Steeple people

 Gravedigger is something Patrick Burrows can add to his resume, thanks to living in The Chapel of the Cross for the last year.

Burrows, a senior French and linguistics major from Asheville, has lived in the Episcopal church on Franklin Street since his junior year.

“It is somewhat estranging to other students because they suddenly assume things about you, like that you are a prude,” Burrows said. “It certainly can establish a stereotype — an image that isn’t necessarily true.”

The Chapel of the Cross has housed students for at least 50 years and its not the only area church to do so, said Mary Anne Handy, parish administrator.

Burrows shares responsibilities of the church building with his roommate, junior John Allen, an environmental studies major.

They split duties like locking and unlocking the church, setting up for weekly meetings and turning on the sound and light system.

In exchange, they pay no rent.

But Burrows and Allen said financial reasons weren’t their only motivations.

“It is just quiet, comfortable and there are always leftovers in the fridge,” said Allen, who is a youth leader at the church.

Allen is undecided about his future, while Burrows plans to be a priest.

Burrows said living at the church has shown him a glimpse of his future.

“At the point you become a priest, you are no longer yourself. Part of what you say is always understood under the lenses of that being the word of God,” he said. “Realizing that was a major shock.”

Residents are not required to be Episcopalian or to participate in religious functions, said Handy.

Burrows found out about the living option through the Episcopal Campus Ministry listserv.

Burrows said he acts as front line for the church, often receiving some strange work requests.

In addition to gravedigging, he has herded animals and wrapped a life-size cross with chicken wire for Easter.

Although denying that he’s a Quasimodo figure, Burrows does ring the church bells for basketball victories.

Students who live in churches are not uncommon in a campus community, Handy said. University United Methodist Church and University Presbyterian Church each house a graduate student.

Comparable to a dorm, they share a room on the second floor with bunk beds, two desks and two chests of drawers. They have an attached, private bathroom.

Handy said the church does not encourage drinking or sleepovers, but there is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for the residents.

“There are really no set rules on our room,” Allen said. “Just use common sense.”

Mary Brenda Joyner, an office volunteer, said having residents reminds them of the long-standing bond with the University and its mission to minister to the students.

Although equipped with mace when locking up the church, Burrows said his potentially eerie surroundings don’t scare him.

“Things don’t take you so much as a surprise because you see God everywhere,” he said. “It has allowed me to make God more of a banal part of my life, because I just know He is there.”



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