A Short History of the Chapel at 212 Old Lancaster Road by Roz Benton
There’s
an old expression: “many hands make
light work,” but if walls could talk, we would know that when it comes to the
Christian Community in Devon, the exact opposite is the real truth, and so the
story must be told of the beginnings of the Christian Community chapel in
Devon, PA.
As I
sit in my den trying to write this story-letter, if I close my eyes I can
transport myself to the chapel. What do
I see? What do I experience?
When
I grasp the wooden handle of the solid door and pull it toward me, I am
immediately uplifted as I step inside.
There is a profound sense of peace and I feel that I can finally take a
deep breath. My eye takes in the wide
expanse of the honey-colored Norwegian spruce that spans above me as the sky
does the earth. I walk quietly,
reverently across the oak floor aware of any noise I might make that might
disturb the seen and unseen guests. The
room is filled with the delicate presence of light, and the faint odor of
incense from the years of celebrations held within permeates every surface,
celebrations that began many years ago at Eastertide in 1977.
When
Ed Stone came to Kimberton in 1956, the Christian Community was in its infancy
in that area, but he was pleased to find that there were two locations at which
services were held. One was at the home
of Greta Froelick in Kimberton, the other at the home of Dietrick Asten in the
Germantown section of Philadelphia. At
that time, services were held four or five times a year when the priest from
the New York community would travel to the area.
Greta
Froelick’s house only seated five and when the community outgrew that space, Ed
and Evelyn Stone graciously offered the use of their living room in their house
on Galicia Drive. Sometimes people went
to Philadelphia, and sometimes people from Philadelphia went to Galicia Drive
for services.
Time
passed and Ed and Evelyn bought a farm house on Ellis Woods Rd. in Pottstown
with an even larger living room and services were held there when John Hunter
would make the journey from NY City.
Still
the community grew. Some came from as
far away as Lancaster and people had to stand in the kitchen.
Time
passed and Ed’s father, Charles Stone, relocated and built a house on Ed’s
property. He felt really bad that people
couldn’t even sit down for the Sunday service, so he got busy in the chicken
coop.
First
he got on the roof and built a roof above the roof at the far end of the
coop. When he tore down that original
roof the one that remained was thus raised.
He installed windows at the appropriate places and constructed a vestry
room on the north side close to the new doorway. The walls were painted a very pale lavender,
a gas heater was installed, and the floor was repaved.
Every
attempt was made to transform the coop into a sacred place. Charles Stone built a three step-up platform
and created an altar. He made a vestment
arm on the left and built a table on the wall on the right. He made a frame for
a picture of Christ to hang behind the altar and he even made seven
candlesticks out of solid oak, candlesticks designed by John Hunter,
candlesticks still in use today in the chapel in Devon.
And
so the CCC, Chicken Coop Chapel was born.
It
had twenty-five chairs on the left and twenty-five chairs on the right, with a
center aisle.
One
day Ed Stone was visiting Mable Pew Myrin.
Her family had built a magnificent stone church in Bryn Mawr.
“Ed,”
she said, “Do you ever go to church?”
“Why
yes,” he replied. “I go to service once
a month in my own chicken coop chapel.”
“Oh,
don’t tell me you have a chapel in a chicken coop,” she said.
“Yes,
Mabel, we do. We’re poor people and it’s
the best we can do, and it’s very nice.”
“Oh,”
she said. “I don’t believe it. I don’t
believe there can be a chapel in a chicken coop.”
“Mabel,
if you don’t believe it, you’ve got to prove it to yourself and come to the
next service.”
To
Ed’s surprise, Mabel said she would, and on Sunday she got her chauffeur to drive
her car over. Ed helped her walk up the
narrow gravel driveway.
“Mabel,”
he said, “The chapel is at the end of this building on the left.”
“Mr.
Stone, the building on the end is a chicken coop!”
“Yes,
Mabel, the chapel is in the chicken coop.”
“I don’t
believe it. I just don’t believe it.”
Ed
and Mabel went in and took their seats.
There were a lot of people there.
Afterward
Ed escorted her to her car. All the way
to her car she kept saying, “It was beautiful!
It was beautiful! It was so lovely! Oh, thank you, Mr. Stone for inviting me to
come to the service.”
It
was a little embarrassing for Ed Stone, but Mabel came several more times to
the service at the CCC.
For
sixteen years it provided the sacred space people needed, but the time came
that even fifty seats were not enough and there was standing room only.
Time
passed, as it always does, and Ed’s parents moved into Philadelphia. Their house became Reverend Robert and
Barbara Patterson’s home and service was held every Sunday. It was time for a real chapel standing alone.
A
map was spread out and on it was marked the places where people who attended
services lived, West Chester, Lancaster, Philadelphia and Kimberton. John Hunter thought it should be located near
a rail line between Philadelphia and Paoli.
An intensive search was begun.
