About Olde Yorke Chapel, USCG · Yorktown, Virginia
Olde Yorke Chapel is the interdenominational house of worship on the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center (TRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia, serving the active-duty, reservist, retired, and student populations of the base. The chapel hosts both Protestant worship and Catholic Mass on Sundays, along with mid-week Bible study, and is staffed by a Command/Protestant Chaplain, a Catholic priest, and a music director. Its name commemorates historic Yorke Village, the 17th-century colonial settlement that once stood on the peninsula now occupied by the Coast Guard base. The chapel is administratively a U.S. Coast Guard command chapel, and Catholic worship there falls under the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
- Rector
- Father Jim Connelly
- Diocese
- Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Why belong here
Olde Yorke Chapel is the spiritual heart of TRACEN Yorktown, offering a tight-knit worship community for Coast Guard members, students, families, and civilian employees in the historic triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Catholics can attend Sunday Mass right on base, participate in Bible study and other programming run through the chapel office, and access marriage enrichment retreats and lay-leader formation resources. Because it sits inside an active Coast Guard installation, it is also a place where service members can find confidential pastoral care, religious accommodation support, and fellowship rooted in both their military identity and their Catholic faith.
Mass times at Olde Yorke Chapel, USCG
Weekly Mass schedule
About Olde Yorke Chapel
Olde Yorke Chapel is the interdenominational chapel of the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center (TRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia, located on the historic peninsula once home to colonial Yorke Village. The chapel serves the active-duty, reservist, retired, student, and civilian employee community of the installation through regular Protestant worship, Catholic Mass, Bible study, and a wide range of chaplaincy resources including marriage enrichment retreats, religious accommodation support, and lay-leader formation.
- Named for the colonial port of Yorke Village (patented 1630 by Governor Sir John Harvey)
- Sits inside TRACEN Yorktown, the Coast Guard's oldest recruit and officer training center
- Part of the U.S. Coast Guard Forcecom command structure
Chapel Staff
The chapel is staffed by a small ecumenical team drawn from the Coast Guard chaplaincy and a Catholic priest, supported by a volunteer music director.
- Command/Protestant Chaplain – Chaplain Nancy Crews
- Catholic Priest – Father Jim Connelly
- Music Director – Rose Marie Smith
Worship Schedule
TRACEN Yorktown holds regular Protestant and Catholic Sunday services at Olde Yorke Chapel. The current public schedule is simple — a Protestant worship hour followed by Catholic Mass — and information about special religious services or services for other denominations is available through the Chaplain's Office.
- Protestant Worship: Sunday, 8:45 AM – 9:30 AM
- Catholic Mass: Sunday, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
- Bible Study: Wednesday, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Chaplaincy Resources
Beyond weekly worship, the Olde Yorke Chapel chaplain maintains an extensive set of religious support resources for the TRACEN community. Many of these are coordinated through the TRACEN Yorktown Chaplain page on Microsoft Teams.
- Religious Services Calendar of Events
- Resources for off-base and online religious observance
- Marriage Enrichment Retreats
- Religious Accommodation Resources
- Religious Lay-Leader Resources
- Chapel Reservation Form
Catholic Life at the Chapel
Catholic faithful at TRACEN Yorktown are served by Father Jim Connelly, who serves as the Catholic priest for the installation. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 10:00 AM in the Olde Yorke Chapel and is the weekly anchor for the Catholic community of students, permanent party, families, and retirees on the base.
- Sunday Catholic Mass: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
- Catholic priest direct line: 757-502-3192
- Sacramental and pastoral needs coordinated through the Chapel Office at 757-856-2778
Protestant Life at the Chapel
Protestant worship is led by the Command Chaplain, currently Chaplain Nancy Crews. Sunday Protestant worship precedes the Catholic Mass, and a mid-week Bible study is open to the wider base community.
- Protestant Worship: Sunday, 8:45 AM – 9:30 AM
- Bible Study: Wednesday, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Visiting Olde Yorke Chapel
Because Olde Yorke Chapel is located within a secured Coast Guard installation, all visitors must comply with base access requirements before attending services or programs.
- Active duty, reservist, and retired personnel must show proper military ID at the gate
- All other visitors must be sponsored by someone authorized to bring guests onto the base
- Questions about access can be directed to the chaplain at (757) 262-9010 (voice or text)
Contact the Chapel
The fastest way to reach the Olde Yorke Chapel team is by phone or email; the Command/Protestant Chaplain can be reached directly by voice or text and is the main point of contact for both worship information and base-access questions.
- Command Chaplain (voice/text): (757) 262-9010
- Chaplain email: [email protected]
- Chapel Office: 757-856-2778
- Catholic Priest: 757-502-3192
History of the Site
Olde Yorke Chapel stands on land with deep colonial and military roots. The peninsula was designated for settlement by the Virginia Council in 1629 and developed into the port of Yorke Village under Governor Sir John Harvey's 1630 land patent; Yorke Village served as a religious and civic center for the lower York River through most of the 1600s. The U.S. Navy purchased the property in 1917 as a fuel depot and later established a Mine Warfare School there in 1942. The Coast Guard took over the site in 1959, commissioning the Reserve Training Center on July 3 of that year. The chapel's ministry to Coast Guard personnel continues this long tradition of gathering on a peninsula that has served religious, military, and maritime purposes for nearly four centuries.
- 1629–1630: Yorke Village established as a port and religious center
- 1917: U.S. Navy purchases the peninsula as a fuel depot
- 1942: Navy Mine Warfare School established on the site
- 1959: Coast Guard takes possession and commissions the Reserve Training Center (July 3, 1959)
- Today: Olde Yorke Chapel serves the TRACEN Yorktown community
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Chaplain Bryan Finchsince June 2000 (as of 2002 Congressional Record entry)
Southern Baptist pastor who served as Protestant Chaplain at Olde Yorke Chapel; served on the Chaplain Emergency Response Team after September 11, 2001; recognized as guest chaplain in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002.