After a brief suspension of requests to be married at Pepperdine’s Stauffer Chapel the university is back in the wedding business but with a few key changes.
Following the California Supreme Court’s May 2008 ruling to uphold same-sex marriage university officials halted the facility’s use for future bookings so they could evaluate their situation.
They rescinded the action in the spring following the passage of California Proposition 8 in November.
Under Pepperdine’s previous policy applications to wed at Stauffer Chapel were open to the public. Under the new policy the chapel is available on a limited basis only to members of the Pepperdine community approved by the provost the chaplain and a representative from the University Church of Christ.
Administrators initially expressed that the issue of same-sex marriage was “a factor according to Provost Darryl Tippens in the in Aug. 25, 2008 issue of The Graphic. In their decision to put weddings on hold, they said the primary purpose was to allow the university a provisional period to examine how its facilities were being used.
[The Court’s ruling] was a factor but not the only factor Tippens said. It prompted raising the question of the use of our facilities.”
Tippens said the review was largely to determine how to preserve the chapel structurally.
“As it turns out the Supreme Court’s decision proved to be irrelevant to our decision to limit the use of the chapel to members of the Pepperdine community Tippens said. We decided to preserve the chapel from excessive use wear-and-tear and from uses that might go beyond the structure’s intended purpose. We wanted to preserve the chapel as a sacred space intended for Christian worship and other Christian rites.”
President Andrew K. Benton agrees that the issue of same-sex marriage did not play much of a role in either the university’s decision to suspend weddings or its decision to reinstate weddings after Proposition 8’s passage. “It would not be wise or prudent to develop policy in response to but one external issue Benton wrote in an e-mail.
While Benton was not directly involved in the review, he said the chapel should be preserved as a special place in the community. The chapel is primarily a place of prayer and contemplation Benton wrote. We recognize its significance in the lives of members of our community and so we will also consider requests to use the chapel for sacred ceremonies.”
When the administration first announced they would indefinitely close the chapel they said requests for chapel use that failed to align with Pepperdine’s Christian mission had indeed played a role in the university’s decision to suspend weddings temporarily.
“When people come in to Stauffer Chapel and they want to cover up…some of your scripture to more nearly fit their own beliefs do you want to do that? We’re struggling with that a little bit Benton told the Graphic in its Aug. 25, 2008 issue. So what do you do? You say ‘Well let’s declare a moratorium while we figure this out.'”
However some students believe Pepperdine’s decision to suspend chapel weddings was motivated by the general Christian community’s stance on same sex marriage. While some respect the actions and perceived motivations of the university others do not.
“Given Pepperdine’s church affiliation I find it hard to believe that their decision to suspend chapel marriages during this pivotal time in our nation’s history to be a simple coincidence said Kyle Bailey, a junior. I have no problem with private establishments upholding their own beliefs when it comes to issues like same-sex marriage but I find it cowardly for them to hide behind politics. At least admit why you’re doing it.”
Students and members of the Pepperdine community have ideas as to how the chapel would best be used as a campus facility.
“As it is part of university facilities maybe it ought to be used for student marriages student music recitals and other student events said Dean McDaniel-Keith, a junior. I know that pretty much every music student wants their recital there and the reason we can’t is because it gets rented for weddings at ridiculous rates that no student could pay.”
The new wedding policy specifically states that applicants must bear a Pepperdine affiliation. They must be a current Pepperdine student faculty or staff member the child of a faculty or staff member a member of the University Church of Christ or a graduate. Members of the community are supportive of the university’s decision to allow weddings to continue at ‘The Chapel on the Hill.’
“Pepperdine weddings in the chapel are a tradition junior Jenny Arnold said. The chapel should absolutely be used for weddings.”
Gwen Browning a 1985 alumnus of Pepperdine was married at Stauffer Chapel in 1987. Of the possibility of Pepperdine banning future weddings in the chapel Browning said “I think it would be awful horrible. I think it should definitely be used. It’s a beautiful place to have a wedding.”
Of what the university has to gain by hosting weddings Benton said “Only the satisfaction that Stauffer chapel is a place of meaning and worship and for me that is a lot.”