CHAPEL DEDICATION PROGRAM

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Dear Friends, I must say, when I was tasked with these projects, I was not sure how I would even begin to obtain donations in these large amounts to make sure the chapel had stained glass and each resident room had a new TV. Not to mention, keep the monthly activities sponsored. Well, TOGETHER WE DID IT! I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You for all your support during these projects. It was so nice to see people in the community pulling resources together and making donations to ensure this became a reality for our residents. When I called on Volunteers to help install the TVs, I was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed with the amount of Volunteers who showed up to install TVs in the resident rooms. Because of your dedication to Our Veterans, within a few hours they were all hung, 120 TVs. It was truly unbelievable! I have said many times, that I have the best job in this facility. I get to deal with the generosity, compassion, love and true commitment to Veterans that you all have shown the residents that we now serve. Your Volunteer time and donations have made a huge difference in the daily lives of current and future residents. I would like to say Thank You once again for your part in making a difference and helping to Serve Those Who Have Served. Respectfully, April Harley Volunteer Coordinator

TV SPONSORS
82ND Airborne Assoc Hajdack/Mokan Philadelphia Chapter American Gold Star Mothers Inc. American Legion Aux Unit 588, Easton American Legion Aux Unit 314, Lehighton American Legion Aux Unit 47, Pottstown American Legion Aux Unit 249, Strattanville American Legion Post 234, Souderton American Legion Post 244, Sanatoga American Legion Post 482, Phoenixville American Legion Post 626, Birdsboro American Legion Post 94, Brookhaven American Veterans Foundation Benevolent Motorcyclist Association Berean Bible Church Christopher & Donna House DAV Chapter 90 Davids Drive 831, Inc. Elks Lodge 814 Harley Owners Group Eagle Chapter Harley Owners Group Valley Forge Julius & Dianne (Dee) Banyai Kathleen & Kenneth Cassel, Jr. Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 1777, Valley Forge Nancy Vanderslice Reading Motorcycle Club, Inc Robert & Beatrice Johnson Rosemarie A. House Sons of the American Legion Squadron 922 Veterans of Foreign Wars - Dept of Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars District 9 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 411 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 6341 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 780 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 845 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1564 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7155 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7362 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7878 Victory Bank, Limerick Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter # 436 Vietnam Veterans of America Keystone Chapter # 565 Womans Club of Quakertown

STAINED GLASS SPONSORS

PROGRAM
Blessing...Rev. Steven Jones SEVC Chaplain

AMERICAN LEGION DEPT OF PENN EASTERN JUDICIAL SECTION AMERICAN LEGION THOMAS W. OCONNOR POST 602 AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY DEPARTMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA CAPTAIN RICKY A. BARTLETT JOANNE BURNLEY DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS CHAPTER 90 COLLEEN FANTINI, FRIENDS & FAMILY LAVFW #5203 MARINE CORP LEAGUE CHESTER COUNTY DETACHMENT PA AMVETS POTTSTOWN GERMAN CLUB DONATO SILVERI

KEN & DEB SCHWEITZER VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS DEPARTMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 845, DOWNINGTON VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 1463, LITITZ SPRINGS VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 1564, PHOENIXVILLE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 5203, PAOLI VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA PA STATE COUNCIL VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA CHAPTER 436, CHESTER COUNTY VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA KEYSTONE CHAPTER 565 DEBRA WILLS AND EUGENE KEHLER

Welcome..Barry Amole President SEVC Advisory Board Pledge of Allegiance....Richard Wentzel Resident Comments & Introduction Of Guest Speaker...Lloyd R. Davis Commandant, SEVC Guest Speaker...Joseph Beyer Beyer Studio, Inc. Psalm 23:.Rabbi Allan Weitzman Father Donato Silveri SEVC Chaplains Psalm 84:.Henry Paiste President, Resident Council Benediction.Rabbi Allen Weitzman SEVC Chaplain Presentation of TV Tree....Lloyd R. Davis Commandant, SEVC April Harley Volunteer Coordinator

Closing Remarks..Lloyd R. Davis

The Four Chaplains

It was Feb. 3, 1943, and the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester was one of three ships in a convoy, moving across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to an American base in Greenland. A converted luxury liner, the Dorchester was crowded to capacity, carrying 902 servicemen, merchant seamen and civilian workers. It was only 150 miles from its destination when shortly after midnight, an officer aboard the German submarine U2 spotted it. After identifying and targeting the ship, he gave orders to fire. The hit was decisive, striking the ship, far below the water line. The initial blast killed scores of men and seriously wounded many more. Others, stunned by the explosion were groping in the darkness. Panic and chaos quickly set in! Men were screaming, others crying or franticly trying to get lifeboats off the ship. Through the pandemonium, four men spread out among the Soldiers, calming the frightened, tending the wounded and guiding the disoriented toward safety. They were four Army chaplains, Lt. George Fox, a Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest; and Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister. Quickly and quietly the four chaplains worked to bring calm to the men. As soldiers began to find their way to the deck of the ship, many were still in their underwear, where they were confronted by the cold winds blowing down from the arctic. Petty Officer John J. Mahoney, reeling from the cold, headed back towards his cabin. "Where are you going'" a voice of calm in the sea of distressed asked' "To get my gloves," Mahoney replied. "Here, take these," said Rabbi Goode as he handed a pair of gloves to the young officer. "I can't take those gloves," Mahoney replied. "Never mind," the Rabbi responded. "I have two pairs." It was only long after that Mahoney realized that the chaplain never intended to leave the ship. Once topside, the chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that Engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there were no more lifejackets

