The Little Chapel of Silence is located on the northwest corner of Town and Gown, just behind the SAS building. Since 1935 it has been a place for silent reflection, meditation, and prayer for the whole USC community. Anyone can write a prayer or reflection on a slip of paper to put in the prayer box, or write in the notebook provided on the front altar. The notebooks, when filled, are placed in the altar in the reception area of the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life for anyone to come and view. The prayer slips are collected and are read aloud and then ceremonially burned in a ritual held by the Interfaith Council twice a year. All are welcome to the Prayer Reading ceremony. Contact the ORL about the dates for the ceremony.
In The Little Chapel of Silence is a mural above the altar: The Trojan Trysting Tree. Based on traditions of trysting trees and stones from the British Isles, the brass plaque beneath the mural invites members of the USC community to make professions, or “trysts”, of love and commitment:
“Under the Trojan Trysting Tree
Come sit with me for a spell;
Beneath its branches hold my hand
And the truth of my heart I’ll tell.”
