Kanuga Chapel
“The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The Chapel of Transfiguration at Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina has always been a place where the family of God is celebrated for so many reasons. I love the outer and inner appearance of the chapel as it is made of southern Carolina white pine from trees downed from a severe storm in 1936.
My mind always wanders as I sit in the chapel waiting for any service to begin, and I remember more. The wood for the chapel was not pretreated so there are these unusual dark oval markings on the wood representing the oiled fingerprints of the workers. The simple markings are more prominent at the top of chapel where it was more difficult for the builders to work. When I am in the chapel I not only feel surrounded by the thousands of prayers of people on retreat who have worshiped here, but I feel surrounded by the hands of those who labored here as well.
I especially remember the day sitting in the chapel when I had found out that my fingerprints for my TSA Pre-check did not go through strong enough. That meant I would be investigated by the FBI before I got my Pre-check, which would take some time before I could get my traveler number! This is the identification you receive in order to go through a special lane through security where you do not have to take off your shoes or coat or put your laptop out separately. I walk with a cane and have special long lace up shoes that are difficult to take off and on, so getting my traveler number is significant for me.
I have a new appreciation for the builders of this chapel who must have been so much stronger and have been tightly holding onto the wood to leave their prints in this a sacred space.
I remember other services in this chapel that I wanted never to end. I have memories from a preaching conference dancing around the altar with Barbara Brown Taylor as I offered the bread and she followed with the wine. I see Bishop Tutu dancing on the green after an amazing closing Eucharist at a retreat led by Trinity Wall Street. Priceless. I remember two Lenten retreats where we were snowed in. Breathtaking.
I played my harp at one of the retreats that Phyllis Tickle led in this chapel because the scheduled musicians could not get here. A privilege.
Thin places like Kanuga give us a full album of memories to go back to and remember times when God’s presence and love was eminently present or as Gordon Cosby would tell us, we lived in the real world.
Joanna joannaseibert.com