A
Al_Masetti
Guest
The office complex where I used to work had (still has) what is officially called an “Interfaith Chapel”. I had never heard of such a thing.
The real estate corporation that owns the office complex, when they built the complex, granted a lease for the chapel to the local Catholic church for $1 per year.
It has 50 chairs and an altar and a variety of religious furnishings. A number of religions have prayer services there. However, about 95% of the religious activity consists of Catholic Masses and Catholic Communion Services.
Ashes were distributed on Ash Wednesday to nearly two thousand people. There were confessions after each Mass. And Stations of the Cross. Daily rosary after each Mass. All-day Eucharistic Adoration once a month. On Holydays of Obligation there were extra Masses and those had about 100 attendees (with only 50 chairs). Packed.
There is a Tabernacle. However, it is “hidden” … double locked in a set of cabinets where no one would suspect it is. And the security guards keep a close eye on the room (really what would otherwise be a suite of offices). Many of the Catholics “swore” that when they first started working there, they were able to “find” the Tabernacle … because they could “feel” Christ’s physical presence.
Recently there have been some changes owing in part to the need for anti-terrorist security and in part owning to the owners doing a lot of building renovations. So the chapel got moved a couple of times to nicer quarters. And the huge number of people wanting to get ashes, plus the enhanced security provisions, resulted in the pastor moving that activity to a nearby hotel ballroom.
Don’t know if this helps, but the “interfaith chapel” is a real asset to the daytime community of office workers.
There were occasional “interfaith services”. They were simple prayer meetings hosted by the Catholic pastor, with a few hymns, and a couple of Protestant ministers making prayer contributions. No one was wildly enthusiastic about them, but the building owner wanted participation by all religions.
For a while Muslim and Jewish congregations had services there. But they were uncomfortable and found other venues. The Muslims found a mosque within walking distance and the Jewish office workers got the use of vacant office space for their prayer meetings.
The real estate corporation that owns the office complex, when they built the complex, granted a lease for the chapel to the local Catholic church for $1 per year.
It has 50 chairs and an altar and a variety of religious furnishings. A number of religions have prayer services there. However, about 95% of the religious activity consists of Catholic Masses and Catholic Communion Services.
Ashes were distributed on Ash Wednesday to nearly two thousand people. There were confessions after each Mass. And Stations of the Cross. Daily rosary after each Mass. All-day Eucharistic Adoration once a month. On Holydays of Obligation there were extra Masses and those had about 100 attendees (with only 50 chairs). Packed.
There is a Tabernacle. However, it is “hidden” … double locked in a set of cabinets where no one would suspect it is. And the security guards keep a close eye on the room (really what would otherwise be a suite of offices). Many of the Catholics “swore” that when they first started working there, they were able to “find” the Tabernacle … because they could “feel” Christ’s physical presence.
Recently there have been some changes owing in part to the need for anti-terrorist security and in part owning to the owners doing a lot of building renovations. So the chapel got moved a couple of times to nicer quarters. And the huge number of people wanting to get ashes, plus the enhanced security provisions, resulted in the pastor moving that activity to a nearby hotel ballroom.
Don’t know if this helps, but the “interfaith chapel” is a real asset to the daytime community of office workers.
There were occasional “interfaith services”. They were simple prayer meetings hosted by the Catholic pastor, with a few hymns, and a couple of Protestant ministers making prayer contributions. No one was wildly enthusiastic about them, but the building owner wanted participation by all religions.
For a while Muslim and Jewish congregations had services there. But they were uncomfortable and found other venues. The Muslims found a mosque within walking distance and the Jewish office workers got the use of vacant office space for their prayer meetings.
