Stanford Memorial Church facts for kids

North side of the Stanford Memorial Church from the Main Quad

A wedding ceremony in the chancel

The Stanford Memorial Church (often called MemChu) is a beautiful church located at the heart of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It was built by Jane Stanford to honor her husband, Leland Stanford. The church was designed by architect Charles A. Coolidge. Many people call it "the University's architectural crown jewel" because it is so special.

The church was designed in 1898 and opened in 1903. Its style mixes Romanesque shapes with Byzantine details, inspired by old churches in Italy. The church is famous for its amazing stained glass windows and huge mosaics. These artworks are based on religious paintings the Stanfords saw and loved in Europe. MemChu also has five pipe organs, which can play many different kinds of music. The church has survived two big earthquakes, in 1906 and 1989, and was carefully fixed up after each one.

Stanford Memorial Church was one of the first and most important non-denominational churches on the West Coast of the United States. This means it welcomes people from all religions, not just one. Since it opened in 1903, the church has aimed to help with the spiritual needs of the university community in a way that includes everyone. The church's leaders helped start Stanford's religious studies department. This helped Stanford become a place where faith and learning could grow together.

History of Stanford Memorial Church

How the Church Was Built

Jane Stanford wanted the church built and said, "While my whole heart is in the University, my soul is in that church".

Leland Stanford Sr., in 1890. The church is dedicated to his memory.

Stanford Memorial Church is right in the middle of Stanford University. It's often the first main building visitors see when they arrive. Jane Stanford (1828–1905) asked for the church to be built to remember her husband, Leland Stanford (1824–93). The Stanfords wanted a church to be the main part of the university. They were very religious and believed in welcoming all faiths. So, Jane Stanford made sure the church would be a place for everyone, not just one specific religion.

The Stanfords wanted the church to help students learn about ethics and values, not just academics. They also wanted it to be a place of comfort and strength for the whole community.

Leland Stanford passed away in 1893. After some delays, Jane Stanford was finally able to start building the church in 1898. She visited an artist named Maurizio Camerino in Venice, Italy, who was known for his beautiful mosaics. Jane asked him to create mosaics for the church. She was very involved in every step of the church's design and building. She wanted the stone work to be as good as the old churches she admired in Europe.

Building the church started in January 1900. It was officially opened on January 25, 1903. To show it was for everyone, a Rabbi from San Francisco read the first Bible lesson. Jane Stanford once said, "While my whole heart is in the University, my soul is in that church." She passed away in 1905.

Earthquakes and Repairs

The original church, before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Stanford Memorial Church has been damaged by two major earthquakes: one in 1906 and another in 1989. Each time, the church was carefully restored.

The 1906 earthquake caused a lot of damage. The tall spire fell, walls cracked, and many mosaics were ruined. The main problem was that parts of the church were not properly connected. This caused them to move separately during the quake, making big holes in the roof. The spire and clock tower fell, destroying the beautiful ceiling art and marble statues of the twelve apostles. The front of the church also fell, and its large mosaic was completely destroyed.

The spire was never rebuilt. The clock was saved and later moved to another building on campus. Repairs began in 1908, and the church was closed until 1913. The university spent a lot of money to fix it, knowing the church was very important to Stanford's identity. Almost the entire church was taken apart stone by stone and then rebuilt in its original place. The new structure was made much stronger, with stones bolted together and a steel foundation. The floor was replaced, and a new skylight was added. The large mosaic on the front was also rebuilt.

The replacement dedication plaque installed after the 1906 earthquake

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake caused more damage. While not as bad as 1906, it led to more strengthening work. The four mosaic angels inside the church were badly damaged, and parts of them fell. The church was closed until 1992 for repairs and to make it even more earthquake-proof. A team of experts worked to strengthen the building without changing its beautiful look. They filled hollow walls with concrete and steel to make them stable. The roofs were rebuilt, and new tiles were installed. The damaged angel mosaic was fixed using new materials to secure it. A piece of an original mosaic from before 1906 was found and placed in the Communion Table, connecting the old church with the new. The church reopened in November 1992.

How the Church Influenced Stanford University

Before the 1950s, Stanford was seen as a very non-religious university. In 1946, a visiting chaplain said that Stanford needed more religious resources and courses. He believed the university was not doing enough to support different faiths on campus.

Over time, the church's chaplains played a big role in changing this. They started offering courses in religious history and philosophy. By the 1960s, the study of religion at Stanford became very popular. It started focusing on important social issues like race and the Vietnam War. Leaders like B. Davie Napier, a professor and Dean of the Chapel, spoke out against the war from the church. This made the church a popular meeting place for students.

Stanford University was also the first major university in the U.S. to hold same-sex commitment ceremonies in its chapel, starting in 1993.

Church Leaders (Chaplains)

Stanford Memorial Church has had many influential leaders, called chaplains.

• David Charles Gardner (1902–1936): He was chosen by Jane Stanford and taught Bible classes. He was known for being a strong support for the university.
• D. Elton Trueblood (1936–1946): A Quaker, he was a philosophy professor and helped create the university's first major in religious studies. He wrote many books.
• B. Davie Napier (1966–1972): He was known for connecting religious teachings to the political issues of the 1960s, like the Vietnam War. He was a powerful speaker and jazz pianist.
• Robert McAfee Brown (1972–1973): He was a leader in civil rights and social justice. He also protested the Vietnam War.
• Robert C. Gregg (1987–1998): He was an Episcopal priest and a professor of religious studies.
• Scotty McLennan (2001–2014): A Unitarian Universalist minister, he was known for his activism. A character in the comic strip Doonesbury was partly based on him.
• Jane Shaw (2014–2018): An Episcopal priest and historian.
• Tiffany Steinwert (2018–present): The current Dean for Religious Life.

Church Staff

The Stanford Office for Religious Life runs Stanford Memorial Church.

• Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann is the Senior Associate Dean. She was the first non-Christian associate dean at Stanford.
• The Rev. Joanne Sanders is an Episcopal priest who helps lead services and events.
• Sughra Ahmed was appointed as a Muslim dean in 2017 to help the community understand the Islamic faith better.
• Robert Huw Morgan has been the church's organist since 1999. He is also a lecturer and director of the church choir.

Architecture and Design

Memorial Church at night

Stanford Memorial Church is part of a large system of arched walkways, called arcades, that connect the buildings of the Main Quad. This design makes the university feel like a European public square. The church was built during the American Renaissance period. It combines elements from the Renaissance, Byzantine, Medieval, and Romanesque art styles. It's seen as a stunning example of late Victorian art and architecture.

The original designs for the church were started by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. After he passed away, his student Charles A. Coolidge finished them. Coolidge based his design for Memorial Church on Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston. The church's heavy red tile roofs, round towers, low arches, and rough stone work match the other buildings in the Quad.

Jane Stanford was very involved in the church's design. She wanted it to be beautiful and inspiring. The church's design uses "glorious color" like the great cathedrals in Italy. Even though the art is Christian, Jane chose it for its positive messages and to show the important role of women. She made sure that many women were shown in the church's art, which was unusual for the time.

Jane Stanford also wanted inspirational messages carved into the church's walls. For example, one quote says:

Religion is intended as a comfort, a solace, a necessity to the soul's welfare; and whichever form of religion furnishes the greatest comfort, the greatest solace, it is the form which should be adopted be its name what it will.

Church Layout

Plan of the Stanford Memorial Church:

• A: Altar
• B: Chancel
• C: Crossing
• D: Nave
• E: Aisles
• F: Vestibule
• G: Arcade
• H: East transept with transept gallery above
• J: West transept/side chapel with transept gallery above
• K: Round room

The church has a cross shape when viewed from above. It was originally 190 feet long and 150 feet wide, with a clock and bell tower. The front of the church faces the Main Quad. You enter through a narthex or vestibule. The main part of the church, called the nave, has an aisle on each side. In the center, where the cross shape meets, is the crossing. Above it is a shallow dome with a skylight. Large arches separate the crossing from the nave, transepts (the arms of the cross), and the chancel (the area around the altar). The chancel and transepts are rounded. There are balconies in the transepts and an organ balcony above the entrance. The altar area is raised with steps.

Outside the Church

The church is built mostly from buff sandstone from a quarry in San Jose. The roof is made of Italian terracotta tiles. The church used to have a tall, 80-foot spire in the center, but it was lost in the 1906 earthquake.

A simple Celtic cross sits on top of the church's front. This cross design appears many times throughout the building. There are three arched entrances below the large mosaic on the front. The stone around them is carved with flowers and cherubs (angel faces). Between the windows are mosaics showing "love, faith, hope, and charity."

In the upper part of the front, there's a large central window with three smaller windows on each side. The original central window was round, but after the 1906 earthquake, it was replaced with a simpler arched window that matched the other buildings.

The biggest mosaic on the church is on the front gable. It was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake. It's 84 feet wide and 30 feet tall, and at the time, it was the largest mosaic in the U.S. It shows 47 people, including men, women, and children, gathered around Christ. Behind Christ is a landscape with palm trees. This mosaic took 12 men two years to finish. It's often called "The Sermon on the Mount," but it's actually a scene of "Christ Welcoming the Righteous into the Kingdom of God."

Carvings around the doors

Part of the exterior mosaic

Part of the facade mosaic

Inside the Church

Inside view from the organ loft looking towards the chancel

Jane Stanford wanted every part of the church to be decorated. The inside is like a dimly lit cave with glowing mosaics and colorful stained-glass windows. The walls are covered with carvings of plants and mosaics in the Byzantine style. The stained-glass windows were made by J. and R. Lamb of New York. The wooden ceilings look like those in Boston's Trinity Church.

You enter through three bronze doors decorated with angels. The entrance area, or vestibule, has mosaics on the walls and stone carvings. The floor mosaic shows the Lamb of God surrounded by symbols of the four gospel writers: St. Matthew (winged angel), St. Mark (winged lion), St. Luke (ox), and St. John (eagle).

Above the entrance is an organ balcony. The main part of the church, the nave, has arches and windows above. Its walls have 15 mosaic murals on each side, showing scenes from the Old Testament. The wooden ceiling has special beams called hammer beams. The floor slopes down towards the center of the church. The chancel and transepts are semi-circular.

Right above the center of the church is a dome. Around the bottom of the dome are golden decorations. Jane Stanford wanted the dome to have mosaics, but the builders thought it would be too heavy, so it was painted instead. On the curved parts supporting the dome are mosaics of four angels, each 42 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip. These angels survived the 1906 earthquake, but one was badly damaged in the 1989 earthquake.

The chancel area near the altar is very artistic. Its raised floor has seven marble steps. The altar is carved from white Carrara marble. Behind the altar is a mosaic copy of Rosselli's "Last Supper" from the Sistine Chapel. Around the lower walls of the chancel are twelve empty niches. They used to hold statues of the twelve apostles, but these were destroyed in 1906 and never replaced. A brass lectern (reading stand) shaped like an angel stands on the west side of the chancel. Jane Stanford brought it from Europe.

Three stained glass windows in the altar area show the birth, crucifixion, and ascension of Christ. Mosaics of angels are between them. Other mosaics are found in the transepts and choir loft. Mosaics in the upper transepts show Old Testament figures on one side and Christian saints on the other. Jane Stanford asked that they alternate between male and female figures.

The arches, balcony rails, and pillars throughout the church have detailed carvings. After the 1989 earthquake, part of the west transept was turned into a small chapel. Its altar uses original mosaics that had been stored since the 1906 earthquake.

Stained Glass Windows

A window in the nave shows Christ welcoming a soul into Heaven, a reference to the death of Leland Stanford Jr.

The church's 20 large stained glass windows are a major feature. They were designed by Frederick Stymetz Lamb and made by his father's company in New York City. This was the largest project given to an American stained glass artist at the time. The windows look different from outside because the light highlights the glass textures.

Stanford chose the life of Christ as the theme for the windows, inspired by European paintings. Each window has a quote from the Bible at the bottom. One window in the nave is very personal to the Stanfords. It shows Christ welcoming the soul of a child into Heaven, with a grieving mother watching. This refers to the death of Leland Stanford Jr., the Stanfords' only child, who died at age 15.

Some windows were inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artists, a group of painters popular at the time. These include "Christ in the Temple," "The Annunciation," "The Nativity," and "The Good Shepherd." None of the stained glass windows needed to be replaced after the 1906 earthquake, except for the large round window above the organ loft. This window, called "Lilies of the Field," cannot be seen from inside the church because the organ blocks it. It has a cross made of sparkling glass pieces.

