"all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well"
Julian's story is of great interest. Apparently as a young girl living in the 13th century she had some form of encephalitis and was thought to be near death. She had a "miraculous" recovery following which she described visions [that she called "showings"] and directives from her Savior, and subsequently retired from society by becoming an anchorite.
Her insights were marveled at by all and she wrote the first book in English written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love. These writings have made an astounding impact on Christian thinkers: T.S. Eliot, Thomas Merton, Urban T. Holmes, Herbert O'Driscoll, Henri Nouwen, Kenneth Leech, and others. Her most famous words were used by T.S. Eliot in
his poem "Little Gidding" and are quoted at the introduction to this page.In 1990, the Board of Directors of Trinity Center gave Executive Director Sue Painter permission to create an indoor chapel, using space that had been a former bookstore [from "A Circle Of Love: Trinity Center
Beginnings" by Flora R. Shedd, ObJN, 1996]. Doris Bartels, a liturgical designer and mother of Sue Painter designed this delightful chapel, using simple park benches, plain stained glass panels hung in front of the windows, wrought iron and white ash for the altar and ombry. The baptismal font used wrought iron to hold a magnificent sea shell. The paraments in front of the dossal cloth represent old and new testament symbols. Doris also designed the banner of Julian of Norwich that hangs in the Chapel.
The Chapel of Julian of Norwich was dedicated during the annual Trinity Center Day by Bishop Sanders and Sister Scholastica Marie, Order of
Julian of Norwich. The wood piece on the wall, "Root of Jesse" was crafted by Doris Bartels and given to Trinity Center. Betty Gladstone's Broken Body of Christ over the credence table was given in 1993.
Trinity Center in general and the Dame Julian Chapel in particular have the capacity of inspiration. The additional stained glass panels depicted here were created by Harry M. Carpenter, MD and donated following a silent Lenten Retreat in 1998. The symbol of the hazel nut and branch, and of the cat have been associated with Dame Julian since antiquity for reasons that have long since been lost.