Memorial Church Role Has Changed

In 1932, more than 1200 members of the Harvard community filled Harvard Yard for the dedication of Memorial Church. Built to commemorate Harvard's 373 war dead, the church was to serve as a religious nexus for the largely Protestant University.

From the outset, the church was a controversial project, however. Many alumni felt a war memorial shouldn't be utilitarian in purpose.

And the Crimson and the New York Times both said that it was not appropriate to remember people of all faiths with a Protestant church.

Today, Memorial Church administrators are grappling with some of the same concerns their predecessors faced sixty-two years ago. The church must accommodate students with vastly different religious beliefs and practices.

Muslim and Jewish students, not just Protestants, use church facilities. And while a few say the church's Protestant denomination reminds them of a less inclusive Harvard of the past, most say the church does not make them feel excluded.

Early Turmoil

When discussion of a memorial to Harvard's war dead first surfaced in 1919, the religious needs of the University were being satisfied by Appleton Chapel, a small building on the present Mem Church site.

So the committee assigned by the Associated Harvard Clubs to determine the most fitting way to commemorate this sacrifice didn't immediately consider a new chapel.

Debate over the form of the proposed memorial was heated from the start. According to the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, the committee soon found the strong sentiment against a utilitarian memorial.

Alumnus Owen Wister, Class of 1882, proposed building a memorial statue near Appleton Chapel, and devoting "the hundreds of thousands of dollars left over to traveling scholarships."

A New York Times editorial from 1921 suggested a memorial quadrangle, "a group of dormitories, [that] ought to satisfy both the utilitarians and the servere esthetes."

But President A. Lawrence Lowell is credited with first suggesting a new chapel, calling it "the best monument that we can build to these our heroes."

He envisioned the new chapel on the site of the old one, and wanted it to fulfill three goals.

"It shall be a memorial," Lowell wrote in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin. "It shall meet the daily needs of the University, and it shall be adequate to receive the large attendance of Sunday services."

Criticism persisted, however, over the religious nature of the monument.

In 1921, the New York Times declared that "a memorial to men of different sects shouldn't be religious."

But on May 22, 1925, at a meeting of the Associated Harvard Clubs in Baltimore, it was resolved "that it is the sense of the Associated Harvard Clubs that the memorial of the Great War should take the form of a new church or chapel, [and that] the President be authorized to...devise methods to raise funds for the memorial."

So Appleton Chapel was razed to the ground, and the new chapel, with its Doric columns, white steeple and memorial room, was constructed in its place.

Dean of the College Willard L. Sperry described the new church in a 1938 pamphlet entitled "The Memorial Church Congregation."

"Our Memorial Church here at Harvard is technically a congregation and nothing more," Sperry wrote. "The health and strength of our present system, as well as its effectiveness, lie in the genuinely interdenominational character of our public worship."

Confronting Diversity

Today, church administrators say they try to offer an interdenominational place of worship and still maintain a Protestant character.

Rev. Ashlee R. Wiest-Laird, the President of the United Ministry, believes that the church has adapted to maintain its place in the community.

"Historically, Mem Church did have the central role of religious practice for people in the University," she says. "But I think as the religious beliefs of the student body have grown more diverse, its roles have grown more diverse."

Associate Minister in the Memorial Church Preston B. Hannibal offers an example of the church's willingness to open its doors to diverse groups.

"The first week of September, we had [Harvard-Radcliffe] Hillel upstairs conducting their High Holy Day services," Hannibal says. "Down in the Buttrick Room, the Muslim students were having their Friday prayers, and right across the hall from them the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship was having their daily prayers."

Hillel's Rabbi Sally Finestone called the Jewish organization's relationship with Mem Church "very positive."

In addition to providing facilities for High Holy Day services, "the staff is very helpful in helping us turn the church into a synagogue," she says.

Vicky Clisham '95, the President of Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Impact, says the recognizes the difficulties that accommodating these various faiths can cause.

"I think it's hard in an ecumenical church to strike a balance between accommodating everyone's beliefs and still having a theology-based doctrine," she says. "[Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Minister to the Memorial Church Rev. Peter J.J. Gomes does that very well."

Not all students feel quite so welcome in Mem Church, however.

Elie G. Kaunfer '95, the President of Hillel and a senior editor of the Crimson, says that while he doesn't feel that Harvard discriminates against him, "the fact that the University has a church in the middle of Harvard Yard, as a Jew sometimes makes me feel excluded."

Harvard Islamic Society President Mohammed N. Khan '95, says he believes the church serves mainly Protestants.

In fact, he says, the needs of Muslims at Harvard--who do not have a building like Mem Church, the Catholic Student Center or Hillel's Rosovsky Hall--are not being met. The group meets in a room in the Canaday Hall E-Entry basement.

