View source for Church Center for the United Nations

[[File:Street Sculpture (4674592807).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Ground floor of the church center, with sculpture on the outside of the chapel and stained glass behind that]]
The '''Church Center for the United Nations''' is a private building founded, owned, and operated by the [[United Methodist Church]] as an interfaith space housing the offices of various religions as well as several [[non-governmental organization]]s.  It is at 777 United Nations Plaza in New York City, across the street from, but not part of, the [[United Nations Headquarters]] complex.

The 12-story center is most known for its first-floor '''Chapel at the United Nations''', which has a modernist design.<ref name="dunlap"/>  The chapel has long been a popular site for wedding ceremonies, especially ones between couples of different religious or national backgrounds.  Other events and conferences have been held at the chapel and in the church center as well.

==History==
The plan for the Church Center was first unveiled in November 1962 by the Methodist Church.<ref name="nyt-1961">{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/11/04/101481990.html?pageNumber=21 | title=Methodists Plan $2,000,000 Center | author-first=Edmond J. | author-last=Bartnett | newspaper=The New York Times | date=November 4, 1961 | page=21 }}</ref>
Construction began in the summer of 1962.<ref name="nyt-1962">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/08/02/90172256.html?pageNumber=41 | title=Church Peace Center Is Started on the East Side | newspaper=The New York Times | date=August 2, 1962 | page=41}}</ref>  The building is located on the southwest corner of United Nations Plaza – a local bypass of [[First Avenue (Manhattan)|First Avenue]] – and [[44th Street (Manhattan)|44th Street]].<ref name="nyt-1962"/>
The 12-story building was constructed at a cost of $3&nbsp;million with the architect being the modernist [[William Lescaze]].<ref name="nyt-1963"/>

[[Image:Chapel at the United Nations interior stained glass.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Stained glass as seen from inside the chapel]]
The interior design of the chapel and church center was 
done by the noted American ecclesiastical architect [[Harold Eugene Wagoner]].
<ref>{{cite book | url=http://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2018-09/Bowker_1970_W.pdf | title=American Architects Directory | editor-first=John F. | editor-last=Gane | publisher=R. R. Bowker for American Institute of Architects | location=New York | edition=3rd | date=1970 | page=956 }}</ref>  The paired stained glass interior and exterior sculpture on the street-facing wall were created by Henry Lee Willet and Benoît Gilsoul, respectively,<ref name="dunlap">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JVmnJdqKYoC&dq=%22Benoit+Gilsoul%22+%22united+nations%22&pg=PA273 | title=From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship | author-first=David W. | author-last=Dunlap | publisher=Columbia University Press | date=2004 | location=New York | page=273| isbn=9780231125437 }}</ref> with both working for [[Willet Hauser Architectural Glass]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://buffaloah.com/a/DCTNRY/stained/willet/willet.html | title=Willet Studios Windows in Western New York | publisher=Buffalo Architecture and History | access-date=November 4, 2020}}</ref> The name of this large work is "Man's Search for Peace" and it shows human-like shapes around a large eye-like form.<ref name="dunlap"/>  The chapel was sponsored with monies from the Women's Division of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church; it is formally named the '''Tillman Chapel''' in honor of a prominent member of that division, Sadie Wilson Tillman.<ref name="dunlap"/>  Later a small statue by [[Moissaye Marans]] entitled "Prince of Peace" was added to the inside of the chapel.<ref name="nyt-1967">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/04/08/90318250.html?pageNumber=30 | title=Chapel to Unveil Statue of Christ | author-first=George | author-last=Dugan | newspaper=The New York Times | date=April 8, 1967 | page=37}}</ref>

The building was dedicated in September 1963, with UN Secretary General [[U Thant]], US Ambassador to the UN [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai E. Stevenson]], and US Secretary of State [[Dean Rusk]] all speaking at the ceremony.<ref name="ap-1963">{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62974713/ | title=Rusk Says Cold War Not Cured | agency=Associated Press | newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram | date=September 23, 1963 | page=2 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref>  
In addition to the Methodists, representatives from the Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths were also part of the dedication.<ref name="ap-1963"/> Some two thousand attendees heard U Thant praise both the UN and the church for the "act of faith" that led to its construction,<ref name="nyac-2013"/> while Rusk talked about how the dangers from the ongoing [[Cold War]] were ever-present.<ref name="ap-1963"/>

