The East Church/University Chapel - 444 E Main St
Originally built in 1847, this modest brick Episcopal Church closed in 1853 after pastor Wendell Dixon resigned in a hushed-up scandal. Missituk University purchased the building shortly afterward, and East Church has since served as the university chapel.
Nondenominational services are held here every Sunday for the student body. In recent years, fewer and fewer students have been inclined to make the three block pilgrimage to church each Sunday. Currently it is one of the most under-utilized buildings owned by the University, although campus chaplain Pastor Albert Milliner is a fixture at most University functions and is a vocal proponent of all things religiously affirming.
A Unitarian minister, Milliner perpetually attracts a small cadre of twenty or so religiously-inclined students who are very passionate about life and inter-religious dialogue but typically fails to engage the larger campus on a regular basis. Nevertheless, campus ministry hosts several fund-raisers every year to help the homeless, send money to natural disaster victims, donate food to local pantries and shelters, etc. Should any sort of tragedy strike campus, the chapel’s doors open for scheduled “healing and understanding” services, and the place is (temporarily) full. Otherwise the most notable use the Chapel gets is the semi-regular round of June weddings between older students.
Pastor Milliner is beginning to worry about more than the loose morals of the student body. His proximity to the immigrant populations of River Town have left him privy to the fearful tales whispered among New Jerusalem’s poor: tales of ancient rituals on Misery Island, ghostly apparitions near the waterfront, ancient catacombs under the town, and strange happenings on the empty lot where the Witch House once stood. Milliner dismissed the stories until the strange death of several children among the immigrant population three years ago. The pastor spent several counseling sessions with some of the parents; their accounts of the children's deaths gave the rumors horrid confirmation. Milliner is unsure how to proceed. He is aware of the University’s vast collection of occult tomes but is suspicious of Dr. Jonathan Worthman’s motives. Whether or not he takes up arms against the witch cult, Milliner could prove a worthy ally against the forces of the unknown.
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