A Heartfelt $500,000 Gift Helps to Ensure the St. Stephen’s Chapel Remains a Place of Solace for Future Spartans

The gesture of giving is one of the most beautiful expressions of care and compassion that one can experience. And for those with a benevolent spirit like J.P. Bryan, Jr. '58, giving can bring just as much and sometimes even more joy to the giver. Bryan, who recently gave St. Stephen’s $500,000 towards the Chapel renovation and expansion, expresses a feeling of that exact sentiment — joy. Bryan shares it was his deep faith and coming of age in the school’s earliest decade that led him to give this gift from the heart.

Bryan, a five-year boarding student who later became a successful Texas business and civic leader, acknowledges that during his time on campus, attending chapel frequently could feel like an “obligation” to students. Back then, St. Stephen’s seemed remote in the isolated hills outside Austin and student activity or free-time was limited. All students attended chapel in the morning and evening, the community had a single TV with grainy reception, and students could only leave campus twice a week for trips into town. And that was only if faculty did not cancel the trips to reprimand students for breaking school rules, Bryan remembers. His close-knit class of only 36 students made their own fun. In addition to Bryan’s studies, he was also an athlete, playing football, basketball, tennis and boxing. He also served as a dorm proctor among other things. 

Now reflecting on why he decided to make a gift many years later, Bryan believes the Chapel became his true sanctuary and a peaceful place in the heart of The Hill that calmed his mind, body and spirit. From a hazy memory of the “repetition of prayers” and the “daily ritual of chapel,” those defining elements stand out in his mind. Most importantly, Bryan remembers the large wooden cross hanging over the altar that he says spoke louder than anything any adult ever said to him about faith. 

Bryan recalls the cross being “hard to ignore, and not only in your sight but in your psyche or in your soul.” One night, Bryan says he remembers sneaking out of the dorm and finding himself in the Chapel. He remembers sitting on the front row staring at the cross and contemplating. In hindsight, constancy was the comfort Bryan says he needed. 

Much like the deep impact of the wooden cross, there were teachers he respected and learned from through observation outside their classroom. His Greek and Latin instructor Dean Towner, who started the Japanese Exchange program at St. Stephen’s after his Naval Service in World War II, always sat in the same seat in Chapel. Bryan would always look for him during the service. 

“He would always pray first and cross himself,” said Bryan. This was a ritual that Bryan said made him smile inside because he began to anticipate Towner’s prayer.

For Bryan, Towner was the “quintessential Christian in his evidence of humility, absence of self-promotion and reverence for integrity.” Bryan says Towner offered him many things he needed at that time in his life. “What a sanctuary,” Bryan says “until we got out in the real world and had to face the slings and arrows of all kinds . . . in life's journey.”

Bryan’s gladness in giving is to pass on what he received. St. Stephen’s is no longer as isolated from the world, but chapel remains a place for students to find solace. The Chapel doors are always open for those seeking private comfort and relief from their burdens. It is also a sanctuary for those who desire to share personal struggles and joys with a community rooted in respecting the individuality and dignity of every human being.

As Bryan thinks about the hundreds of Spartans on The Hill who regularly attend chapel today, his advice is to adopt the building as their own sanctuary and find “messages that you can apply to your own life, because clearly, God did not intend you to live a sorrowful life. He wanted you to have a joyful adventure of walking through life. It's going to be full of trials and challenges, of course, but he's going to always be there for you, you just need to be available for him.” 

St. Stephen’s will celebrate its 75th anniversary in the 2025-26 school year and expects to launch the boldest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the school’s history, including improved and new facilities and strategic growth of the annual fund and endowment. Bryan notes that his campaign gift to the Chapel honors the constancy of the building's role at St. Stephen’s and his confidence that its expansion will ensure it remains a meaningful and more welcoming space for the next generation of Spartans. Once the Chapel expansion is complete, the cross above the altar will remain, and Bryan hopes all who continue to gaze upon it “aspire to grow in grace and knowledge.” 

To learn more about making a gift to the chapel renovation and expansion, please contact Director of Advancement April Speck-Ewer at aspeckewer@sstx.org or 512-327-1213 x 118.

Photo details: The vintage Chapel photo was taken in 1958, the same year J.P. Bryan, Jr. graduated from St. Stephen's. The color photo was taken during Upper School chapel in January of 2025. The Chapel renderings were created by Volz & Associates Inc. architects.
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Address: 6500 St. Stephen's Dr., Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 327-1213