Penn State Intercom......September 12, 2002
Chapels at the campusesUniversity Park is not the only Penn State location to have an active religious community on campus. Here is information about some of the other locations' chapels: |
 Smith
Chapel, Penn State Erie
-- The multi-faith worship space is the site of recently completed
Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon. The 48 bells in the new carillon
rang for the first time on June 15 at a dedicatory recital. The chapel
opened last fall, and it has become the spiritual center of campus.
The chapel is home for both Protestant and Catholic Campus Ministry
and for the Center for Service Leadership, which coordinates the outreach
and service projects of the students. It has moveable seating for
up to 180 people. |
 The
Edith Davis Eve Chapel, Penn State Altoona
-- The chapel was completed in 1970 and built entirely with privately
subscribed funds. It is available for use by all faiths and contains
a sanctuary with an all-faiths altar, organ and choir loft. The building
also contains office space, a social meeting room and a circular tower,
approximately 65 feet high with a 50-bell carillon. |
 Mont
Alto Chapel
-- Built in 1854 on what is now the Penn State Mont Alto campus, the
Emmanuel Chapel is believed to have been a worship site of well-known
abolitionist John Brown. According to a 1970 account by the Rev. William
Parker Neal, a man by the name of "Isaac Smith" appeared in the Mont
Alto area in 1859. It was first thought that Smith was scouting the
area for a business location. During his time in the area, Smith attended
services at the Emmanuel Chapel. On Oct. 16, 1859, "Isaac Smith" made
an unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry, W.Va. After his capture, it
was learned that Isaac Smith was actually John Brown. The account
states that Brown received his last Holy Communion at Emmanuel Chapel
before heading to Harpers Ferry. The chapel remained in use for more
than 100 years after John Brown's visit. In 1992, Penn State Mont
Alto purchased the chapel for $1 from the Episcopal Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania. The campaign to renovate Emmanuel Chapel began in 1993,
and the chapel was reopened in May 2000. It now is used for worship
services on Sundays, as well as classroom space and meeting space
for student organizations. |
 Interfaith
Chapel, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
-- The Interfaith Chapel at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center opened
in September 1995. The architect, Charles Alexander of Baltimore,
won an American Society of Interior Designers Award for his design,
which includes three-dimensional, colored-glass windows and a door
configured into a three-dimensional Tree of Life. The chapel features
niche areas for the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities -- which
have supplied these areas with relevant materials such as religious
texts, sacred scriptures and other faith-specific items for use by
hospital patrons. The chapel seats 49 people and is used for a wide
array of memorial and remembrance services. It is used regularly on
Friday's for an Islamic prayer service and on Wednesday's for a Service
of Prayer and Hope. The chapel's prayer request book records more
than 4,000 requests per year. |