Jewish, Islamic and Catholic leaders joined Chaplain Becky Jones in blessing the chapel.
Clik here to view.
Cooley Dickinson Hospital has a new chapelNORTHAMPTON — With songs and prayers, a gathering of local healers both spiritual and physical dedicated a new chapel at Cooley Dickinson Hospital on Thursday.
The Gugger Family Memorial Chapel was conceived as a place where patients, their family and staff can go for quiet contemplation in times of need. It replaces a chapel that was located a floor above it in a hard-to-find part of the hospital. The new chapel sits at ground level outside Cooley Dickinson’s healing garden, a quite, landscaped space.
The chapel project was spearheaded by Dr. Brock Lynch, a retired cancer surgeon who worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and made the major donation for the creation of the chapel. It is named after his late brother-in-law, Vincent Daniel Gugger, who died in 2009. Gugger’s wife Barbara, who is also Lynch’s sister, was at the ceremony along with six of the couple’s seven children.
The centerpiece of the chapel is a 1,400-pound slab of Goshen stone donated by the Goshen Stone Company. According to hospital officials, the gray, brown and blue piece of rock is more than 480 million years old.
Chaplain Becky Jones, who spoke at the dedication, said the stone was chosen in lieu of a religious icon in the hope that it will speak to people of all religious persuasions.
“We wanted the chapel to be a place that would be welcoming to people of all faiths and of no faith,” she said.
Jewish, Islamic and Catholic leaders joined Jones in blessing the chapel. The Rev. Andrea Ayvazian of the Haydenville Congregational Church told the crowd of about 50 that she hopes it will be “a sanctuary for those seeking safety, quiet and rest.”
Lynch, who is a tenor in the Young@Heart Chorus, spoke briefly about his brother-in-law, who served on a submarine during World War II. Gugger’s wife said her husband was loving, kind and gentle.
