Interfaith space at the United Nations Headquarters
Ground floor of the church center, with sculpture on the outside of the chapel and stained glass behind that
The
Church Center for the United Nations
is a private building founded, owned, and operated by the
United Methodist Church
as an interfaith space housing the offices of various religions as well as several
non-governmental organizations
. It is at 777 United Nations Plaza in New York City, across the street from, but not part of, the
United Nations Headquarters
complex.
The 12-story center is most known for its first-floor
Chapel at the United Nations
, which has a modernist design.
[1]
The chapel has long been a popular site for wedding ceremonies, especially ones between couples of different religious or national backgrounds. Other events and conferences have been held at the chapel and in the church center as well.
History
[
edit
]
The plan for the Church Center was first unveiled in November 1962 by the Methodist Church.
[2]
Construction began in the summer of 1962.
[3]
The building is located on the southwest corner of United Nations Plaza ? a local bypass of
First Avenue
? and
44th Street
.
[3]
The 12-story building was constructed at a cost of $3 million with the architect being the modernist
William Lescaze
.
[4]
Stained glass as seen from inside the chapel
The interior design of the chapel and church center was
done by the noted American ecclesiastical architect
Harold Eugene Wagoner
.
[5]
The paired stained glass interior and exterior sculpture on the street-facing wall were created by Henry Lee Willet and
Benoit Gilsoul
, respectively,
[1]
with both working for
Willet Hauser Architectural Glass
.
[6]
The name of this large work is "Man's Search for Peace" and it shows human-like shapes around a large eye-like form.
[1]
The chapel was sponsored with monies from the Women's Division of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church; it is formally named the
Tillman Chapel
in honor of a prominent member of that division, Sadie Wilson Tillman.
[1]
Later a small statue by
Moissaye Marans
entitled "Prince of Peace" was added to the inside of the chapel.
[7]
The building was dedicated in September 1963, with UN Secretary General
U Thant
, US Ambassador to the UN
Adlai E. Stevenson
, and US Secretary of State
Dean Rusk
all speaking at the ceremony.
[8]
In addition to the Methodists, representatives from the Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths were also part of the dedication.
[8]
Some two thousand attendees heard U Thant praise both the UN and the church for the "act of faith" that led to its construction,
[9]
while Rusk talked about how the dangers from the ongoing
Cold War
were ever-present.
[8]
Goals
[
edit
]
From the beginning, the church center was considered interdenominational in spirit and purpose,
[7]
and nonprofit groups representing various religions have been housed there.
[10]
The church center was originally administered by the
National Council of Churches
.
[4]
Subsequently it was run by the Methodist Church itself,
[7]
and then by the church's
General Board of Church and Society
.
[9]
The different parts of the church involved in it became complicated, so to simplify it came to be that it was owned and operated solely by the
United Methodist Women
organization.
[9]
[11]
In any case, as one United Methodist Women official said in 2013, "From its inception, the Church Center for the U.N. was envisioned as more than a site for the Methodist Church's international work. It was to provide access to the U.N. to other faith communities and nongovernmental organizations working for human rights, development and peace."
[9]
One of the goals of the center was to give both people of both lay and clergy vocations an immediate understanding of what went on at the United Nations.
[8]
To the end, conference rooms in the center have had a loudspeaker set-up wherein debates from the United Nations could be piped into them.
[4]
The church center has hosted people pleading causes at the United Nations, such as East Timorese independence activist
Jose Ramos-Horta
.
[9]
It is also the location where most of the nongovernmental meetings in conjunction with the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
are held.
[9]
Nonetheless, as the
New York Times
has written, "the affiliation between [the center] and the United Nations is more spiritual than official."
[12]
Events and uses
[
edit
]
Altar of the chapel, as set up for a marriage ceremony involving elements of Judaism
The Chapel is well known for being the site of marriage ceremonies, and especially for
couples of different religious backgrounds and faiths
.
[11]
By the mid-1970s, some 400 marriages a year were being held there.
[12]
For a ceremony, there are banners representing various faiths that can be displayed on the chapel wall.
[11]
The chapel also attracts couples getting married from different nationalities, especially when they have met while one of them was stationed at the United Nations; in addition, people getting married for the second time, or who feel a kindred spirit with the purpose of the United Nations, also have chosen to be married there.
[12]
Its use for interfaith ceremonies was mentioned in a 1985
Dear Abby
column.
[13]
It has been listed for this purpose on the website of the
Office of the Mayor of New York City
.
