Current Students > Campus Services > Campus Ministry > Liturgical Furnishings

The design of the liturgical furnishings was based upon the same principles as the chapel. Those principles are simplicity, truthfulness of materials, and honesty in their expression. Materials and their detailing were used to set apart the liturgical furnishings while their continuity of expression orders the liturgical progression of rituals throughout the chapel.

The major liturgical elements; Altar, Ambo and Font use black walnut, powder‐coated steel, patinated copper, and nickel silver to set apart the primary liturgical settings related to word and sacrament. These materials along with recurring design components such as tapered wood
legs and bases as well as common powder‐coated steel shapes and sizes bring a unity to these
elements. Variations in how these components are assembled give each of these elements their
own identity. The Altar is composed of four columns of clustered tapered wood legs and bases
tied together by wood beams and a powder‐coated steel framework. The top wood beams are
canted and cantilevered to support a slightly rectilinear wood mensa. The black walnut wood mensa has a moulded edge and is inlaid with five maple and ebony crosses, representing the five wounds of Christ suffered on the cross. The Ambo is supported on two columns of two tapered wood legs clustered on wood bases. These columns are tied together by a wood beam and powder‐coated steel framework, which supports a cantilevered wood top with a nickel silver book rest. The Font is supported on four columns of two tapered wood legs clustered on wood bases. These columns are tied together by a wood beam and powder‐coated steel framework, which supports the verdigris patinated copper bowl on four grooved channels representing the four rivers of paradise.

The design of the other liturgical furnishings such as the Paschal Candle and Altar Candle Stands, Sanctuary Lamp, Credence Table and Memorial Book Stand maintain the continuity of expression of the major liturgical elements but by simpler means. The Paschal Candle and Altar Candle Stands use a powder‐coated steel framework with nickel silver bobeches and candle sockets. The Paschal Candle is distinguished by the use of black walnut wood inserted within the steel framework. The Sanctuary Lamp is a powder‐coated steel bracket with nickel silver bobeche and candle socket holding a clear glass globe. The Credence Table and Memorial Book Stand have black walnut wood tops with moulded edge supported on powder‐coated steel frameworks.

The devotional liturgical elements ‐ Cross, Processional Cross and Stations of the Cross ‐ are executed using similar materials and detailing to bring a unity these elements yet distinguish themselves from the other liturgical furnishings. The Cross consists of a powder‐coated steel framework with tapered arms holding four hand‐painted seraphim icons that create the setting for the Processional Cross. The Processional Cross is an open nickel silver framework mounted on a powder‐coated steel and black walnut wood shaft. The open framework of the cross holds five hand‐painted icons; a six inch diameter circle at the center and three inch squares at each arm with imagery on both sides. The imagery portrays of the Lamb of God at the center with the symbols of the four evangelists at each arm on one side while on other side a crown of laurel surrounding the Chi Rho in the center with the Greek abbreviations for “Jesus Christ Conquers” at the arms. The Stations of the Cross are a set of twelve inch wide by sixteen inch high handpainted icons. Each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross is placed on a painted steel bracket and mounted to each steel column supporting the laminated wood timber structure above.