The Interfaith Memorial Chapel at New England Baptist was built and dedicated in June of 1962 as a way of enlarging the spiritual ministries of the hospital.
New England Baptist Hospital Memorial Chapel and Prayer Room, Boston
Founded in 1893 with the support of the Boston Baptist Social Union, New England Baptist Hospital moved to its current location in Mission Hill in 1896. Currently, it specializes in all aspects of musculoskeletal health.
The chapel was designed by architect Dr. Arland A. Dirlam and was located in a corridor between two separate wings in one of the busiest areas of the hospital. More than 500 people attended the dedication where music was provided by the forty member choir of the School of Nursing and the Faculty Quintet.
Fully renovated since its founding, the focal stained glass window remains while the hard traditional pews were removed and replaced with movable church chairs. Mid and high level management meetings take place regularly in the chapel today as do new employee orientations and educational conferences.
Prayer and reflection, memorial services as well as graduation ceremonies for Clinical Pastoral Education students also take place in the space.
“If not consciously, then unconsciously, the chapel enfolds each group as a powerful symbol of sacred space,” chaplain Kenneth Larsen explains. “It has a unique New England feel in its architecture.”
A small prayer room was also opened in the early 1990s next to the intensive care unit that is frequently a venue for family meetings and difficult conversations.
For more information, please see: https://www.nebh.org/for-patients/patient-amenities/chapel/
