students.
Nancy, although only a freshman, was already popular among the students. The first number of 凤凰, Westmont’s literary magazine, was dedicated to her. The editors paid tribute to her with these words:
She [Nancy] left behind a rich legacy of brief, 快乐的时刻, 着若有所思的微笑, 还有可爱的幽灵. 对她一生的回忆是一种甜蜜的祝福. For she has taught us how to live and love; life meant nothing to her without living....
一篇短文, “印象记忆,” which she wrote for her freshman English class, 的第12和13页 凤凰.
The Nancy Voskuyl Prayer 教堂 serves as a constant reminder of the centrality of Jesus Christ to the ministry of Westmont College. To sit quietly and contemplate the stained glass portrayal of Christ with extended hands vividly reminds us of our college motto, 基督之灵.
个人笔记
I knew Nancy a bit through contacts at Grace Church, but I got to know her better when she enrolled at the college. I was her academic advisor, and I helped her plan her first semester of studies. 在我们的谈话中, 我学会了欣赏她和蔼的精神, 她那富有感染力的微笑, 以及她对主的爱. What a wonderful testimony she was to all who knew her.
保罗·C. 必
大学档案