Augustana ice-breaker: Chapel in Midco Arena draws crowd of 230

The sports announcer’s rich, melodic voice rang throughout the hockey arena: “This morning’s worship is brought to you by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

The crowd of 230 spectators — Augustana students and Sioux Falls community members alike — laughed with surprise at hearing the familiar voice of hockey announcer Randy Preston deliver a chapel-related joke.

This was no ordinary chapel service: It took place at the Midco Arena on the hockey rink’s ice. From a wooden cross borne on a Zamboni to the campus pastors on skates to Ace the Augie Doggie’s eager participation, the March 3 service reinvented the audience’s understanding of what morning worship looks like.

“When Augustana announced that they were getting a men’s hockey team, my mind went to, ‘Well, how can we integrate faith?’ That’s always the question I’m asking,” Rev. Ann Rosendale said. “I said, ‘Well, we’re going to do it. We’re going to have chapel on ice.’”

Rosendale’s idea for a chapel service on the ice of a hockey rink has been a long time in the works. Her sermon on welcoming all people and embracing hospitality was an appropriate one for a brand-new arena that now sees hockey teams from all over the country. The message also hit home in light of how many different people worked to pull the event together.

Chapel-goers on Monday morning were greeted by the bold pep-band sound of Valhalla Brass, the student band that plays for hockey games. Just before the service began, the brass band played Augustana’s fight song as audience members stood, clapped and shouted dutifully, “Go, Augie, go!”

The service then opened with a Zamboni procession — complete with freshman chapel staff member John Mortrude hitching a ride on one while holding a cross — as hockey players and figure skaters circled the ice, waving joyfully to the delighted crowd. A recording of the hymn “Earth and All Stars” accompanied the moment.

“This time of year, it’s really good to have some joy,” Rosendale said. “You know, it’s cold, and it’s brown and gloomy. And really, I don’t know how the timing came together so perfectly, but it’s just before Lent and just before the [Central Collegiate Hockey Association] tournament.”

Following the Zamboni procession, Rev. Shawna Day kept up the blend of church, hockey and humor with “Sin-Bin Confession” — a clever title that borrowed from Rosendale’s nickname for the penalty box at hockey games.

“Your penalty has been paid. Your time has been served. In Christ, you are forgiven, and God no longer keeps the score,” Day said as she balanced on hockey skates during the service. “So celebrate this grace, lace up your skates, get back out on the ice and live like you have nothing to lose — because you are a child of the Lord God.”

The “Sin Bin Confession” was followed by a reading from Romans 12, which boomed through the loud-speakers in Preston’s typical sports-announcer fashion.

 After the reading, Rosendale took — carefully — to the ice to give her sermon.

“You all seem so far away,” Rosendale exclaimed as she skated slowly across the ice towards the laughing crowd. “I don’t know if I can stop.”

Rosendale’s message, given while balancing on skates, built off of her weekend involvement with hockey games: She often spends her time in the opposing team’s penalty box. While there, she said she always offers visiting players water, opens and closes the door to the ice and welcomes them to Augustana.

“We have these words from Romans that we heard today: If your enemy is hungry, feed them; if they’re thirsty, give them something to drink,” Rosendale said from her spot in the middle of the arena. “It’s all about hospitality. Opening doors. Knowing someone’s name. Offering them a drink or a second chance. That’s how we make the world as God hopes for it to be.”

The service continued its campus-wide collaboration by welcoming the Augustana University Figure Skating Club to the ice, who performed a routine set to “Hallelujah Even Here” by Lydia Laird.

Riley Block, coach for the figure skating club, said that she and her team often huddle up and pray together before their competitions. Because her skaters like to be involved, Block said she gave her team some song options to vote on for the service and ultimately let them choose.

“I think the girls had a lot of fun, which is really important to me,” Block said. “They were a little nervous, I think, and there were definitely more people here than they were expecting. But I thought it went really well.”

Chapel closed with another hockey-influenced moment: “Chuck-a-Puck Prayers,” during which audience members tossed pucks at a target spread out on the ice. The puck closest to the target’s center was a winner, but there was a twist: Ace the Augie Doggie took to the arena’s rink to choose a second winning puck. 

Much to the audience’s delight, the excited Ace simply scampered around the ice, nosing at half-a-dozen different pucks without choosing a single one. 

Still, the joyful atmosphere in the arena was not dampened in the slightest. After reciting the Lord’s Prayer together in closing, grinning chapel attendees made their way around the arena to the Vikings Club, where hot chocolate and cookies were waiting.

“I think it’s so cool that they did [this service],” senior Lily Wipf said as the crowd chatted. “It’s a fun way to get people back to chapel.”

All in all, Augustana’s first Chapel on Ice was a rousing success, involving participants from across campus and drawing an engaged crowd of over 200 attendees. 

Sydney Hayes, assistant director of administration and special events, and Emily Staedy, director of marketing and fan experience, who assisted Rosendale and Day in organizing the chapel service, were pleased with the high attendance. 

Staedy and Hayes look forward to the possibility of working on more events like Chapel on Ice.

“As an Augustana graduate, I love seeing the community celebrate things that other institutions may not always choose to value on such a big scale,” Hayes said. “We had a great attendance, and I can only imagine how many people would show up if this became an annual event.”

Day expressed excitement about the fresh and fun approach to collaborations during chapel, indicating that she would definitely be interested in doing another event like this.

“It’s a really lovely way to get to know people that maybe we wouldn’t have had a conversation with before,” Day reflected. “And then we’re getting to know someone in a fun space, and then it also makes us a safe space.”

Rosendale agreed, noting that they always strive to involve diverse groups in their chapel services — even when they take place on solid ground.

“This whole university is the congregation,” Rosendale said. “We have such a wealth of gifts here at Augustana. And, you know, what happened in the Midco Arena is just an amplified version of what goes on every day and every week in the chapel.”