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A Guided Tour Of The John B. Begley Chapel With The President Of Lindsey Wilson This article first appeared in issue 17, and was written by Staff. The full title appeared as: A guided tour of the John B. Begley Chapel with the President of Lindsey Wilson College Dr. Walter S. Reuling. Editor's Note: Those who have visited Lindsey Wilson's Begley Chapel with President Dr. Walter S. Reuling know that they have had a special experience. Recently, his thoughts were recorded on one tour. He is sharing his words with the docents, the Friends of the Chapel who have so kindly volunteered their time so that visitors may more fully enjoy Begley Chapel at Lindsey Wilson College. We believe that it is important for every Adair Countian to become familiar with the talking points about this magnificent architectural gem. Now, imagine, if you will, that you are part of a small, intimate group visiting the chapel with Dr. Reuling as your host. As he gives attention to each point of the walk, imagine yourself moving along with him. Next to being there in person-as we hope everyone will do in the near future-it may very well be the next best way to experience E. Fay Jones' and Maurice Jennings' architectural achievement: "As we approach the Chapel from the Administration Building, one of the first things you may notice is the cross. That cross is on the axis of the fountain, the entrance to the Chapel, the sanctuary itself and even the brick cylinder in which the heating and air conditioning are located. That was by design. As you look at the fountain, you will see that the shape of the water as it sprays up simulates the shape of the three crowns. That was also intentional and is quite a striking thing to note, particularly as you stand on the same axis as the cross and sight all the way through. "I'm standing in the courtyard, which we foresee as a place for students to gather and sit by the fountain, and for groups-perhaps even classes, to meet and enjoy the atmosphere outside the Chapel. In the planters that you see around us, you'll note the same cylindrical and circular forms that are repeated throughout this Chapel. You'll even see it in the arc of the pool. "Turning our attention to the Chapel itself, one of the first things you will notice is the entrance door. That magnificent door weighs close to 800 pounds. It is huge. It was fabricated by a company out of Nashville, Tennessee, and is a marvelous introduction to the Chapel. "You can't help but look at the Chapel without appreciating both the mass and quality of the brickwork. The arch that you see, in architectural terms, is call Romanesque. It goes all the way back to Roman times, hence the name. And you will see that theme repeated throughout the building. We cannot underestimate the skill that it took to construct those arches and we are very proud of the masons who came from our own Casey County to work on this. It's clear to me that the techniques used here took a lot of skill and a lot of courage and it's my judgment that they were successful. For instance, in the doorway to this entrance notice the setbacks. I think you will see five to six to seven brick setbacks that just add to the richness and detail. That richness and detail is a hallmark of E. Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings-designed chapels "Speaking of the architects, Fay Jones is world renowned for his chapel designs. He has received numerous awards, including the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Award for Best Chapel Design. I can't recall the year in which that was awarded but soon after, the Smithsonian magazine did a feature on Fay Jones. Maurice Jennings, who did most of the on-site work here, has been an associate of Fay Jones for almost 25 years, beginning as an apprentice or an intern when he was still at the university. "Once again, note the circular theme in the door. As we open it, we find ourselves in the narthex, which is an architectural term for the entryway or the vestibule or entrance to the chapel. With the exception of the little table and chair that you see, the architect's intention was that this be bare and stark without adornment, that it have the medieval cathedral presence or sense to it, and I think he certainly achieved that. If you look straight up you'll see one of the smaller of the two skylights. You can also the crown through that skylight. At night that is illuminated from underneath and it can be seen for miles around is truly a striking sight. The combined weight of the crowns, by the way, is 45 tons. It took 8 huge flatbed trailers to transport it from Fayetteville, Arkansas, where it was fabricated. "Symbolically, this entrance-the narthex is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the outside world and a little later on we will walk through a vaulted passageway which defines or really separates the outside world from the peace and quiet and prayerful atmosphere of the inner sanctuary. "If you look at the wall, you see what appear to be vertical cracks. Please believe these are not defects but are intentional. Brick, believe it or not, does expand and contract over the approximately 100 degree temperature variation that can take place here in Kentucky. Each individual brick can therefore expand or shrink as much as an eighth of an inch. Multiply that by the number of bricks and you can see why there is a need to have intentional cracks to relieve the stress and prevent cracking of the structure. Those expansion joints, as they are called, are filled with a flexible mastic-probably a vinyl compound of some kind. "Getting back to the architects, if you were to see their publications or if you were to visit chapels designed by them, you would note that all of them are very much glass and timber in design. The reason for that is that up until this particular chapel was designed all of the Jones-Jennings chapels were built for secluded wooded spaces or open meadows and the glass and timber was intended as a way of letting in the outside so that as you sit and prayed or worshipped or contemplated or reflected you would think that you were there right in the palm of nature. "There is no such wooded sight or open sight on the Lindsey Wilson Campus, so the architect intentionally designed this building to exclude the outside world and the hustle and bustle as the cars go by on Lindsey Wilson Street or pull into the Cranmer dining center. The only view to the outside world is through the skylights (this one) and the one you will see in the sanctuary which let in the heavens and allow you to look upon the crowns which in themselves are sculptures, in their own right. "As we approach the vaulted passageway, you will notice these massive steel gates. They are 3/8 inch thick and laser engraved. These cut outs were performed by laser beams, the latest in metal fabricating technology. I'm not sure how much they weigh but they are very, very heavy as can see from trying to move