Above: To begin the
Liturgy of Rededication at Mount Olivet, Bishop MacPherson knocked on the
chapel door rquesting entry. He was admitted by Standing Committee President,
The Rev'd Dr. Peter J. A. Cook. Looking on are the Rev'd Canon Larry Wilkes,
Mrs. Laura S. Boyd, Lector and Canon James D. Boyd, M.D., Verger.
Historic
Mount Olivet Chapel rededicated
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Utilizing a liturgy from 1790 that was in use at the time of Mount Olivet
Chapel's original dedication, the Rt. Rev'd D. Bruce MacPherson, led a service
of rededication of the historic chapel located in Pineville, Louisiana. Mount
Olivet has recently undergone a year-long, $1.3-million restoration that has
returned the pre-Civil War chapel to its original condition when it was dedicated
by Bishop Leonidas Polk in 1858.
The service took place Saturday morning, October 10, 2009 and the chapel was filled with many who had been a part of the restoration efforts. Attendees of the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana viewed a live telecast of the service and participated in the rededication while gathered in their convention meeting room at the Alexander Fulton Hotel in Alexandria.
Pineville, the Chapel's location, and Alexandria sit on opposite banks of the Red River in Central Louisiana.
During
the War Between the States, the Union Army occupied Pineville and utilized
the chapel as a headquarters and hospital.
From 1865 through 1966, Mount Olivet served the community as a place of worship in its capacity as a mission of St. James Episcopal Church in Alexandria.
In 1946 the congregation utilizing the Chapel became a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. In 1966, with its congregation growing, St. Michael's Episcopal Church moved to another location in Pineville.
With the formation of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana in 1979, title was transferred to the newly-formed diocese.
The administrative offices of the Diocese of Western Louisiana were, and still are, located in the chapel's Parish House. Western Louisiana's first two bishops utilized Mount Olivet as the Bishop's Chapel and for occasional special services.
Aged-related, serious structural damage took place in the '90's and around 1995 use of the chapel ceased. The years following continued to take their toll on the historic property.
In 1996, Mt. Olivet was placed on the list of the Ten Most Endangered Historical Structures in Louisiana. Shortly after that listing, conversations between the present bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt. Rev'd D. Bruce MacPherson, and a potential benefactor resulted in an anonymous gift that has enabled the restoration of Mount Olivet Chapel, and the renovation of the adjacent Diocesan House.