Chapel at Mass. General celebrates 75 years of guidance and solitude
Diane Kilgore | June 2, 2016
With a palpable sense of appreciation of the human condition in its variable forms, Reverend John W. Polk reflected on May 25th’s joyful celebration of the chapel at Massachusetts General Hospital. In its 75th year of service, Rev. Polk — the Director of the Chaplaincy Department — said he stood with members of the Chaplaincy department within the hospital’s stained glass cloister to officiate a ceremony that included music, personal reflections, and blessings of varying religions and languages. His welcoming remarks to invited guests spoke of the chapel’s history and its purpose in the lives of those it serves daily. He referred to the chapel as “MGH’s common room, our gathering room where all people are as they are intended to be — equal. Equal in sharing a common humanity. Here in this common room there are no classes, no divisions, no separation. Here in this space we are one.”
The chapel has changed location within the hospital since it opened its sanctuarial space in 1941; however the intention for a dedicated place of meditation where all would be welcome remains unmoved. Conceived by the Right Reverend William Lawrence in the late 1930s as a “bit of pioneering hospital work,” the Reverend hand wrote more than 1,500 requests to MGH supporters with the intention of funding a place to be set aside from the busy hospital for spiritual healing and reflection. The retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts received donations from more than 800 people of all faiths interested in supporting a place of respite within the hospital. Six months before his passing, Reverend Lawrence had lived to see the chapel become a vital part of MGH. First installed in the Baker building, the chapel is open all day, everyday on the first floor of the Ellison building to anyone seeking care of their spirit, soul or heart. A sign outside the chapel vestibule reads, “Whoever will, may enter here.”
Intricately designed windows by renown stained glass artist Charles J. Connick, who is also credited with installations at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the Chapel at Princeton University, and the American Church in Paris, are focal points of the softly lit common room. Atmospheric calm is achieved with comfortable seating and through Connick’s scholarly craftsmanship, fusing glass saturated with jewel-tone accents to dominating celestial tones of cobalt blue. A magnificent rose medallion centerpiece as well as side windows situated above wall-sconce candelabras enhance graceful appointments in the Gothic Revival chapel. The space is both vibrant and reflective. Right Reverend Alan M. Gates, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, successor to the Right Reverend William Lawrence, also participated in the chapel’s celebration and told attendees the stained glass windows speak of a gift bestowed by light and color, of human conditions of all those who have come here, and recollects all those who seek refuge to mourn.
(Courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital)
Included in the Order of Service booklet of the day were notes of congratulations and thanks, and the thoughts from staff members, patients, and visitors of the reflective oasis. Acceptance, Calm, and Strength were a few of the many words used in the prologue of the ceremonial text. Carmen Vega-Barachowitz, Director of Speech, Language, Swallowing Disorders and Reading Disabilities who spoke at the celebration, also included her thoughtful remarks in the booklet saying the “MGH community has gathered in this chapel in both triumph and tragedy. The chapel at MGH is a holy place, that doesn’t belong to any specific person, faith,or religion … where one can find solace and peace in the midst of distress, and also to give thanks for joy and bettering health of a loved one. ” For her it’s “a place where one might be alone but never lonely.” Also included within the Order of Service booklet were the thoughts of Mark Poznansky of MGH’s Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center: “The chapel has … hosted superb children’s musical programs that are broadcast directly into patient rooms to bring them a lightening of their spirits.” His group plans future collaborative concerts to benefit the MGH community at large.
Reverend Polk also pointed out the chapel has been a gathering place in times of celebration and in grief. In addition to compassionate individual and family pastoral care, the chaplaincy staff of 30 embraces multiple languages and traditions as they gather to pray in the sacred space considered home to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, as well as non-believers. For Muslims, the Masjid is around the corner from the chapel. In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Newtown massacre, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Rhode Island night club fire, the language of the chapel was universally understood, offering peace, hope, faith and comfort through music and prayer. Virginia Needham, Chair of the Chapel Committee and Ladies Visiting Committee, also spoke at the celebration, saying “the Chapel provides a sanctuary and a safe place away from the frantic pace of the busy hospital … that continues to make a difference in the lives of MGH families, patients and staff.”
After 75 years of service, today’s MGH chapel is as Bishop Lawrence had originally hoped it would be, a “living thing.” Rev. Polk calculated last year 7,548 visitors of the chapel wrote heartfelt petitions in a prayer book that rests on a credenza at the chapel entrance. He said the total number of people who entered the gathering room through the chapel doors or through in-house television broadcasts far exceeded the number of those who took a moment to write their story in the sanctuary book of prayers.
Before a reception in the chapel foyer, Rev. Polk concluded the celebration with his benediction:”Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the affected; honor everyone; love and serve one another rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Amen.”
When asked what future plans the chaplaincy and hospital administrators are working on, Reverend Polk said those plans will be articulated in a few months, but the department, like all the others at Mass General, is always striving to deliver better care to the patients and families whom they serve from the Boston area and around the world. He took note to say the chaplaincy department’s spiritual care also includes ongoing multidisciplinary appreciation of their patients’ physical and psychological conditions. The team of differing traditions and differing languages led by a man of humanity understands some prayers are only understood in the language of the heart and acknowledges, “sometimes just being with someone in a time of need is one of the greatest gifts to offer.”
The staff is on call 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 617-726-2220 or onsite 24/7 through all patient care floors and the emergency room.
