Open to all people
GOOSE CREEK, S.C.–It’s simply called the Wedding and Prayer Chapel. It’s a place of unity, worship, and peace. It’s also a place where couples share their first moments as husband and wife, where Christians seek a message from God, and where people in need find peace. A sign in front of the Wedding and Prayer Chapel at 222 Saint James Avenue in Goose Creek says “Open To All People.”
Through the years the small chapel, located between a neighborhood and the business district, has been called by some “the garden spot of Goose Creek.” Despite the thousands of people who drive past the chapel everyday, not everyone, not even locals know what it’s all about.
“There is a multiplicity of services that we do, such as any other church,” said Pastor M.C. Williams, who is the founder and minister at the chapel.
The chapel also offers Sunday chapel services, children’s baptisms, memorial services, vow renewals, Christian counseling, and it’s always open for those who want a place to pray. Although the door is locked, the pastor says it is always open to the public by calling the phone number posted on the front door for an access code.
The small chapel was built on about an acre of land. The building includes a sanctuary with an altar and four rows of pews, and a small foyer, office, and restroom. It can only accommodate up to 35 people for Sunday services or weddings. The pastor estimates an average of 15-20 will attend any given service or event.
Led by the Holy Spirit
“I’ve always been one that needs a certain amount of solitude and meditation and prayer,” said Pastor Williams.
One day he says he dressed in a suit, carried a journal and pen, and went up to an overpass that overlooked the railroad in Berkeley County for some alone time. The pastor, a former railroad man and Morse code operator, says he needed the time to reflect after the death of his friend, the late State Senator Rembert C. Dennis.
He says another friend, the Berkeley County Supervisor at the time, saw him up there and asked the pastor if he was about to jump and commit suicide.
“No, I’m just up here to remember Senator Dennis at this special place,” Pastor Williams recalls telling his friend. “That confirmed that I needed a place like the chapel. That was the real point of contact for it.”
He says the chapel was first meant to be a meditation and prayer chapel, but then became a wedding chapel. “I got the vision from the Holy Spirit,” he says.
Pastor Williams founded the chapel in 1987 with his late wife, Mrs. M.C. Williams or Polly as everyone knew her. She has since “gone home to be the with Lord” Pastor Williams says. But he says he was lead to keep their framed portrait front and center to greet guests as they enter the small foyer of the chapel. “She was with me every step of the way. She loved to do the preparation of the chapel, take telephone calls. She did it all,” he says.
Celebrating unity and love
Marissa Rose, 24, and Tony Romero, 29, both of Goose Creek, married June 18, 2016 at the chapel. She’s a student and he works in construction, and they have been dating three years. They decided the Wedding and Prayer Chapel was the perfect little place for their big day. “We always see it when we’re driving by,” Marissa said. “It’s nice and cozy and small. I just wanted it to be family, people that I’m close to. It felt more comfortable with the small crowd.”
Rose and Romero had a quick ceremony lasting about 10-15 minutes with about 10-15 family members and friends in attendance. Just after the ceremony they were all smiles and joking with each other as they posed for pictures. The couple shared their future plans.
“We’re expecting right now. He wants to build us a little house.” “A tiny house,” Tony added. He has a job working full time in construction.
Since the chapel opened its doors Pastor Williams says it has been the venue for more than a thousand weddings. He says Valentine’s week tends to be a busy time, as well as the month of June.
Pastor Williams says the wedding requirements include that the bride and groom are Christians, pay a wedding fee in the $150 – $250 range, and pay a donation for the minister officiating. He says if a couple can’t afford it, they don’t turn people away.
These days Pastor Williams isn’t alone. Nearly four years ago he met a man named David Crane, then a notary public, at the chapel. “He began attending the chapel services, and he was recently ordained as Chaplain Dave,” Pastor Williams said.
Chaplain Dave performs many of the wedding ceremonies and chapel services on Sunday evenings, when Pastor Williams, now 83-years-old, is not available.
A unique Sunday service
It’s not a traditional church, but on Sunday at 5 p.m. the Wedding and Prayer Chapel hosts an average of 15-20 people for Sunday service. It lasts about an hour, with Pastor Williams or Chaplain Dave leading the service.
A typical service includes recorded music for worshippers to sing-along, time for prayer requests, a message shared in a teaching or devotional as Pastor Williams described it, and the service ends in prayer.
“I like the smaller crowd, and I like the people who attend. That’s the main thing I like. The preacher’s wife was my wife’s sister. It’s like home to me,” regular chapel service attendee Richard Dawkins said.
Pastor Williams says the traditional church doesn’t always meet the needs of regulars of the chapel, and likewise, people don’t always find what they need in a setting such as the chapel, such as families with children who need Sunday School he says. He says that he and Chaplain Dave are happy to help people find the church home they are searching for.
Pastor Williams says this ministry has been his calling from God and there is so much he has enjoyed helping people in all walks of life in their walks with God.
“It would be so difficult to say all of the joys we have experienced,” Pastor Williams said. But if he had to choose one aspect he has loved about serving others at the chapel, “The intimacy of the chapel and the sacredness of it.”
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