'We're one big family.' WNBA players look forward little-known pre-game chapel service

There were two flagrant fouls in Sunday's New York Liberty-Chicago Sky game at Wintrust Arena in the South Loop.

And tensions were high as the nip-and-tuck game ultimately went to overtime.

Hard to believe that just a couple hours earlier, players from both teams - six from the Sky and five from the Liberty - were sitting side-by-side in the same room, enjoying each other's company and even joined hand-in-hand at one point.

For some WNBA players, competition, rivalries, egos and pre-game game posturing don't supersede prayer.

All 12 WNBA teams work with local pastors or ministers to offer chapel to all players before each game. The home team provides the service, which is not mandatory but is almost always well attended in each city by both teams. Sometimes as many as 16 to 20 players attend.

Chapel time usually occurs about an hour or so before tip off. It typically lasts for 10 to 15 minutes.

Before the Liberty-Sky game, Sky minister Dorothy Caldwell, who practices at Christian Life Center in Hammond, Ind., did some preaching and then asked the 11 players in attendance to stand up, join hands and pray together.

The players say they don't even think twice about that interaction.

"We're all like a family in the WNBA. We're one big family," said Sky forward Cheyenne Parker, who has gone to every chapel service since her rookie season. "When it comes to what you do on the court, there's no games. But as far as ministry, it's all family."

Parker, who is joined regularly at chapel by fellow Sky teammates Jamierra Faulkner, Linnae Harper, Kahleah Copper, Alaina Coates and Gabby Williams, says that the chapel service is vital to her everyday life.

With all the travel and practices and games built into their schedules, many WNBA players struggle to fit in religious services regularly. Pre-game chapel gives them at least something.

"This was an opportunity for us to have a small, 10-minute Bible study and it's so helpful," Parker said. "We're so busy all the time so it's a great blessing just to get those 10 minutes before the games.

"It's an overall spiritual food for us. It's for mostly outside of basketball because we do have lives outside of basketball. But it's also for on the court, too. Our chaplain is so encouraging and motivating. This year, we're talking about how you think, your thoughts. I've learned to have confidence and believe in myself and that comes from having faith in the Lord."

Caldwell has been the Sky's chaplain since 2009. Each season, she has a different theme. This season the theme is "You were thinking it."

"We talk about mindsets a lot, about being bold and changing our thought process," said Caldwell, a gentle, sweet-natured woman who can be quite bold herself when she preaches. "We've been talking a lot about how your thoughts dictate your reality. Everything I'm teaching is about them seeing themselves based upon what the Word says and then as they change their thought process, they will begin to act like that."

Caldwell, a minister for 23 years, says her work with the Sky is some of the most enjoyable of her career.

"This is a safe place, the safety zone. There are no teams. It's just all of us trying to hear what we need to hear for the day," Caldwell said. "And what we get the most requests for is prayers for peace and confidence and I like helping (the players) feel that. For some of them, this is like an escape. They need this moment to be at peace and my heart is about their heart, not just about the basketball part of them, but the whole part of them that a lot of people might not pay much attention to.

"There's so much I always want to share with the players and I know I have only a few minutes each time. I just hope it penetrates."

• pbabcock@dailyherald.com. Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw