Preface

Virtually from the founding of American University more than a century ago, there existed a sentiment that space would eventually be found for the construction of a chapel to provide a place for students to worship, pray, and meditate. Expressions of religious observance are deeply rooted in the school's founding philosophy and ecclesiastical base. Across the decades, American University has emphasized a dual claim on the education vocation - the search for truth flowing from scholarly inquiry and the search for the truth of divine revelation.

In pursuing the development of the mind and the spirit, successive AU administrations have always sought to provide both a space and a place for religious practice. During the school's early years, required chapel services were held at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, located across Nebraska Avenue. When chapel attendance became discretionary and attendance dropped, services were moved to Hurst Hall. In the construction of the new School of International Service building in the late 1950's, the family of founder Ernest Griffith provided for the creation of a small chapel. As enrollments began to expand in the early 1960's, it became increasingly evident that existing arrangements had become inadequate.

In 1965, the university made a momentous and farsighted decision which would give AU its distinct religious character. A Methodist president joined with a Jewish businessman to build one of the first interfaith houses of worship in the country. President Hurst Anderson was a devout churchman and prominent Methodist leader. Known throughout the larger church for his dedication to faith-based higher education, he teamed up with Abraham Kay, a Jewish Russian immigrant and one of Washington's most influential civic and business leaders, to build the Kay Spiritual Life Center. This partnership perfectly captured the interfaith synergy which has given the center its unique quality and personality.

From its beginning, the Kay Center was to be a place where the entire university community could, regardless of faith, gather for fellowship, worship, and the exchange of ideas. This vision of the founders continues to guide the direction of the Kay Center The organizing principle for the center is an a priori hospitality to people of all faiths. Informing the center's life is a recognition that all who sincerely seek to develop the spiritual dimension of their lives have a claim on the building. While the number of chaplains representing different faith communities has grown, the challenge has remained constant - responding to the spiritual, liturgical, and sacramental needs of the community.

The deeper yearnings of the human heart are of paramount concern to AU's chaplains. The chaplains of the Kay Center are Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Vedic, Baha'i, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist, and all exercise particular callings for wholeness of spirit and health of body. Together the chaplains embody and reflect the diversity of AU and address their leadership to a community that includes but is not limited to the focusing discipline of Ramadan, the guiding laws of the Torah, the sacramental power of the Eucharist, the soaring cadence of the Gospel, the contemplative chant of the Vedic blessing, and the centering silence of Buddhist meditation. The religious activity generated by this vastness includes many opportunities for worship, meditation, contemplation, and prayer.

On the south side of the quad stands the Bender Library, and the Kay Center secures the north side. Together they form the intellectual and spiritual anchors which bind the campus community together. The 16-foot impressionist flame atop the center evokes responses as diverse as the university community, but always pointing toward ultimate meaning. Kay Center's sacred space is not only integral to the university, it is also a place where the university encounters itself and its Creator.

Joe Eldridge, University Chaplain