The Chapel in the Pines

Pledge History Purpose Description Cost Chapel Fund

 

Chimes from the Chapel in the Pines are now heard across campus as the long awaited first phase of the project comes to an end. Dedication services, officiated by local ministers with help from EMCC alumni, faculty, and students, was conducted in the Chapel on Sunday October 22, 2006.

The Chapel provides a place for religious activities for our students, faculty and community; or just a quiet place to meditate and pray.

The project to build a chapel on campus can be traced back more than 40 years. It began in the 1960's when the late Brown Briggs of Scooba donated land adjacent to East Mississippi Junior College to the EMJC Wesley Foundation Board of Directors for the purpose of constructing a chapel for students. Funding for the chapel failed to materialize, and the property lay idle except for the growth of beautiful pines and other timber.

In 1999, the EMJC Wesley Foundation Board of Directors transferred ownership of the property to the East Mississippi Community College Development Foundation for the construction of an interdenominational chapel. Ownership of the property was transferred to the college, so that insurance, maintenance, security, and supervision can be provided.

The chapel is dedicated to those who worked so hard to open it to the campus. The Chapel Complex is dedicated to the memory of Brown Briggs who originally donated the land on which to build the chapel.

The Chapel in the Pines is dedicated to the memory of Professor N. J. Smith, a beloved instructor of EMCC. The Smith family has donated a considerable amount of money to the chapel and challenged others to match their gifts.  The Smith children hope that students and alumni alike will continue N.J. Smith’s legacy of pursuing knowledge for self-improvement.

The chapel is designed and intended for interdenominational use by students, faculty, staff, and community citizens. It is to be used for devotionals, weddings, memorial services, private prayer and meditation, special campus functions, and other religious activities.  The chapel will provide a focal point of emphasis for the spiritual lives of the EMCC family.  It will underscore the great truth that for persons to be truly educated, they must have the mental, physical, and social aspects of life firmly guided by strong spiritual values.

The chapel project includes the chapel itself and an adjoining fellowship hall, connected by a covered walkway. The Chapel provides approximately 3000 square feet of heated/cooled area, and seats 128 in pews. It also has a bride's room, groom's room and restrooms.

The Fellowship Hall, connecting covered walkway, courtyard, patio, and additional parking will be included in Phase II of the Chapel project.

The fellowship hall will  provide approximately 3000 square feet of area with a kitchen, restrooms, and a large multi-purpose area. The complex will feature a courtyard and patio, and the entire area will be appropriately landscaped. Adequate paved parking will also be provided.

Pryor and Morrow Architects of Columbus donated the design work for the chapel project. The cost of the Chapel, complete with parking and landscaping is approximately $500,000.  The fellowship hall, completely equipped is expected to cost approximately $300,000 making a total of $800,000 for construction and equipping/furnishing the project.  

The EMCC Development Foundation will continue to raise funds for the chapel project from alumni, churches, friends, corporate contributors, and other interested supporters. The Foundation is a 501-C-3 organization, and the contributions are approved as tax deductible. EMCC supporters are needed in seeing this project to completion