Thompson Memorial Chapel

Welcome

This Chapel is a sanctuary, a refuge for all journeys of the spirit, a home for the prayers of all who long for hope and peace.

Seekers and visitors are welcome, from any religious tradition or no tradition. Faith and doubt, convictions and questions, certainty and yearning, all belong in the sanctity of this space.

May your time here be a blessing to you, and, in time, may you be a blessing to others.

History

The 8-foot cross, designed and executed for the Thompson Memorial Chapel by H. Lee Hirsche, assistant professor of art. To the solid major axes of the cross, Mr. Hirsche welded thousands of bronze 2-inch rods at varying angles symbolic of the “crown of thorns.” The bronze rods “float” inside a black walnut frame which is in contact only with the back of the cross. (circa 1963)

Thompson Memorial Chapel was completed in 1904 in memory of Frederick Ferris Thompson. The tower is a reproduction of St. Cuthbert’s tower at Wells in the southwest of England. Architect: Francis Richmond Allen of Allen and Collins.

The chapel windows were furnished by the Church Decorating Company of New York, and were made in the studio of John Hardman and Company, Birmingham, England.

The chapel was dedicated on June 21, 1905.