The church that means the most to me and is also the church I would like to discuss in this post is the archetype of the military chapel. The Archdiocese for the Military Services actually only was one true parish church and the rest are identified as Catholic communities within in a military chapel. There is a special attention required in considering the military chapel because it truly challenges the worshipper, both as an individual and as a community, to “learn how to perceive the world around them, and in the case of a church the lesson is learned gradually, through experience of liturgy and by life within community, and by absorbing principles of interpretation learned from others” (p. 9)
Although I have not chosen a specific church and it is a church that may not be recognized to most people as “beautiful,” it is still valuable to look at the four categories of spatial dynamics, centering focus, aesthetic impact and symbolic resonance to help one “respond to this church” as discussed by Richard Kieckhefer in Theology in Stone.
How does the space function? The space in a military chapel, for the most part, is utilitarian. When an individual walks into a chapel, it maybe seem pretty bare. Because the chapel is used by many faiths, not just Christian denominations, it normally does not have scenes from the holy Bible in the stained glass design. Generally, you are going to see the military chapel with a medium-size nave (proportional to the size of the building itself). The inside of the chapel will have taller ceilings than most ordinary office buildings on a military base. The beauty of the way the space functions I would challenge is also held in the full use of the military chapel. By full use, I would include the other services that are held in the same space where the Catholics celebrate Mass. I got pretty used to seeing my Protestant friends getting ready in the connecting chapel annex for their own worship services. Yes, there were some instances of contention: one group maybe forgetting to clean up the annex kitchen after their fellowship…arguments over who and when will the additional rooms be used for religious education. But for whatever reason, the worship time was generally respected. The unique experience a military member has in worshipping in a military chapel is the fact that they get to experience the solidarity among all Christians. I mean, we all literally worship and praise God in the very same physical space! For me, this is a great example of the experience of the whole Christian community and only heightens my desire for greater unity.
What is the center of the Church? The center of the military chapel is always focused on the altar. Although not holding the same significance in each denomination, it still remains the focal point of the chapel. The chairs or pews are lined up in such a manner to direct the viewer to the altar. When I was stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, the chapel offices (where all military chaplains and their staff, across all faiths, would work day to day) created a small space for daily worship. The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus built a small altar with the chaplain that opened almost like a triptych. The two doors would open up on the side where the priest would celebrate Mass from, allowing for contents to be stored like the altar pieces. This came to hold even greater significance for our community when celebrating daily Mass there.
What is the aesthetic impact in the space? The beauty of a military chapel comes out of the people that are worshipping in it. Although, to the eye the chapel itself is not necessarily breathtaking, it is beautiful for the community that encloses the chapel during service. The photo you see above was taken my last week at the forward operating base where I was deployed in Iraq in 2010. Although, the space for worship was an old Iraqi military building, the space itself allowed enough light into the room to hold Mass without any artificial light. We were lucky enough to have someone on the base that also played piano, so we put together a rag-tag choir that would provide the liturgy music every Sunday. The whole community really enjoyed the addition of music in such a desolate location. This really touches to the point Kieckhefer makes when he states, “communities become communities by what they see together, by shared perception of objects and events that engage the senses as well as the mind and are richly charged with symbolic value” (99).
What symbols are in use? I have been in and out of military chapels. I grew up attending Mass at military chapels until I was 11 years old, when my dad retired from the US Air Force. Then, I started attending Mass again at a military chapel when I attended the US Air Force Academy for undergraduate school. But the memory that has stuck with me at every military chapel is “prepping” the chapel for Catholic Mass. This included opening the stations (of the Cross) “boxes” and opening the doors or pulling back the curtains that revealed statues of Mary and Joseph. Another example of symbolism in chapel was the stained glass windows at the US Air For Academy. The US Air Force Academy had multiple chapels within in the same structure. The ground level held the Protestant chapel and the basement level held the Catholic chapel and Jewish temple. The stained glass in the Catholic chapel was various shades of brown to symbolized the catacombs. The way the chapel was designed was to reflect the foundation the Catholic Church has in the whole Christian community along with the connection to the one true God also shared in Judaism.
Performing Beauty 