Andover Chapel To Hold Service For Racial Unity

Andover Chapel in the Divinity School will be open today for prayers on behalf of the Negroes arrested for their bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. A special service open to the general public will be held at 12:10 in the Chapel today.

The opening of the chapel for the prayers of intercession corresponds with the National Deliverance Day of Prayer promoted by Adam Clayton Powell, a Democratic Representative from New York City. Several million people throughout the nation are expected to join in the Deliverance Day services.

In addition, the Massachusetts State Legislature will suspend work for an hour at noon today for the purpose of prayer.

The special day has been described by Powell as a day for prayers "for the deliverance of all who suffer persecution and for the salvation of all who are afflicted with racial prejudice." Powell, a Negro, is also an Abyssinian Baptist minister.

The first trial in the bus boycott case was held last week and resulted in a conviction on conspiracy charges. The case has been appealed. The cases against 89 other Negroes are being held pending the decision on the appeal of the original case.

The drive to open Andover Chapel for the prayers of intercession has been led by the Divinity School's Worship Committee, a student group.

The boycott was organized by Negro leaders in December, after a Negro woman refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.