By Ashlyn Kennedy | Reporter
Among the wide range of Chapel credits and experiences Baylor offers, Chapel for Post-Traditional Students provides a safe space for those who are older than the average undergraduate.
The Chapel was created in spring 2023 to foster faith and community among post-traditional students. It was inspired by Faith and the Veteran Life — a Chapel that caters to those who have served in the Armed Forces.
The Rev. Dr. Erin Moniz, director for Chapel and associate chaplain, designs chapels that are “uniquely helpful to certain demographics” found on campus. She said the post-traditional Chapel was born out of the desire to give those students an accessible faith-based community.
“It’s a fairly straightforward and simple Chapel,” Moniz said. “But it’s meant to help other post-traditional students see that they’re not in this alone and that there are other people in their situation that they can connect with.”
Trenia Cooper, who works for the Baylor Care Team as a care case manager, was asked to help start the Chapel. Moniz said she is the perfect person to lead the Chapel because of her “unique skill set” in caring for older students and her knowledge of support services.
“Trenia comes with that expertise on how to help students articulate some of the unique aspects of their Baylor experience,” Moniz said. “She brings the ability to nuance that for whoever is in the room.”
According to the Baylor Spiritual Life website, Chapel for Post-Traditional Students allows “the population to grow and explore biblical scripture” and “discuss how to navigate life based on the biblical principles.”
Most of the credit is for small group discussions based on assigned readings, life and theological topics. It also invites prayer requests.
Moniz said the Chapel often starts with an artistic medium, such as a video or worship song, to help engage students. Participants then read books chosen by Cooper that are meant to provoke questions and discussion about how faith works in their lives.
The Chapel places a large emphasis on students sharing their experiences and the “unique challenges they face at Baylor.”
Moniz said students in the class may have families, be juggling child care or have had college delayed for various reasons. She said the Chapel is intended for students — no matter what their background or situation is — to make meaningful connections with each other and potential mentors.
“Their age and their engagement in the classroom can make them feel like an outsider,” Moniz said. “Trenia sets it up to have the discussion unearth topics that allow her to get to know the students … and ways they are a person of faith at Baylor, regardless of where they’re coming from.”
The Chapel is intentionally designed to be small, with only 15 seats allotted per semester. It is only open to post-traditional students.
“We try to make it so that the group itself feels it is uniquely part of that transfer post-traditional demographic so that they can connect,” Moniz said. “You’re just sharing each other’s lives and talking about faith, … and then the Lord does the rest.”
