Plans
for 75th Anniversary of Chapel & Building Announced
A 'Celebration
of the Arts' will be held October 21-23, 2005. The two and a half
day event will celebrate 75 years of shared life, work, and worship
in DDH's building and especially in the Chapel of the Holy Grail.
Lectures, performances, worship, and other festivities will lift
up music, poetry, prayer, preaching, architecture, and the visual
and dramatic arts.
Bill Blakemore,
ABC News Correspondent and son of Dean Barnett Blakemore, will speak
at a dinner. The celebration will conclude with alumna Kay Bessler
Northcutt preaching at Rockefeller Chapel for the University's Sunday
morning service.
The Hoover Lectures
will be part of the event. The series will open with a lecture in
the Divinity School's Swift Hall. It will conclude with a performance
of 'Four Loves: Themes and Variations for Piano, Oboe, Violin, and
Cello,' composed by alumnus Frank Burch Brown and based on Ralph
Vaughan Williams' hymn, 'Come Down, O Love Divine.'
The celebration's real
'star' will be the Chapel itself. As architect Henry K. Holsman
explained at its dedication in October 1930, '[The] thick stone
walls, oak beamed ceiling, and brown pavement with colored faience
tile inserts, lighted by stained glass windows, suggest a rich beauty
and quiet dignity.' This October, organ concerts and chapel services
will renew appreciation for the intimate space.
A collection of prayers by alumni/ae that will span the seventy-five
years is just underway, guided by Alumni/ae Council member Phil
Points and President Stephanie McLemore. The Council began to plan
the celebration in April. They're also considering architectural
tours, children's events, a small art fair, and late night 'grail'
movies, among other events.
In preparation for the 75th anniversary, the Board of Trustees has
launched a $75,000 effort to restore and renew the Chapel, the Common
Room, and the second floor Atrium. The Aeolian organ will be renovated
and original furnishings will be rebuilt and re-upholstered. They're
looking for 75 persons or couples, starting with themselves, to
donate $1,000 each for the renovations. 'We want to respect the
architectural integrity of our building, while also ensuring that
the building and chapel enhance the lives and work of current students,'
commented Board President Amy Northcutt.
More information, including
registration materials, will be available by mail and online in
early 2005.
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