[10]
The church center charges a rental fee for use of the chapel for weddings.
[10]
People married at the chapel include then-US Senator
Joe Biden
(who would eventually become US President) and educator
Jill Biden
, in 1977.
[14]
Receptions following the ceremony are sometimes held at the
United Nations Plaza Hotel
, located on the other side of 44th Street.
[15]
Other ceremonies also take place in the chapel. The memorial service for prominent black academic
Z. K. Matthews
from
South Africa
was held at the Church Center in 1968.
[16]
A memorial service by the Japanese delegation to the United Nations was held at the chapel for American inventor
William S. Halstead
in 1987.
In addition, a variety of politically-oriented events and conferences have taken place at the center.
In 1965, the origins of an organization known as Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam (CALCAV), which involved Jesuit priest and anti-war activist
Daniel Berrigan
along with the Reverend
Richard John Neuhaus
and Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel
, came from an anti-war rally at the church center.
[17]
The Global Peace Service Conference was held at the Church Center in 1993. Some events held there have been controversial, such as a hosting a panel discussion on religion with President of Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
in 2007, in which representatives of some religious groups refused to participate while others thought it important to engage.
[18]
A livestream of the play
Sliver of a Full Moon
, a staged reading by survivors of domestic abuse on Native American tribal lands, was performed at the Chapel in 2014.
[19]
The church center has often been the site where announcements are made about the winner of the annual
Templeton Prize
for progress in thought about religion.
[20]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Dunlap, David W. (2004).
From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship
. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 273.
ISBN
9780231125437
.
- ^
Bartnett, Edmond J. (November 4, 1961).
"Methodists Plan $2,000,000 Center"
.
The New York Times
. p. 21.
- ^
a
b
"Church Peace Center Is Started on the East Side"
.
The New York Times
. August 2, 1962. p. 41.
- ^
a
b
c
"U.N. Church Center to Be Dedicated"
.
The New York Times
. September 17, 1963. p. 4.
- ^
Gane, John F., ed. (1970).
American Architects Directory
(PDF)
(3rd ed.). New York: R. R. Bowker for American Institute of Architects. p. 956.
- ^
"Willet Studios Windows in Western New York"
. Buffalo Architecture and History
. Retrieved
November 4,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Dugan, George (April 8, 1967).
"Chapel to Unveil Statue of Christ"
.
The New York Times
. p. 37.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Rusk Says Cold War Not Cured"
.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
. Associated Press. September 23, 1963. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Bloom, Linda (October 4, 2013).
"Across from U.N., a place for the people"
.
New York Annual Conference
. United Methodist Church.
- ^
a
b
c
"Non-Governmental and Official Liaison Organizations"
. Office of the Mayor, City of New York
. Retrieved
November 5,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Roy, Ralph Lord (June 6, 2015).
"Religions are facing changes in wedding traditions"
.
Record-Journal
. Meriden, Connecticut. p. A5 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kennedy, Shawn G. (May 9, 1976).
"U.N. Chapel Weddings: Ecumenical Spirit"
.
The New York Times
. p. 48.
- ^
Van Buren, Abigail (February 22, 1985).
"Church wedding for interfaith couple"
.
Globe-Gazette
. Mason City?Clear Lake, Iowa. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Seelye, Katharine Q. (August 24, 2008).
"Jill Biden Heads Toward Life in the Spotlight"
.
The New York Times
. p. A13.
- ^
"Directory: U.N. Plaza Park Hyatt"
.
New York
. February 10, 1992. p. 21A.
- ^
"Zachariah K. Matthews : October 20, 1901 ? May 11, 1968 : memorial service"
. University of South Africa. 14 November 2012
. Retrieved
November 6,
2020
.
- ^
Drier, Peter (April 5, 2017).
"Fifty Years After King's Famous Anti-War Speech, America Again Debates Guns Versus Butter"
. Moyers on Democracy.
- ^
Goodstein, Laurie (September 27, 2007).
"Ahmadinejad Meets Clerics, and Decibels Drop a Notch"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"
Sliver of a Full Moon
by Cherokee playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle"
. Howlround Theatre Commons. September 21, 2014.
- ^
For instance, see
O'Reilly, David (March 15, 2007).
"Templeton religion prize to philosopher Charles Taylor"
.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
. p. A4 – via Newspapers.com.
For other instances, see
this web search done November 6, 2020
.
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40°45′0.4″N
73°58′9.5″W
/
40.750111°N 73.969306°W
/
40.750111; -73.969306