==Goals==
From the beginning, the church center was considered interdenominational in spirit and purpose,<ref name="nyt-1967"/> and nonprofit groups representing various religions have been housed there.<ref name="nyc-ngo"/> 
The church center was originally administered by the [[National Council of Churches]].<ref name="nyt-1963">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/09/17/89546402.html?pageNumber=4 | title=U.N. Church Center to Be Dedicated | newspaper=The New York Times | date=September 17, 1963 | page=4}}</ref>
Subsequently it was run by the Methodist Church itself,<ref name="nyt-1967"/> and then by the church's [[General Board of Church and Society]].<ref name="nyac-2013">{{cite web | url=https://www.nyac.com/newsdetail/56511 | title=Across from U.N., a place for the people | author-first=Linda | author-last=Bloom | work=New York Annual Conference | publisher=United Methodist Church | date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref> The different parts of the church involved in it became complicated, so to simplify it came to be that it was owned and operated solely by the [[United Methodist Women]] organization.<ref name="nyac-2013"/><ref name="rlr-2015">{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62945089/record-journal/ | title=Religions are facing changes in wedding traditions | author-first=Ralph Lord | author-last=Roy | newspaper=Record-Journal | location=Meriden, Connecticut | date=June 6, 2015 | page=A5 | via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref> In any case, as one United Methodist Women official said in 2013, "From its inception, the Church Center for the U.N. was envisioned as more than a site for the Methodist Church's international work. It was to provide access to the U.N. to other faith communities and nongovernmental organizations working for human rights, development and peace."<ref name="nyac-2013"/>

One of the goals of the center was to give both people of both lay and clergy vocations an immediate understanding of what went on at the United Nations.<ref name="ap-1963"/>  To the end, conference rooms in the center have had a loudspeaker set-up wherein debates from the United Nations could be piped into them.<ref name="nyt-1963"/>  
The church center has hosted people pleading causes at the United Nations, such as  East Timorese independence activist [[José Ramos-Horta]].<ref name="nyac-2013"/>  It is also the location where most of the nongovernmental meetings in conjunction with the [[United Nations Commission on the Status of Women]] are held.<ref name="nyac-2013"/>  Nonetheless, as the ''[[New York Times]]'' has written, "the affiliation between [the center] and the United Nations is more spiritual than official."<ref name="nyt-1976"/>

==Events and uses==
[[Image:Chapel at the United Nations interior altar for wedding.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Altar of the chapel, as set up for a marriage ceremony involving elements of Judaism]]
The Chapel is well known for being the site of marriage ceremonies, and especially for [[Interfaith marriage|couples of different religious backgrounds and faiths]].<ref name="rlr-2015"/>  By the mid-1970s, some 400 marriages a   year were being held there.<ref name="nyt-1976"/>  For a ceremony, there are banners representing various faiths that can be displayed on the chapel wall.<ref name="rlr-2015"/>  The chapel also attracts couples getting married from different nationalities, especially when they have met while one of them was stationed at the United Nations; in addition, people getting married for the second time, or who feel a kindred spirit with the purpose of the United Nations, also have chosen to be married there.<ref name="nyt-1976">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/09/archives/un-chapel-weddings-ecumenical-spirit.html | title=U.N. Chapel Weddings: Ecumenical Spirit | author-first=Shawn G. | author-last=Kennedy | newspaper=The New York Times | date= May 9, 1976 | page=48 }}</ref> Its use for interfaith ceremonies was mentioned in a 1985 ''[[Dear Abby]]'' column.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62974854/dear-abby/ | title=Church wedding for interfaith couple | author-first=Abigail | author-last=Van Buren | newspaper=Globe-Gazette | location=Mason City–Clear Lake, Iowa | date=February 22, 1985 | page=22 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref>  It has been listed for this purpose on the website of the [[Mayor of New York City|Office of the Mayor of New York City]].<ref name="nyc-ngo">{{cite web | url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/rwg/mcp/html/ngo.html | title=Non-Governmental and Official Liaison Organizations | publisher=Office of the Mayor, City of New York | access-date=November 5, 2020}}</ref> 

The church center charges a rental fee for use of the chapel for weddings.<ref name="nyc-ngo"/>  People married at the chapel include then-US Senator [[Joe Biden]] (who would eventually become US President) and educator [[Jill Biden]], in 1977.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25wife.html | title=Jill Biden Heads Toward Life in the Spotlight | author-last=Seelye | author-first=Katharine Q. | newspaper=The New York Times | date=August 24, 2008 | page=A13}}</ref> Receptions following the ceremony are sometimes held at the [[United Nations Plaza Hotel]], located on the other side of 44th Street.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FuQCAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22javier+perez+de+cuellar+suite%22+un+plaza+hotel+29th&pg=RA1-PA21 | title=Directory: U.N. Plaza Park Hyatt | magazine=New York | date=February 10, 1992 | page=21A}}</ref>