The smaller windows above the main level show individuals from the Bible or Christian history. They include figures like Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, and saints like Stephen and Peter. Two windows above the east and west doors show angels. These are lit artificially, not by natural light.

Stanford Memorial Church's stained glass windows, at the east side of the church

"The Annunciation"

"The Home at Nazareth"

"The Sermon on the Mount"

"Christ Calming the Tempest"

"The Raising of Jairus' Daughter"

Mosaics in the Church

Part of the Seraph choir mosaics located on the chancel wall. The reredos contains a copy of Rosselli's "The Last Supper".

The mosaics in Stanford Memorial Church are "virtually everywhere" and perfectly match the stained-glass windows. Jane Stanford wanted the church's inside and outside to be covered in mosaics, similar to churches she admired in Europe. She chose mosaics partly because the weather in California is similar to Italy, which helps protect the art.

The Stanfords met Maurizio Camerino, who managed the Salviati studios, known for restoring mosaics at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Jane Stanford worked with Camerino's team, choosing designs for the mosaics. His company worked only on the Stanford mosaics for three years. This was the largest mosaic project in the U.S. at the time. Jane worked closely with the chief designer, Antonio Paoletti, planning scenes from both the Old and New Testaments that showed men and women equally.

The mosaic project started in 1900, took five years to finish, and cost $97,000. The mosaics have a "shimmering quality" because they use many different shades of green and gold. The artists had over 20,000 colors to choose from. The designs were made in Venice, shipped in pieces to California, and then installed on the church walls.

The mosaic behind the altar is a copy of Rosselli's "Last Supper" from the Sistine Chapel. The Pope gave permission to reproduce it here. Most of the church's mosaics are made from small tiles, about 1/8-inch thick. Larger tiles were used for higher mosaics, and smaller ones for "The Last Supper."

The Church Organs

The wooden cases and metal pipes of the two largest organs, the Murray Harris and the Fisk-Nanney, rising from the organ loft

Stanford Memorial Church has five organs, which is very rare. This makes it a great place for musicians to perform. The church's organist is Robert Huw Morgan.

The first organ, the 1901 Murray Harris, is still used today. It was damaged in the 1906 earthquake but was rebuilt and restored. It has three keyboards and over 3,700 pipes. It's great for playing music from the Romantic period.

The Fisk-Nanney organ, built in 1985, is considered one of the best organs in the world. It's named after its builder, Charles Brenton Fisk, and a former church organist, Herbert Nanney. It has almost 4,500 pipes made of lead and tin. Its keyboards are made of special woods. This organ can play almost all organ music written from the 16th to 18th centuries. The organist, Robert Huw Morgan, says its sound is "delicious" and "visceral."

The Hupalo and Repasky five-rank Tudor-style organ shown against the walls of the side chapel

The Katherine Potter-Brinegar organ was built in 1995. It's a smaller, self-contained organ that can be moved around the church. Most of its pipes are made of wood.

In 2001, the church got a continuo organ built by Martin Pasi. It has three stops, and its case and pipes are made of walnut wood.

In 2010, a Tudor-style organ was loaned to the church. It's a recreation of a 16th-century English organ. It's small but can produce many different sounds. Its 200 pipes are made from metals with high tin content, and its case is made of stained white oak with hand-carved designs.

Services and Events

As of 1995, there had been over 7,000 weddings at Stanford Memorial Church.

The Stanfords believed that spiritual and moral values were important for young people. So, Jane Stanford decided that the church should be non-denominational, meaning it welcomes people from all religions. She wanted it to serve the spiritual needs of the entire university community. The church's first chaplain said its goal was to help the university in a way that included everyone. The messages carved into the church walls show this goal.

Stanford Memorial Church was one of the first and most important non-denominational churches on the West Coast. Today, it holds multi-faith services, as well as Christian services for different denominations.

Many events happen at the church each year:

• Weddings: About 150 weddings or renewal ceremonies take place here every year for current and former students, faculty, and staff.
• Memorial Services: Services are held for students, alumni, faculty, and staff who have passed away.
• Quiet Reflection: Members of the university community use the church for quiet time, reflection, and private prayer.
• Catholic Masses: Catholic services are held in the church several times a week.

Images for kids

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  The Annunciation

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  The Home at Nazareth

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  The Sermon on the Mount

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  Christ Calming the Tempest

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  The Raising of Jairus' Daughter