Mildred Welshimer Phillips Memorial Chapel - Emmanuel School of Religion

The Mildred Welshimer Phillips Memorial Chapel

The Mildred Welshimer Phillips Memorial Chapel is the focus of spiritual and community life at Emmanuel School of Religion. It has a unique architectural design with seating capacity of more than 160 and a custom-designed pipe organ. The chapel is named in honor of Mildred Welshimer Phillips, who was instrumental in bringing Emmanuel School of Religion to East Tennessee
and raised many of the funds to establish the school.

Each class day students meet for a time of worship and prayer and have an opportunity to hear messages from faculty, other students, and outside speakers. The chapel is also the site of academic lectures and concerts.

The stained glass window in Emmanuel’s chapel was created by Gregory Ellsworth, a 1983 Master of Divinity graduate. The window was created to illustrate his thesis on Art and Christianity.

The magnificent set of eight offering trays in the chapel are made from native Oregon myrtle wood. Melvin Moore, a member of University Street Christian Church in Eugene, Oregon, designed and crafted the trays and gave them as a gift to the school in 1976.

Mildred Welshimer Phillips

Mildred Welshimer Mildred Welshimer was married to B.D. Phillips at Lemoyne Christian Church, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in July 1963. They had become acquainted while B.D. was involved in building a library for Milligan College as a memorial to his good friend, P.H. Welshimer, nationally known minister of the First Christian Church, Canton, Ohio. Mildred was then Dean of Women at Milligan College.

Mildred brought great happiness to B.D. Philips and their union eventuated in a new and enlarged vision for educational philanthropy in the Christian Church and Churches of Christ.

Mildred Phillips, a graduate of Hiram College, began her teaching career in the high school of her home town, Canton, Ohio. After a period of time, during which she was on the staff of the Standard Publishing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, she joined the faculty of Milligan College in Tennessee. She served as Dean of Women for sixteen years.

While with the Standard Publishing Company, Mrs. Philips lectured widely among church and educational groups across the nation. She also made valuable contribution to literature, especially in her books and articles for young people. Her published works include The Young People’s Bible Teacher and Leader and Special Addresses. The latter volume, released in 1967, carried these introductory remarks: “Few, if any, have spoken in so many churches, taught more Sunday School classes, addressed more students.”

Mrs. Phillips’s father, P.H. Welshimer, was minister of the Canton Church for more than half a century. With its seven thousand members, this was the largest local congregation in the history of the American Restoration Movement. Mrs. Phillips’ sister, Helen Welshimer, was a nationally respected poet, journalist, and essayist whose works appeared in such journals as Good Housekeeping and Parent’s Magazine.

In the brief five years of their marriage, before Mr. Phillips passed to his reward, the guest book at Elm Court showed the names of 533 out-of-town visitors who enjoyed its hospitality.

This week's chapel schedule.