From the beginning, religious activities were a part of the SFA experience. While perhaps not as pervasive as on a church related campus, the prominent role which religion played in the 1920s was much more pronounced than it is in the 1990s. The separation of the religious and educational functions were unnatural to the people at SFA in the early years.

Church interest in SFA

From the community point of view, the churches in Nacogdoches felt it was their duty to embrace the college students and demonstrate their interest. An article in the 1923 Daily Sentinel indicated how community organizations, realizing that there were not many activities in Nacogdoches for the new residents, set out to demonstrate a Christian spirit to the “eager and timid, homesick or joyous young people” who were flooding into the city. Rev. and Mrs. C. D. Atwell’s home received the following description: “It is a joy to enter the wide open door, to feel the hearty handshake of the rector, to meet the cheerful smile of the daughter of the house, to look into the welcoming face of ‘Mother Atwell.’ The two hours of games, fireside chats, joyous laughter, followed by a generous serving of cake and cream, will long be remembered by the fortunate young people.” The reporter, as well as many others at the time, called that “good medicine.” “The gracious welcome, the simple charm, and happy goodnights of the host and hostesses will linger through the weeks of study and homesickness of the students.”

Wesley Bible Chair

SFA had the first Bible chair in Texas to be part of a state teachers college. The announcement by President Birdwell came in the November 24, 1928, edition of the Pine Log. The Texas Methodist Conference voted $1000.00 for the initial endowment and other entities in the church gave additional sums. A building was to be rented or leased near the campus. Reverend H. T. Perritte, was the father of the Wesley Bible Chair; he was the presiding elder of the Nacogdoches district of the Texas Methodist Conference. A large class of students enrolled in the first class taught by Rev. George J. Steinman of Yoakum. Forty-nine students enrolled the first semester.

A headline in the Pine Log of October 27, 1928 told part of the story: "Over Six Hundred SFA Students Are Church Members: Baptist Church Leads With Greatest Number of Members; Methodist Second." Of the 754 regular students, the Pine Log estimated, 611 are members of some church according to information given out by the Registrar’s office.

The interweaving of religion with activities at the new college was a natural phenomenon, not at all contrived. Birdwell regularly taught a Sunday School class at the Baptist Church. Faculty members went on retreats with religious groups as a part of their normal responsibilities in the college and the community. The BSU and the YM & YWCA’s were active on campus. Sunrise east services on the Vista, as described in the quote on page 1E, were a part of campus life from the beginning. The usual routine was to form a cross on the steps of the Austin Building, then march down the Vista singing the “Pine Tree Hymn,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and even “The Old Rugged Cross.” Passages of scriptures were read aloud by ministers, students, and faculty.