The
property at 212 Old Lancaster Road in Devon was on the market. It seemed a reasonable place for people from
any location, and because of the train line, it was convenient to the airport. Agreeing to the site was just the beginning.
212
Old Lancaster Road is in a residential middle class neighborhood. People were quite suspicious of a church they
knew nothing about. What was the
church’s connection to Germany? Robert
Patterson was asked, “Are you an ordained priest?”
“Yes,”
he replied.
“Where
were you ordained?”
“England,”
he replied.
Members
of the Christian Community would attend township meeting after township meeting
seeking approval for the church at that location, and though the proposal was
listed on the agenda, it was never discussed, and time after time it would be
carried over to the next meeting.
Finally,
Bill Bates, Ann Bates’ husband, who was a supervisor of a nearby township, met
with the township board privately. “My
wife is a member of that congregation,” he told them, “and if your township
isn’t willing for the sale to go through, my township will be glad to have
them.”
The
proposal to allow the property at 212 Old Lancaster Road to be used as a chapel
was not on the agenda one particular night, but there was some inner impulse
that led many of the Christian Community members involved in the purchase to
attend, and, lo and behold, in less than five minutes, it was brought up,
discussed, and passed.
The
purchase was finalized in Dec. 1972, and the Pattersons moved in in Jan. 1973.
Renovations
were done to the downstairs. The wall
between the dining room and living room was torn down by Rev. Patterson, Val
and Michael Sankewitsch, Paul Patterson and Ed Stone. Robert Patterson even assembled an organ from
pipes that he salvaged. A hole was cut in the floor in the living room and the
pipes were set up in the basement.
The
vestry was housed in the basement, and Reverend Patterson had to maneuver those steep steps wearing his vestments and
carrying the chalice.
Still
the community grew and about four years later a couple members thought that
something better should be done for the Christian Community and offered to give
money for that cause.
A
search for properties in the same general area was begun again, but a decision
was made to remain at 212 Old Lancaster Rd. and somehow make the property fit
the changing needs and circumstances.
Walter
Leicht was hired to do a drawing.
Initially township officials said an addition could be put on the front
of the house, but the neighbors objected, so it wasn’t allowed.
Discussions
naturally turned to the back yard and the existing apartment. Zoning officials
said an addition could be built on it as long as the church had written permission
from the owner of the neighboring buildings to use his parking lot on
Sundays. This was secured and the church
even had an insurance policy pertaining to that agreement.
Walter
Leicht drew up plans which Robert Patterson approved, with one change. Walter’s design had a straight roof. Robert wanted a higher roof over the
altar. Robert also wanted the church to
be bigger, but zoning laws only allowed an owner to cover a certain square
footage of a property and the driveway would have had to have been torn up to
comply with that rule.
Contractors
were hired, and only about $13,000 of the $78,000 cost had to be borrowed.
Construction
began in the summer of 1976 with Bill Manuel as supervisor and Bob Funk as
foreman.
The
building had so many unusual angles that Bob Funk had stakes all over the
property to make sure everything was going to fit properly. As a matter of fact, when the chapel was
completed, he joked that his ability to build buildings with square corners was
destroyed, and he actually did have difficulty making the outside planter box.
In
Jan. of 1977, Robert Patterson and about fifteen members of the Christian
Community whose involvement had been crucial to the project had a small private
ceremony. A copper dodecahedron had been
made. Each person signed his name on a
certificate and it was placed inside.
The dodecahedron was then placed into a prepared space in the foundation
under the altar.
The
Dedication Day for the chapel finally arrived on March 27, 1977. Everyone was filled with joy. “We finally have our chapel.”
One
hundred-five people were present for the dedication. They came from all over to share in this
momentous event. The chapel was filled
to overflowing and Robert Patterson suggested, “If you can all squeeze together,
three people can fit on two chairs.”
Barbara
Patterson told me, “We thought we had a palace. Later when I looked at the
photographs that were taken, there were piles of dirt everywhere because none
of the landscaping had been done, but at the time, no one even noticed.”
Work
continued, as it always does. Robert and
Barbara Patterson always pitched right in, and often did the yard work
themselves.
The
names of all who helped are too numerous to mention, but it’s certainly worthy
of note that the beautiful slate walkway was laid by Robert Patterson and
Patricia Sankewitsch, on their knees.
Walter
Leicht said the chapel is his finest work. Since its dedication in 1977, it has
been the home for countless marriages, baptisms and funerals. Every Christmas season members and guests
have experienced the joy of The
Shepherds Play and the drama of The Three Kings Play. The Act of Consecration of Man has been
performed thousands of times. Each
priest has helped the spiritual world come into the soul realm of the people on
earth. “When a place is devoted to
sacraments, it becomes a spiritual mystery center.” (Richard Dancey)
The
chapel stands not only as an extraordinarily beautiful structure, but as a
symbol of Christ’s work in the world and a beacon of light for the community in
which it lives.