them. These gates, once again, are symbolic of the fact that right now we are passing from the outside world through this airlock, so to speak, into the sanctuary. As we walk through we will see another double door, a massive oak double door, once again with the circular motif that you will find throughout this building. If you look down at the floor, you'll see that the lights for the indirect lighting here are in themselves works of art. They were designed by the architect and reflect the same style that you'll see elsewhere in the building. If you are a student of architecture you may know that Fay Jones was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright so as you look at the lenses of these lights that are set in the pavers, you will see a distinct Frank Lloyd Wright influence. "Looking up to the vaulted ceiling you may ask, 'How did they ever put those up there without them tumbling in?' Well it was all built with the use of wooden forms. The bricks were individually wedged upwards in the proper arch, subsequent layers placed upon them and then after the forms and the supports were removed the bricks were pointed with mortar to where you see them right now. "Speaking of bricks, no one has actually counted them, but as I said, there are between 170-180,000 bricks in this building and as we move into the sanctuary you will begin to believe how that is possible. "Here we are moving out into the sanctuary and of course the first thing that strikes your attention is the extreme vertical nature of this building. It's very, very tall. And not only is it some 60 feet straight up, but the crown in itself is another 40 feet tall, to a total of 96-110 feet total height of the building. Why the variation? It's because at the front of the building the land slopes downward toward the rear and obviously a measurement taken from the rear would prove the building to be taller than a measurement taken from the front. "The diameter of the sanctuary is 44 feet. It is designed to optimally hold about 128 seats. In times of need that can be expanded to 144. "After initial "wow" reaction to the height and to the crown that we see through that massive skylight, the next feature to catch our attention is the screen or the backdrop behind the dais, or behind the platform on which the lectern is placed. That screen was fabricated by the same cabinet makers in Nashville, Tennessee, and once again you see the circles and spheres and vertical lines that are characteristics of almost everything that fits together to make this into a unique work of art. "The expansion joints here are especially visible. They go up and up. If you are wondering how we clean the crown and the skylight, if you look straight up over the entrance, you'll see a manhole cover in the ceiling. That's about 66 feet straight up and we have a lift that will take a bucket and one person at a time straight up through that little hole and then out onto the ceiling and then up a ladder and onto the roof. As you can see, the birds have found us and the insects have found us mostly because of the lights at night and the birds of course find the insects tempting and at night you can see bats floating through there. So it does present us with the challenge of keeping that clean and trying to keep the birds discouraged from roosting there permanently. "By many standards this is a small chapel. But if you have read the mission statement set in the brick pavers outside in the courtyard, you'll se why this is so. This chapel is intended to be a retreat, a place to get in from the outside world and let down your walls just as the mission statement says. Its use will be for regular chapel services, drop-in kinds of meditation and contemplation, for weddings, we expect-we believe that alumni and students will want to get married in here, perhaps memorial services, who knows, but the opportunity is available to the public. There are some reasonable fees and some very reasonable and necessary policies for the use of the building in order to protect what really is a treasure. "The piano is a Model M Steinway Grand. It was especially selected to fit this space. We don't always think much about that, but pianos need to be acoustically matched to the space in which they are performed. We are told by acoustical experts that this is an ideal setting for chamber music or for smaller instruments, simply because of the resonant quality of the space. "If you look back to the dais, you'll note the absence of liturgical furnishings. We are int he process of obtaining and/or having designed the appropriate paramounts, a cross and other ecclesiastical fittings that are appropriate for a Christian chapel. Behind the screen you have another massive oak door that leads out to two iron staircases that wrap around the building and will deposit you downstairs and there you can enter into downstairs office space that includes the circular office for the chaplain, an office for the district superintendent of the Columbia district, an office for the secretary, a meeting room and other assorted restrooms and storage and utility rooms. "The building cost over two million dollars. It was built through the generosity of two anonymous trustee donor families, was constructed by the James N. Gray Company out of Glasgow, and Lexington, KY. They have projects all over the world but chose to become involved in this as a labor of love. Ms. Lois Gray, who is CEO of the company, is also a Lindsey Wilson College Trustee. "The overall period of construction was less than a year. I believe that ground was broken in October and even though completion was initially scheduled for July, the sheer scope and mass of the challenge took longer than anticipated. In combination with 23 days of rain in June, construction was delayed to the point that it was just finished a day or so before the dedication on October 10, 1997. "Other chapels that Fay Jones has designed annually receive up to 250,000 visitors and while we don't expect to have that many here, we do believe that this will be an attraction and that people will want to come to visit it-certainly from all over the state. Some who are students of architecture or fans of E. Fay Jones will eventually come from other countries to view this building. "As we said before, this particular chapel is totally unlike any that he has designed before. In accepting the commission, Fay Jones was given absolutely no preconditions, no specifications, no limitations on size or location or materials to be used in construction and he was thrilled by that opportunity. He has told us that enabled him to be as fully and totally creative as possible. He tells us that the basic shapes were inspired by Mid-Western, South Central Kentucky rural themes. Plain talk for that is silos. And so the humor that is going around about how many bushels will your elevator hold indeed has some basis in truth." This story was posted on 1997-10-31 12:01:01
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