In 1922, Joshua Blanton initiated a working relationship with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and its agency for work among southern Blacks and the now defunct American Church Institute for Negroes. The Voorhees Normal School, now Voorhees College, became affiliated through the endorsement of the two Dioceses of South Carolina.

Shortly, after Voorhees' affiliation with the Episcopal Church, services were held by the two Archdeacons of the respective Dioceses, the Venerable E. L. Baskerville and the Venerable J. B. Elliott. Bishop K. G. Finlay, Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and Bishop W. A. Guerry, Diocese of South Carolina, also came at intervals to give religious instructions, as well as to hold services.

In 1926, The Reverend H. Randolph Moore was instituted as chaplain of the School, serving through 1928. Again, the services were conducted by the two archdeacons, with occasional assistance from the two Bishops and the Reverend C. A. Harrison, of Charleston, S.C.

In 1930, Mr. Samuel C. Usher, a devout Churchman, came as a part-time instructor and acting chaplain. Under the direction of Bishop Finlay, Mr. Usher, too instructions for Holy Orders from the Reverend William Johnson, Aiken, S.C., the Reverends A.G. B. Bennett, R. N. Morgan, L. N. Taylor, D. D., of Columbia, SC he was ordained to the Diaconate in 1932, and to the Priesthood in 1934. He served as Chaplain until 1947.  

All services were conducted in the old Academic Building, Kennerly Hall, and subsequently continued in the new building known as Massachusetts Hall, which was erected in 1930. The altar appointments and furnishings used for the services were improvised until the new chapel was consecrated in 1936 by Bishops K. G. Finlay and A. S. Thomas, who had succeeded Bishop Guerry as Bishop of South Carolina.

The securing of funds with which to erect the new chapel provides an interesting chapter in the life of the school. In 1930, the late Major W. Bedford Moore, of York, SC, made a speech in the Trustees meeting concerning the need for a church building. He would begin his speech with the following: "I will give $5,000 as the first money towards a church building if the Diocese of Upper South Carolina will pay me an interest on the amount until my death." The Board accepted his offer, with the stipulation that no building under twelve or fifteen thousand dollars should be put up if it would not match the artistic dignity of the other new buildings being planned for construction.

In 1933, at the annual Board meeting, Major Moore said, "I have been amazed at the way my offer of $5,000 towards a church building has been disregarded. Unless you do something about it, I can take the offer down." The offer was again accepted, and Dr. H. D. Phillips, who later became Bishop of Southwestern Virginia, was made chairman of the Building Committee, with Bishops Finlay and Thomas, Mrs. Cain and Principal Joshua E. Blanton named as members of the Ways and Means Committee for securing additional funds for the new Church. Major Moore and Dr. R.N. Patton, Director of the American Church Institute for Negroes, were asked to act as advisors to this committee.

In September 1934, at the General Convention, which was held at Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mrs. Cain made it possible for Principal Blanton to speak at a luncheon given by the Woman's Auxiliary on the need of a church at Voorhees. After this luncheon engagement, the National Women's Auxiliary gave ten thousand dollars to be added to the five thousand dollars given by Major Moore.

When plans were drawn by Mr. S. J. Makielakiof of the University of Virginia, the Trustee Board agreed that approximately $17,500 would be needed to build the Chapel.

Dr. Patton, the director of American Church Institute for Negroes, and Principal Blanton took singers to Detroit and Southern Ohio; and while they were raising money for St. Paul's, St. Augustine's and Fort Valley, they secured $3,000 as special gifts for the Chapel building at Voorhees. The final cost of the building was $18,500.

St. Philip's Chapel, the name designated by the late Archdeacon E. L. Baskerville, is considered the showplace of the campus. When Father Usher resigned in 1947, Mr. Matthew A. Jones became the third Chaplain. Under his direction, the Chapel grew in number and in its outreach to the community. During the interim between the resignation of Father Jones and the appointment of the Reverend Lacy Grant as the fourth Chaplain in 1956, the work of the Chapel was carried out by visiting priests and the religious education director, Mrs. Luta H. Robinson and Mrs. Lelia Brown White. The Reverend Johnnie Montcrieft, Father Milton Crum and Father Gordon Man were among the priests who served as part-time chaplains.

Under the leadership of Father Grant who served from 1956 to 1961, the vestry and congregation worked together to remodel the altar and carpet of the sanctuary. In 1962, the Reverend James Conroy Jackson became the fifth Chaplain called to Voorhees College to continue the ministry of the Chapel on the campus and the surrounding communities. Aisle runners for the chancel and the nave, a baptismal font, new altar hangings, a new chalice and paten set, a pair of cruets and a flagon were some of the recent items that were purchased and installed in the Chapel.

In October 1975, the congregation of St. Philips celebrated its 40th Anniversary of the completion of the Chapel, which also officially launched the building fund Campaign for adding a new wing to the chapel. The new addition would have consisted of a multi-purpose room, kitchen, office space, and a meeting room at that time costing $50,000.

The sixth Chaplain to continue the ministry of the Chapel and the community was the Reverend Howard K. Williams who was installed as Chaplain and Vicar in 1938. He was seen as a very visible minister who was very active in the life of the College and the local community. In his ministry, he enhanced the Christian Education Program in the Diocese of South Carolina.

A concluding comment that is a heartwarming salute to our students who make use of the Chapel involved an incident in which the cross and candlesticks were stolen from the altar and had gone unnoticed by Father Jackson until he instructed one of the acolytes on duty to light the Eucharistic candles. It was then that the missing items were noted to the distress of the Chaplain, acolytes, and congregation alike.

In a month's time, the immediate graduating class presented to the Chaplain a new altar cross and a pair of Eucharistic candles to replace the stolen items. This beautiful gesture was a sincere manifestation of concern to the church people and college family which the students did to right the sacrilegious act that had been perpetrated on the Chapel. This gift from that class will always be reassured and remembered.