Other ceremonies also take place in the chapel.  The memorial service for prominent black academic [[Z. K. Matthews]] from [[South Africa]] was held at the Church Center in 1968.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/7859 | title=Zachariah K. Matthews : October 20, 1901 – May 11, 1968 : memorial service. | publisher=University of South Africa | access-date=November 6, 2020}}</ref>  A memorial service by the Japanese delegation to the United Nations was held at the chapel for American inventor [[William S. Halstead]] in 1987.

In addition, a variety of politically-oriented events and conferences have taken place at the center.
In 1965, the origins of an organization known as Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam (CALCAV), which involved Jesuit priest and anti-war activist [[Daniel Berrigan]] along with the Reverend [[Richard John Neuhaus]] and Rabbi [[Abraham Joshua Heschel]], came from an anti-war rally at the church center.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://billmoyers.com/story/mlk-anti-war-speech-america-again-debating-guns-vs-butter/ | title=Fifty Years After King's Famous Anti-War Speech, America Again Debates Guns Versus Butter | author-first=Peter | author-last=Drier | publisher=Moyers on Democracy | date=April 5, 2017}}</ref> The Global Peace Service Conference was held at the Church Center in 1993.  Some events held there have been controversial, such as a hosting a panel discussion on religion with President of Iran [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] in 2007, in which representatives of some religious groups refused to participate while others thought it important to engage.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/world/middleeast/27clerics.html | title=Ahmadinejad Meets Clerics, and Decibels Drop a Notch | author-first= Laurie | author-last=Goodstein | newspaper=The New York Times | date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

A livestream of the play ''[[Sliver of a Full Moon]]'',  a staged reading by survivors of domestic abuse on Native American tribal lands, was performed at the Chapel in 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://howlround.com/happenings/sliver-full-moon-cherokee-playwright-mary-kathryn-nagle | title=''Sliver of a Full Moon'' by Cherokee playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle | publisher=Howlround Theatre Commons | date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>

The church center has often been the site where announcements are made about the winner of the annual [[Templeton Prize]] for progress in thought about religion.<ref>For instance, see {{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62974967/templeton-prize/ | title=Templeton religion prize to philosopher Charles Taylor | author-first=David | author-last=O'Reilly | newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer | date=March 15, 2007 | page=A4 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}} For other instances, see [https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk037AcoXpEq6773d0WcEd8w6k81c_w%3A1604623063387&source=hp&ei=15qkX7qqFc2vggfltIqoBg&q=%22church+center+for+the+united+nations%22+%22templeton+prize%22&oq=%22church+center+for+the+united+nations%22+%22templeton+prize%22&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKsCMgUIIRCrAjoHCCMQ6gIQJzoECCMQJzoLCC4QxwEQrwEQkQI6CAgAELEDEIMBOgUIABCxAzoLCC4QsQMQxwEQowI6BAgAEEM6BAguEEM6BQgAEJECOgsILhDHARCjAhCRAjoHCAAQsQMQQzoICAAQsQMQkQI6BwguELEDEEM6CgguEMcBEK8BEEM6CggAELEDEIMBEEM6AggAOgUIABDJAzoCCC46CAguEMcBEK8BOgcIABAUEIcCOggIABDJAxCRAjoNCC4QxwEQrwEQFBCHAjoTCC4QxwEQrwEQyQMQFBCHAhCTAjoGCAAQFhAeOg4ILhDHARCvARDJAxCTAjoJCAAQyQMQFhAeOggIIRAWEB0QHjoHCCEQChCgAVDYCVjeYWDsY2gAcAB4AYAB0wGIAbIrkgEHMzguMTguMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXqwAQo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwj68cHd1uzsAhXNl-AKHWWaAmUQ4dUDCAg&uact=5 this web search done November 6, 2020].</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://umc-gbcs.org Official website of the Church Center]
* [https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/ccun United Methodist Women page about the Church Center]
* [http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/ChurchCenterUN.html American Guild of Organists page about the Chapel]
{{Midtown East, Manhattan}}
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[[Category:Chapels in the United States]]
[[Category:Headquarters of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Turtle Bay, Manhattan]]
[[Category:United Methodist Church]]
[[Category:Interfaith marriage]]
[[Category:1963 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1963]]