Wyatt Smith
Features Editor
Although its religious affiliation is often considered merely historical, The College of Wooster remains connected to Presbyterianism in concrete and meaningful ways.
The College started out deeply Presbyterian. The inspiration for its founding came from a traveling pastor’s divine revelation. The College’s first four presidents were all Presbyterian ministers, as were much of its faculty and staff. Until 1969, C.O.W. was owned by what is now the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PC(USA)), the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination.
In many ways Wooster’s religious affiliation is a thing of the past. The College is currently on its second non-Presbyterian president, daily chapel services are no longer offered (let alone required) and the sole remaining academic religious studies requirement can be fulfilled by a range of classes about many faith traditions. However, Presbyterianism’s influence on the College persists.
Perhaps the clearest example of the College’s current Presbyterianism is its relationship with Westminster Presbyterian Church. Westminster is a small, socially-active PC(USA) congregation founded in the late 1800s at the request of Wooster students to serve the spiritual needs of the campus community.
Previously located in McGaw Chapel, Westminster is currently housed in Mackey Hall, a college-owned building between Morgan Hall and Common Grounds. Westminster leases Mackey Hall from the College free of charge, although it shares the space with The College of Wooster Nursery School and The Ohio Light Opera.
In addition to not charging rent, the College pays for Westminster’s utilities — other than heating — and maintains the building. Westminster employees also receive College email addresses, server space and some tech support. The church pays for all other expenses, most notably salaries and programming costs.
Westminster is termed The College of Wooster’s ‘congregation-in-residence,’ a reference to its location on campus as well as the privileges it receives from the College. According to Linda Morgan-Clement, the Henry Copeland chaplain and director of Interfaith Campus Ministry, Wooster is one of the only Presbyterian-related schools with an active, on-campus church.
“When everything is said and done, this is how The College of Wooster still honors its Presbyterian roots,” said Dries Coetzee, Westminster’s pastor.
The independent-yet-intertwined relationship between Westminster and the College sometimes leads to challenges, especially in terms of Westminster’s unrelenting social activism. Coetzee meets annually with College President Grant Cornwell to advise him of any upcoming church events that might be perceived as controversial, among other things.
“Intentionally sometimes we make a decision and we know we’re going to live in creative tension,” Coetzee euphemized. “That’s the risk we take.”
Morgan-Clement’s position also has a Presbyterian dimension. Although she is heavily involved in interfaith affairs and ministers to a wide array of students, Morgan-Clement is an ordained PC(USA) minister. This is no coincidence; College policy stipulates that the Henry Copeland chaplaincy must be filled by a Presbyterian pastor.
Another objective manifestation of the College’s Presbyterianism is the Covenant Scholarship, an award only available to students actively involved in a PC(USA) church. Recipients of the Covenant Scholarship receive a yearly $1,000 reduction in tuition — $3,000 if they are the child of a PC(USA) minister.
The Covenant Scholarship is one of Wooster’s few competitive scholarships, a term used to describe awards that have their own, additional application process (covenant scholars need a letter of recommendation from their pastor). According to Catherine Finks, the senior associate director of admissions, the Covenant Scholarship is an homage to Wooster’s Presbyterian beginnings.
“We mainly talk about it in terms of our past and our heritage,” said Finks. “This was part of our founding, this is who we were.”
Yet Presbyterianism also influences the College in more subjective ways, ways that are arguably even more consequential.
“I think Wooster’s Presbyterian roots continue to influence our campus ethos,” said Cornwell. “Wooster is a place that cares about social justice and it is a place where it is well understood that questions of ethics and religious perspective are among the essential elements of a liberal education.”
“The Presbyterians embrace higher education, dialogue,” Coetzee said. “The College of Wooster is very much a progressive school [where] social justice is a very important aspect … Those to me are all historical Presbyterian principles that [are] still very much alive at The College of Wooster.”
The College’s alumni, many of whom attended Wooster when it was more religious, are also influential.
“The alums have a very, very strong Presbyterian background,” said Elaine Smith-Snyder, member of Westminster and retired special collections associate at the College. “When the alums come in for alumni weekend, they’re often questioning ‘what is the role on campus with the church?’ … It’s a packed house [at Westminster] when it’s alumni weekend.”
“Wooster’s alums are so invested in the institution,” said Morgan-Clement. “The culture of Wooster has been deeply shaped by its Presbyterian history so that for the alums, in that relationship, they see it still connected to the Presbyterian [church].”
“The College isn’t just students, and it isn’t just faculty or just staff; it really is an extended family that goes generations,” she added. “If people are going to trust the institution with their resources — which is a major source of financial and human support — then we must engage in this complicated on-going conversation.”