"It's a matter of trying to obtain some sort of location for prayer space which is adequate for our needs," he says. "At Friday prayers we get about 120 people, and about 80 to 100 are students. We're very, very cramped."

But most students say their religious needs are served, either by Mem Church or by other religious groups on campus.

Erin F. Delaney '98, a Catholic, says, "[Harvard's] resources like the Catholic Students' Center and Hillel are sufficient for my needs."

And many non-Protestant students say they are not bothered by the central presence of the church in the Yard, despite its Christian symbolism.

"I've always grown up in Judeo-Christian society," says Deepti Choubey '98, who is Hindu. "It's always been a part of the establishment in which I live."CrimsonRebecca L. BennettMemorial Church was built in 1932. Today, it is supposed to serve students of all denominations.

But President A. Lawrence Lowell is credited with first suggesting a new chapel, calling it "the best monument that we can build to these our heroes."

He envisioned the new chapel on the site of the old one, and wanted it to fulfill three goals.

"It shall be a memorial," Lowell wrote in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin. "It shall meet the daily needs of the University, and it shall be adequate to receive the large attendance of Sunday services."

Criticism persisted, however, over the religious nature of the monument.

In 1921, the New York Times declared that "a memorial to men of different sects shouldn't be religious."

But on May 22, 1925, at a meeting of the Associated Harvard Clubs in Baltimore, it was resolved "that it is the sense of the Associated Harvard Clubs that the memorial of the Great War should take the form of a new church or chapel, [and that] the President be authorized to...devise methods to raise funds for the memorial."

So Appleton Chapel was razed to the ground, and the new chapel, with its Doric columns, white steeple and memorial room, was constructed in its place.

Dean of the College Willard L. Sperry described the new church in a 1938 pamphlet entitled "The Memorial Church Congregation."

"Our Memorial Church here at Harvard is technically a congregation and nothing more," Sperry wrote. "The health and strength of our present system, as well as its effectiveness, lie in the genuinely interdenominational character of our public worship."

Confronting Diversity

Today, church administrators say they try to offer an interdenominational place of worship and still maintain a Protestant character.

Rev. Ashlee R. Wiest-Laird, the President of the United Ministry, believes that the church has adapted to maintain its place in the community.

"Historically, Mem Church did have the central role of religious practice for people in the University," she says. "But I think as the religious beliefs of the student body have grown more diverse, its roles have grown more diverse."

Associate Minister in the Memorial Church Preston B. Hannibal offers an example of the church's willingness to open its doors to diverse groups.

"The first week of September, we had [Harvard-Radcliffe] Hillel upstairs conducting their High Holy Day services," Hannibal says. "Down in the Buttrick Room, the Muslim students were having their Friday prayers, and right across the hall from them the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship was having their daily prayers."

Hillel's Rabbi Sally Finestone called the Jewish organization's relationship with Mem Church "very positive."

In addition to providing facilities for High Holy Day services, "the staff is very helpful in helping us turn the church into a synagogue," she says.

Vicky Clisham '95, the President of Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Impact, says the recognizes the difficulties that accommodating these various faiths can cause.

"I think it's hard in an ecumenical church to strike a balance between accommodating everyone's beliefs and still having a theology-based doctrine," she says. "[Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Minister to the Memorial Church Rev. Peter J.J. Gomes does that very well."

Not all students feel quite so welcome in Mem Church, however.

Elie G. Kaunfer '95, the President of Hillel and a senior editor of the Crimson, says that while he doesn't feel that Harvard discriminates against him, "the fact that the University has a church in the middle of Harvard Yard, as a Jew sometimes makes me feel excluded."

Harvard Islamic Society President Mohammed N. Khan '95, says he believes the church serves mainly Protestants.

In fact, he says, the needs of Muslims at Harvard--who do not have a building like Mem Church, the Catholic Student Center or Hillel's Rosovsky Hall--are not being met. The group meets in a room in the Canaday Hall E-Entry basement.

"It's a matter of trying to obtain some sort of location for prayer space which is adequate for our needs," he says. "At Friday prayers we get about 120 people, and about 80 to 100 are students. We're very, very cramped."

But most students say their religious needs are served, either by Mem Church or by other religious groups on campus.

Erin F. Delaney '98, a Catholic, says, "[Harvard's] resources like the Catholic Students' Center and Hillel are sufficient for my needs."

And many non-Protestant students say they are not bothered by the central presence of the church in the Yard, despite its Christian symbolism.

"I've always grown up in Judeo-Christian society," says Deepti Choubey '98, who is Hindu. "It's always been a part of the establishment in which I live."CrimsonRebecca L. BennettMemorial Church was built in 1932. Today, it is supposed to serve students of all denominations.