Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Chapel a popular spot for Indiana U. students, alumni to wed
By Shannon Dahmer
Indiana Daily Student (Indiana U.)
11/07/2006

(U-WIRE) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Walking into Beck Chapel is like disappearing into warm memories and solemn vows. It is a haven where troubles are left at the heavy bronze doors and dreams are fulfilled within the walls. No wonder the chapel means so much to so many.

To Chris and Alicia Dickens, Beck Chapel signifies love and romance. Having just celebrated their fifth anniversary Oct. 6, the couple went back to their favorite place on campus, the place they said "I do," like so many other Indiana University couples.

"We didn't belong to a church in town, and I always wanted to have the church I got married in feel like it was full of people, not just half-way," Alicia Dickens said about choosing Beck Chapel. "We had to limit our guests to family and very close friends, but those are the people you really want to have with you anyway."

Beck Chapel holds approximately 150 weddings a year, usually with about 65 people filling the 16 golden oak pews. Many couples, like the Dickens', choose to have receptions at the Indiana Memorial Union.

"We had our reception at the University Club in the IMU," Alicia Dickens said. "It worked out well; we just walked right over, and then those who didn't attend the wedding could get into the reception and start celebrating."

The hardest part about having a wedding at Beck is the scheduling, and it has been for many years, Alicia Dickens said.

"It was difficult to find a weekend in the fall that didn't interfere with football," she said.

The price, however, is very affordable. Beck Chapel Committee Chairman Steve Keucher said the board keeps a "break-even basis" for maintenance when charging for weddings. The chapel costs $300 for a three-hour wedding, which includes the chapel, curator, organ and organist, candelabra and kneeling bench, said Beck Chapel Assistant Director Hollie Lutz of the IMU.

The curators, Ken Shidler, Mary Dee Johnson, Ellen Stern and Margaret Howe, make sure the ceremony goes smoothly by meeting with the chapel officials and organist.

"They do a wonderful job and really add to the value of the chapel experience," Lutz said.

The chapel has an official chaplain, Joe Emerson, who oversees payment for officiate services and the ceremony. The organist, Elaine Sonnenberg, is a Jacobs School of Music student working on her doctorate in organ and has played for more than 100 weddings.

The IMU Meeting Services staff takes care of the administrative needs for a wedding.

"The Chapel receives facility care for custodial, maintenance and the grounds surrounding the chapel," Lutz said. "They do an excellent job keeping the chapel ready for clients."

Even for guests of Beck Chapel weddings, the place holds good memories.

"It's a spectacular sight to see the bride and groom standing on the cobble steps leading to the chapel," said Dean for International Programs Patrick O' Meara, who has attended many weddings at the chapel.

O'Meara quoted the poet T.S. Eliot by describing Beck as "a still point in a turning world," referring to the hustle and bustle that surrounds the quaint chapel.

"I know that people have gone there when they have serious problems to meditate," O'Meara said. "It's a place someone can go to reflect."

Beck is nondenominational chapel, providing copies of the Bible, Koran, Torah and other religious texts.

"It's very welcoming," O'Meara said.

The chapel is open seven days a week and 24 hours a day during finals week.

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