Price Chapel Renewal

TAMPA - Price Chapel, the place of daily worship for the Middle Division (grades 5-8) students of St. John’s School, has undergone a renewal under the direction of the school Chaplain, Fr. James Reho.  

“We wanted to create more of a community feeling in Price Chapel,” he commented, “and make students more excited to be in this sacred space.”

After a study of the space, Chaplain Reho decided that the chapel needed to be rotated 90 degrees: it had originally been designed to have the altar in what had become the south transept.  Over the summer Fr. Reho moved the altar to its originally-designed alcove and changed the seating from very long rows perpendicular to the wall to a chevron-style seating, which draws the students’ focus in toward the altar and toward engaging one another.  The lectern has also been moved to the west end of the chapel, providing two foci for worship.  

Additional design elements, including 30-yard bolts of silks in colors coordinated to the liturgical seasons, a festive banner behind the altar, and a new collection of crosses from Christian cultures around the world, have been added to liven up the space.  

Both students and faculty met the new Price Chapel with many “wow!”s and smiles as they entered the new space last week for worship.  If you’re an alum, or simply curious about this renewed space, feel free to contact Fr. Reho (jreho@stjohnseagles.org) and he will be glad to give you a tour!