By Nathan Brockman

The architectural plan for new seating at St. Paul's Chapel.

While there would be worry in any church over such a substantial change, it is a community beyond the reach of the parish’s traditional worshipping congregation that may miss the pews the most.

This is because the pews in question were for months after 9/11 filled with recovery workers and chapel volunteers, when St. Paul’s played a part in caring for the sanitation workers, police, engineers and fire fighters toiling at ground zero. When the belts and boots of these workers marred the pews, the marks were called “sacred scuffs” – shorthand for signs of Christian care for others, of renewal.

As such, a single pew bearing these marks will remain in the chapel, becoming part of the “Unwavering Spirit” exhibit. An additional pew will be loaned to the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation for inclusion in the museum at ground zero. George Washington’s pew and Governor Clinton’s pew will remain inside the chapel.

The pews will be stored offsite. The vicar of Trinity-St. Paul’s, the Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, said that, “As with all the sacred material of 9/11 at St. Paul’s, we will be careful stewards of these pews during this experimentation phase and beyond. As careful as we would with any sacred object.”

New Forms of Worship
Built in 1766, St. Paul’s Chapel is the city’s oldest public building in continuous use. Nevertheless, the parish anticipates that the removal of pews will enhance the creation of new forms of worship, the Chapel’s concerts and civic events, and the ongoing ministry to visitors, millions of whom come to St. Paul’s seeking to make spiritual sense of the devastation of 9/11.

While St. Paul’s is an American ancient, its pews are relatively new: they were installed in the 1960s. The new seating arrangement will feature sets of interlocking chairs placed around an altar, but these chairs can be quickly configured in new arrangements.

“Reconfiguring the space at St. Paul’s for optimum use and flexibility will allow worshipers to be closer to each other physically and visually,” said music associate Marilyn Haskel.

A Home for All
St. Paul’s is a home to many, and in many ways a different kind of home for each. It is a home for Sunday and weekday worshippers, and it is a concert venue. It is a place to feel the spirit of American history. It is a place to lunch outdoors and a pilgrimage site.

The Rev. Dr. Stuart Hoke, missioner to St. Paul’s, stressed that the chapel would still be a home for all. “Our focus is on deepening the quality of our response to people’s needs. Our chapel serves a great many people, and we think this new arrangement will help us in our response.”

“This is an exciting frontier,” said Earl Tucker, director of Trinity’s Concerts at One program. “The proposed changes to the current fixed seating at St. Paul’s Chapel will allow for myriad performance opportunities…music may be joined by theatre and interdisciplinary installations.”

Changes at St. Paul’s historically arouse strong feelings. In the aftermath of 9/11, the iron fence surrounding the chapel become the defacto memorial for ground zero, where people left cards and messages of hope and support, flowers, banners and stuffed animals. As time passed, residents and business owners wrote the parish asking for the removal of the memorial items, seeing their presence as an impediment to moving forward from the tragedy. At the same time, other community members, including volunteers and first responders, petitioned to keep the fence active.

"When the time was right, we respectfully cataloged and safely stored all the memorabilia inside the chapel and on the fence. These items – more than 100,000 – have become part of Trinity’s 9/11 collection and exhibit. We see every day how they touch the lives of visitors, helping people come to terms with the events of 9/11,” says Linda Hanick, Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the parish.

St. Paul’s Chapel will be closed to the public April 16-21. Look for photos, architectural drawings, and a slideshow about this latest stage in the development of St. Paul’s on this website in the days to come. To share your thoughts on the pew experiment, use the St. Paul's guestbook.