The Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel is coming up on its 50th birthday, and, leading up to the golden anniversary, it will be undergoing a series of updates.
Chapel attendees have already noticed the first change-removal of the pews.
Some pews have either been sold to raise money or dismantled.
There was some resistance to the change, and one of the main issues is that there seemed to be no advance notice that the pews would be removed.
Melaina Riley, religion sophomore, said this made her concerned.
“I think it’s really sad that we didn’t even know they were going to be gone,” she said. “I wish we could have had a celebration of the life the pews had seen, the sadness, the joy, the grief, the friendship.”
Additional concern stems from the pews replacement blue upholstered stackable chairs. The chairs have no pockets on the backs, meaning they cannot accommodate Bibles or hymnals. Because of this, these items are distributed as attendees enter for chapel services.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Neff, dean of the chapel, was in charge of making the decision to replace the pews.
“The ultimate needs for the chapel were to have greater flexibility so that more groups could use the space,” he said.
Even though there may be negative aspects, there are generally many positive factors at play, said the Rev. Elizabeth Horton-Ware, director of Religious Life.
“Although I wasn’t personally a part of the decision-making process, there are definite benefits to the change, and I can see the versatility of it,” she said.
“We did something similar to this at one of the churches I used to work at, and it led to opening up the space for a wider range of worship styles, and made it feel more like sitting around a table rather than the formal air pews bring.”
Originally built in 1967 and opened in 1968, the chapel was designed by Pietro Belluschi, a famed Italian-born architect and former dean of the MIT School of Architecture.
Neff said there will be more changes leading up to 2018.
“The changes will happen in such a way that the projects themselves will be minor, but the overall aesthetic change will be large once it’s all completed.”
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