50 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 U.S.A
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Preserving the Chapel for Future Generationsby Carl Schroeder 8/20/00
an informative article on the sincere needs of a historic landmark and what you can do to help
For those of you who have been following the property dispute that has dogged the Cambridge Swedenborg Chapel for many years, there is at last some very good news to report! Even if you are not so familiar with the situation, the short of it is that on August 19 a grand meeting of all concerned parties did form a new coalition, and planned for the preservation of the chapel both as a Swedenborgian church and the home of the Cambridge Society, which has been the congregation in residence since the chapel's construction in 1901. The chapel has in principle been saved, and only much work and funds raising is ahead of us now.
In retrospect, the property dispute was quite the public relations disaster for the entire Swedenborgian Convention (our denomination's umbrella organization), especially since the mess spilled into the public arena in 1999 with the offering of the chapel to a condominiums developer. This horrific proposition was intended as a strategic move only on the part of the deed holder, who was our very own Swedenborg School of Religion, known as SSR. The modern value of the property was to be made apparent to force a purchase by the congregation and their friends in order to raise millions in new funding for the schooling of ministers, as well as to free up a non-income producing asset for SSR. The school and the chapel were originally siblings, constructed together a century ago with all deeds placed in SSR's hands for good keeping, but since SSR had gone its own way in the 1960's it had earned its own right to divest of this. Cambridge property around Harvard being what it is and skyrocketing, valuation was now a very hot issue.
Since the congregation was and still is lacking of any white knights in its small ranks, it felt enormously threatened. Furthermore, it is unlikely that SSR fully appreciated the flashpoint that is the chapel's neighborhood, where insensitive real estate development and the protests against are sparring repeatedly. Nearby historic properties have been destroyed for less money than what SSR was needing in its own budget shortfalls; a latest victim is the beloved home of William James, the father of American psychology who was also an important 2nd generation Swedenborgian. Harvard University passed on its option to buy that building and, apparently satisfied with the concrete monolith known as "William James Hall" which faces the Chapel, lost an opportunity to immortalize James in what could have been a fascinating museum. Neighbors realized all this too late. James' home is now a gutted shell on Irving Street awaiting yuppie furnishings, and we offer our condolences to our Chapel's vice president Eugene Taylor, who is a prominent William James' scholar as well as the Swedenborgian author of books on spiritual psychology and early American religious communities.
Our beautiful Gothic revival chapel is very popular in the Harvard neighborhood, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places, but these honors did not offer any legal protection against demolition, so SSR's arguably callous placement of the property onto the open market was attracting the worst of developers quickly. Both in an effort to fix a lower value and to protect the property, the congregation immediately applied for local landmarking. The chapel was such a shoo-in for City of Cambridge Landmarking that in March of 1999 on short notice (and in freezing weather!) 1200 signatures were collected and presented to city hall, where the councilors voted unanimously for external protection and made numerous speeches on our behalf (one African-American councilor spoke proudly to the fact that the first integrated church in the Boston area was also Swedenborgian, and the mayor ordered study for the precedent of internal landmarking, which is not currently available to anyone in Cambridge and is very rare in U.S. cities).
A year and more later, the chapel is now landmarked, and the financial needs of our Swedenborgian family simply remain. We wish to apologize to our neighborhood and supporters for the stresses that were caused by what became a regrettable turn of events, in a cash-strapped distant managing of our historic and beloved property. We have sincerely endured all of these stresses along with you, and we greatly appreciate the success of the landmarking drive.
We would like now to declare that our Swedenborgian community stands again in a good unity, and this is in no small part due to the success of the August 19 summit at which were present key members of our school of religion, our Cambridge congregation, our national Convention, and our Massachusetts union. It was reaffirmed for all that our entire goal is comprised of all three of the following: 1) the continued support of the school of religion, 2) the keeping of the Cambridge chapel as Swedenborgian, and 3) the preservation of the Cambridge congregation in its present location. New funding vehicles will be vigorously explored for the next 2 years, during which time the deed to the property is to remain firmly with the Cambridge Society under a mortgage that justifies a realistic fund raising. Please understand that this layman's view is provided only as a platform for grateful appreciation, and it is meant to in no way limit or define the activities of the many fine individuals who will be working to implement the preliminary agreements thus referred to.
It is a great heritage that we Swedenborgians seek to uphold and preserve. Convention Swedenborgians have worshipped in the Boston area since the early 1800's, and in 1888 they formed this congregation in Cambridge called the Cambridge Society. In the 19th century Emanuel Swedenborg was a must-read for all intellectuals, and it was then the great poet and transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson declared Swedenborg to be one of the 50 great thinkers of all time, on a par with Goethe, Shakespeare, and Plato. We have come a long way to now, when Swedenborgians are obscure inheritors to a New Age of theology which does not yet know its own debt to them, and Swedenborgian properties are most everywhere struggling for a respectful publicity which might result in more needed funding. By our own tribulations in Cambridge it is apparent that we have some ways to go to be more successful, but we are still trying.
The Cambridge Chapel is at a unique juncture of place and purpose and meaning. Its pedigree is detailed and fascinating, offering many connections for living as well as study, and the hospitality of its congregation is famous to many, including the Tibetan refugee community which has been quietly worshipping here for many years. (The Dalai Lama met with the Chapel's officers to give personal thanks - the Chapel was blessed in perpetuity by traveling monks in a great chanting ceremony.) The Chapel is much more than just a Swedenborgian edifice, since it serves the needs of others as a community meeting place (including a launch point for activism in the Harvard Square area) and center for cultural events (the summer classical concert series has been for years especially enjoyed by many.
We invite you to get to know us better, both as Cambridge Swedenborgians and as supporters for a greater Swedenborg School of Religion. The chapel remains solidly open for services, events, and weddings. Our hope is to resolve all of our financial needs and restore the property over the coming years to its pristine condition - indeed to begin such commitments in time for the centennial celebrations of 2001, with plans extending beyond for an improved parlor annex appearance and usage. With SSR's blessings we dream to be a showcase as we always were meant to be, including for the field service of young ministers right next to Harvard's divinity school, and as a presentation venue for ever more intelligent and theologically profound lectures availed enthusiastically to the entire Boston and Cambridge region. As the Swedenborg School of Religion continues to evolve beyond its present conditions, the Cambridge Swedenborg chapel offers to be a point of familiar and powerful visibility for its local programs where feasible.
We are all praying and working together now. Thank you.
Click here to learn more about the Save the Chapel Fund
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