Cathedral of the Pines is an open-air complex in

Rindge, New Hampshire Rindge is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2020 census, up from 6,014 at the 2010 census. Rindge is home to Franklin Pierce University, the Cathedral of the Pines and part of Annett State ...

, that was built as a memorial to the American war dead. It incorporates a multi-denominational

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, other sacred spaces, and a number of burial grounds. The Cathedral, which commands a scenic view of forested land and Mount Monadnock, is run as a nonprofit corporation.

History

In 1937, Douglas Sloane III and his wife Sibyl purchased a property about northeast of the center of Rindge. Their intention was that their four children would later build houses on separate lots within the property. The following year, a destructive hurricane hit the region, and the five-acre lot selected for the second son, Sanderson (Sandy), was badly damaged. It was situated on a

knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, A ...

and when the family went to assess the damage, they saw that the fallen trees had revealed a spectacular view across the forests towards Mount Monadnock to the northwest, with other mountains visible beyond. The view remains unspoiled to this day. Sandy, who joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, was killed in action in 1944, leaving a wife and newborn son (who would survive less than three years). In August 1945, the family used the clearing that would have been his home for a memorial service that was attended by people around the community. Building on that event, the Sloanes developed the Cathedral of the Pines as a memorial for those fallen in service to the nation, and as a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

to peace and understanding. They welcomed people of all faiths, and developed the site into a series of locations for outdoor chapels, cemeteries, and other monuments. It now encompasses . Cathedral of the Pines is a nonprofit corporation that accepts on-site donations and is supported by

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s organizations and other local service organizations.

Features

Most of the features of the site are built of stone (principally

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

), with the exception of some wooden benches. Many bronze panels are inset into the stone, commemorating individual deceased servicemen and servicewomen, and acknowledging sponsoring organizations. At the entrance to the complex are the Mother's Chapel and the Women's Memorial Bell Tower. A short walk leads to the main sanctuary. This includes the Altar of the Nations, which incorporates stones from every U.S. state and from several battlefields. The Altar has the most compelling view of Monadnock and has been designated as a national memorial to American war dead. The

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

, pulpit, and

stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

are also made entirely of stone. A winding path leads to

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

plots, additional open-air

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s (including a sparse "Zen chapel"), a garden, and standing stones that carry carved inscriptions from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

and other spiritual texts. Some of the inscriptions are in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. Several longer trails lead through the woods and to the nearby Grassy Pond and Emerson Pond. The Peter J. Booras Museum holds service-related memorabilia. After a renovation, it was re-opened on 20 May 2017.

Uses

Cathedral of the Pines hosts

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

s and marriage renewal ceremonies. It offers memorial services and burials, as well as personalized memorial benches, placards, and carved granite walls. The current organization describes the Sloanes' dream as a "cathedral without borders", and claims to have hosted events for 75 different faiths. Individuals can usually freely visit the grounds between May and October; private events, tours, and picnics are also available.

References

External links

* * {{cite web , url=http://www.southwestnh.com/outdoors/cathedralpines.html , title=Cathedral of the Pines: A Place For Inspiration, Prayer and Peace , website=SouthwestNH.com , publisher=SouthwestNH Guides , access-date=12 May 2017 Rindge, New Hampshire Cemeteries in New Hampshire Religious buildings and structures in New Hampshire Military monuments and memorials in the United States