Like an island in a hectic sea, a thoughtful garden reclines in golden sunlight. Hard against its edges are stairs and walkways; windows from the library and cafeteria look down on it; voices and hurrying feet surround it. But through the green leaves comes the quiet song of water over stone, while the redwood beams of a small open-air chapel draw eyes toward the blue sky.

The prayer garden and chapel, completed this past spring on the Pacific Union College campus, fulfill the vision and contributions of many individuals, including former PUC pastor Marit Balk Case and architect Alex Riley.

“PUC strongly believes in the power of prayer,” PUC President Richard Osborn explains. “Our prayer chapel/garden represents this emphasis by being placed in the heart of our campus.”

Sometimes the “heart of the campus” is empty, occupied with its own thoughts. Other times, people can be glimpsed through the branches of the young trees—students taking a quiet lunch break, mothers watching their small children play beside the stream, Friday night groups talking and praying by the light of oriental-style lamps.

Freshman Blake Penland loves to play his guitar in the chapel. “The acoustics are so good, I have to sing quietly because people can hear it at the library,” he says. “It’s a great spot to be.”

Student Association religious vice president Chris Duckett agrees. “I have found it a very refreshing spot to just take a break from the busyness of life and talk with God, tell Him my concerns and meditate on Scripture. It’s a really peaceful spot.”

The plaque at the garden entrance aptly describes the power of this place when it speaks of a time and space “so still it becomes alive, so quiet it speaks, and so empty it glows with Divine Illumination.”