Wait Chapel is a building on the campus of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. It houses the Janet Jeffrey Carlile Harris Carillon of 48 bells. The chapel seats 2,250 people. The steeple reaches to 213 feet. It also houses the Williams Organ, donated by Walter McAdoo Williams, namesake of

Walter M. Williams High School Walter M. Williams High School, the flagship school of the Alamance-Burlington School System, is a high school (grades 9–12) in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. It was named in honor of philanthropist, industrialist, and former Burlin ...

. The first building constructed on the Reynolda campus of Wake Forest University, it was named in memory of Samuel Wait, the university's first president, in October 1956. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

spoke at Wait Chapel on October 11, 1962. On March 17, 1978, President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

made a major National Security address in Wait Chapel. In 1988, it hosted a presidential debate between George H. W. Bush and

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

. On October 11, 2000, it hosted the presidential debate between candidates

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

. On September 13, 2007 it hosted a broadcast of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

(NPR) show, '' Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me''. The show aired on September 15.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...

spoke there in November 2011. A private memorial ceremony for Dr. Maya Angelou was held in Wait Chapel on June 7, 2014. Attendees included First Lady Michelle Obama, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and Oprah Winfrey. The Chapel is linked to a vast underground series of tunnels crisscrossing the campus carrying utilities. The congregation of

Wake Forest Baptist Church Wake Forest Baptist Church is two churches in North Carolina, United States. One church is in the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina. It has been operating for almost 200 years. The other church was on the campus of Wake Forest University in Wins ...

holds regular Sunday services in the chapel. In the late 1990s the chapel became the center of controversy when members of the church decided to conduct a same-sex commitment ceremony; this became the subject of the documentary '' A Union in Wait''. Other events held in the chapel throughout the year, include a Moravian

lovefeast An agape feast or lovefeast (also spelled love feast or love-feast, sometimes capitalized) is a communal meal shared among Christians. The name comes from ''agape'', a Greek term for 'love' in its broadest sense. The lovefeast custom originat ...

during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

season.

Notes

References

NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me
# Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem NC, 19 April 1978
A Union In Wait

External links

Photo Collection - Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me - Bluff the Listner

Wake Forest Baptist Church
{{coord, 36.1352, -80.2790, region:US-NC_type:landmark, display=title Bell towers in the United States Carillons University and college chapels in the United States Churches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Baptist churches in North Carolina Moravian churches in North Carolina LGBT churches in the United States Towers in North Carolina Wake Forest University Clock towers in North Carolina