FREEDOM ISNT FREE

Owning a place in two different spaces, the hallway windows would serve multiple purposes. First it would lend some privacy to the interior of the Chapel by obscuring the view from the busy hallway. Hopefully it would accomplish this without completely closing-off the sense of a greater space beyond the Chapel. Next we wanted this set of three windows to resonate as a representation of history in the making, reminding everyone that the defense of freedom is an every-day assignment for many. Finally, the setting demanded that the window impart its message with an immediate impact, telling its story in the time it takes to traverse the hallway. The dramatic scene of soldiers in combat is of typical of the instant-access that delivers to us the theater of war in real time. Executing this design combined techniques both ancient and cutting-edge. The process of etching glass with hydrofluoric acid is quite dangerous and requires meticulous care to avoid injury. While the window appears virtually clear, it is a fact that most of the pieces began as a sheet of either red or blue glass. Achieving the red stripes and blue field of stars could only be managed with flashed glass. The glass blowing process for flashed glasses begins with a softball-sized gather of clear glass, which is then dipped in molten glass of a dense color, in this case, red or blue glass. This glass blowing process yields a sheet of glass that is clear with a paper-thin layer of a color on one side. Once the glass pieces were hand-cut to pattern, a mask was applied to the colored surface and the details of the flag cut with a razor. With the mask protecting the portion to stay colored, the remaining areas were attacked with acid, eating the color away to reveal the clear beneath. The figures were accomplished by applying vitreous glass paint to the surface via airbrush. The vitreous paint is then fired into the surface of the glass, rendering it permanent. Fully one half of all the work in these three windows is focused in the service emblems. Each involved acid etching, vitreous painting, enameling and staining with silver nitrate (gold) stain.

When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did Fox or Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line. One survivor would later call it "It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven." As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains -- arms linked and braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers and singing hymns. Of the 902 men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, only 230 survived. Before boarding the Dorchester back in January, Chaplain Poling had asked his father to pray for him, "Not for my safe return, that wouldn't be fair. Just pray that I shall do my duty...never be a coward...and have the strength, courage and understanding of men. Just pray that I shall be adequate." Although the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were later awarded posthumously Congress wished to confer the Medal of Honor but was blocked by the stringent requirements which required heroism performed under fire. So a posthumous Special Medal for Heroism, The Four Chaplains' Medal, was authorized by Congress and awarded by the President on January 18, 1961.

Written by: Joseph Beyer Beyer Studio, Inc.

WAVES OF HISTORY
My enthusiasm for the commission of the five windows was the result of a life-long fascination with American history, and in particular, our military history. Nevertheless, I recognized that, regardless of my predisposition, the challenge would not be an easy one. Five individual window panels, each nicely proportioned but spaced nearly as far apart as they the panels were wide. Their placement suggested a scheme of five individual, themes but I was convinced that the sum would be greater if I could join them into one expansive composition. The spacing was to be the lesser of the challenges with the greater being the very nature of the composition. How to literally draw spiritual inspiration in a manner that was completely non-denominational. An American landscape perhaps, from sea to sea? While it might be inspirational to some, an audience of Veterans deserved something more, a work of art that reflected their lives, their commitment, their sacrifice. And there it was, the theme for the composition revealed. A sacrifice offered for freedom, must be spiritual in nature. As the founding Fathers pledged their sacred honor, so too have generations of sailors, Soldiers and Marines. And this ensemble of five stained glass windows would honor that sacred pledge. A young Marine with his two children occupy the center panel. The childrens attention is on an image they see in the clouds (the Statue of Liberty). Giving witness to this scene are figures from Americas military history. At the far left Colonial soldiers march past a woodsman volunteer and an officer from the War of 1812. They stride forward through history into the second panel where a Black Union Soldier is embraced by a Tuskegee Airman. The progress of history continues in the figures of a First World War Doughboy and Sailor. On the opposite side of the central figures we see a Vietnam-era pilot and a contemporary soldier in full body armor. Just behind them a World War Two Army Air Corp flight crew member and an Airborne Ranger from D-day are likewise focused on the central figures. Finally in the last panel, a wounded sailor from the Spanish American War is supported by a nurse in Turn of the 20th Century costume. A contemporary female nurse is the last remaining figure, recognizing all those who have served and still serve our veterans. Written by: Joseph Beyer Beyer Studio, Inc.