This building was my ward for 3.5 years as I attended Emerson College. Bishop O. of the University Ward saved my life by telling exactly what I needed to hear when I came to him ready to take my own life because of the crushing weight of my self hatred and shame. And now, this is all thats left. A memory, hazy with smoke.
Gutted.
Just like my faith.
Things that are gutted sometimes get rebuilt in new and better and stronger ways.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely building and not at all what I'd expect an LDS Church to look like outside of maybe the very old examples in Utah/Arizona.
ReplyDeleteIt is with respect that I remember many Mormons, like your own bishop, who did their best under very difficult circumstances to better the lives of individual members. Mormonism as a collective expression of spirituality deserves criticism, but far too many members go unrewarded for their hard work. I'm glad that this one man was in the right place at the right time to give you strength in your own *dark night of the soul*. Such people have a way of appearing out of the ether, where and when we least expect them, and then fading back into memory when their job is done. It's fitting that they -- like the great old structures they often inhabit -- are not forgotten despite the passing of the years.
You see, Greg, the Mormon's used to build chapels with love, thought, and character... before it turned into a corporation and started using cookie cutter blueprints. This chapel was QUITE LITERALLY the first chapel in New England, built in 1951. It has so much history, and so many powerful and influential Saints passed through it's halls while attending Boston's finest institutions of higher learning. It's just a building, but it holds so much meaning.
ReplyDeleteEzra
ReplyDeleteI am currently in the University Ward in Cambridge and I just wanted to share that the community has been so loving and willing to share their facilities for us to have services. I think the fire will ultimately bring the church closer to the community.
Bishop O is an incredible person and a wonderful Bishop. I am a recent convert and he helped me so much through a storm of frustration and difficulty due to the stern opposition of my father to my membership. I don't know if I could have kept onward were it not for Bishop O and so I know exactly what you mean. His is truly an inspired calling.