The chapel and its chimes

Stately on the outside, graceful on the inside, the Church of the Holy Spirit lifts its steeple high above the south campus, greeting visitors as they come up Gambier Hill. As the home of Harcourt Parish, the church is a reminder of Kenyon’s Episcopal heritage. The College is nonsectarian now, and the church also serves as the campus chapel, a site for services, ceremonies, and the occasional concert (as well as the occasional alumni wedding). It’s also a daily presence in campus life, because its bells ring out the hours. They also ring in the weekend: every Friday from 4 to 5 p.m., the Kenyon College Pealers give a concert from on high, playing both traditional and contemporary tunes. Echoing across campus, the bells produce a conditioned response: everyone moves into relaxation mode.

 Chapel factoid: Built between 1869 and 1871, the church has stained-glass windows by famed artist Charles J. Connick, who also created the stained-glass windows in the Great Hall and Chase Tower of Peirce Hall.