“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.” - Psalm 100
Bible Department Chair Ingrid Hill shared why Chapel is important to Boston Trinity Academy and why we gather together every week to celebrate it.
Mrs. Hill began her message with the history of Chapel at BTA. Corporate worship has been a part of the school culture since BTA’s founding in 2002, and BTA has had a myriad of chaplains and speakers in its history. There have also been various types of Chapel, from the Trinity Institute Chapel, which integrates the Bible with social justice, to Junior Chapels, Middle School Chapels, and, of course, the Baccalaureate Chapel, during which we honor our Seniors. Chapel at BTA even endured challenging events like the Coronavirus pandemic. Mrs. Hill recounted a time when former Headmaster Frank Guerra held Zoom Chapel in 2020, and dozens of people jumped into the Zoom chat to express their gratitude at being able to come together amidst a pandemic.
Mrs. Hill expounded that, no matter the occasion or the speaker, there has always been Chapel at BTA, and it has always been at the heart of the week on Wednesday.
She went on to ask again, “So Why Chapel?” She answered her question by stating, “At a very basic fundamental level, the answer is ‘Love.’ We have a chapel to love God and love one another.” In line with the first and second commandments, love is rooted and intertwined with the identity of Chapel at BTA.
She then explained how the physical building of BTA also reflects this truth. In 1928, the sisters of St. Joseph came from Poland to rescue orphans of the city of Boston and raise them in the ways of the Lord. The orphanage was housed in a small building where the Bradley Athletic Center is currently being built. In 1957, they tore that small building down and built our current campus to continue their work.
Mrs. Hill asked, “When they were building our school, where did they build the chapel? It’s in the center. The chapel is at the heart of this building and at the heart of what we do.”
The next question she posed was, “Why does a Chapel exist?” In order to answer that question, she asked another: “Why do you exist? The answer: To glorify God and enjoy him in worship.”
Mrs. Hill explained that God's supremacy is unique alone. It demands our worship because God is worthy of receiving honor and glory and power. For He created all things, and by His will, we were created.
Mrs. Hill went on, “So we are commanded to worship. Does that make God a megalomaniac? No. A megalomaniac is someone that has a delusional illness brought on by grandeur. I would say God is marked by omnipotence and grandeur, but it is not a mental delusion. But some people wonder, why God demands all this worship?”
She answered, “By definition, God is a being that none can be imagined that is greater. God exists to receive glory. He must be worshipped, by definition. Unlike a rockstar or NBA finals MVP, God is not glorified by our worship. He is already existing in eternal glory. He doesn’t need your worship. He existed before us, after us, and despite us. He deserves your worship but does not need it.”
John 15:10-11 states, “To keep my commands you will remain in Love. I have told you all I have told you that my joy may be in you and that you may receive joy.” Mrs. Hill summed up Chapel at BTA by saying,, “When we worship God, it puts us in the right relationship with God. And the right relationship brings Joy.”
Mrs. Hill posed again, “So why do we exist? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”Then, she concluded by asking her original question, “So why do we have Chapel? For His glory, For our joy.”