Secular Franciscan hopes to land chapel at Mitchell

This article is from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. See the original at http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/86694057.html. Suzanne McKinney is a Secular Franciscan in the LaVerna Regional Fraternity.

The full text of the article is included here to ensure that it continues to be available to our readers.

Parishioner hopes to land chapel at Mitchell

By Annysa Johnson of the [Milwaukee] Journal Sentinel

Posted [on the newspaper's website]: March 5, 2010

For years, travelers would stop at St. Stephen's Catholic Church on S. Howell Ave. for a moment of prayer before flying out of Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.

That changed last fall when the 162-year-old congregation moved to its new building in Oak Creek.

Soon, though, travelers of all faiths may find a new place for prayer and meditation - in the airport itself.

St. Stephen's parishioner Suzanne McKinney of Cudahy is spearheading an effort to build an interfaith chapel at Mitchell, modeling it after facilities at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports.

"Travelers are often under stress, and they need a little time for peace," said McKinney, who has founded a nonprofit organization, Interfaith Airport Chapel of Milwaukee, to promote and fund the chapel.

Airport spokeswoman Pat Rowe said the proposal is preliminary and must be approved by the Milwaukee County Board, which oversees Mitchell. Airport management is open to the idea but has stressed that any facility would need to be welcoming to people of all faiths.

"Our understanding is that it would not endorse any particular religion or view of God," Rowe said. "Some people may want to use it as just a quiet place to meditate."

That's the plan, said McKinney, a devout Roman Catholic who belongs to a religious fraternity known as the Secular Franciscans.

"Each chapel is different," she said of the 151 around the world that are affiliated with the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains. "Some are just a meditation room, some have full-time chaplains. They're as varied as you can imagine."

Milwaukee's profile will depend on the faith communities that choose to participate and how much they want to invest in a presence there.

The Chicago chapels, which will mark their 50th year in November, are open around the clock, offering regularly scheduled Catholic, nondenominational and Muslim services.

"These are the three faith groups in Chicago that wanted to do ministry here, but we have many others on our board of directors," said Susan Schneider, chapel administrator.

Created originally for employees whose schedules kept them from their religious obligations, they've become a mecca for travelers, drawing as many as 150,000 visitors annually just through the O'Hare chapel, she said.

McKinney was inspired after a visit to the lay ministry department at Cardinal Stritch University, where she learned that some graduates may go on to work in so-called mobility ministries - on cruise ships or traveling circuses, airports and truck stops.

It made her think: Does Mitchell have a chapel? The answer was no. So she set about creating one.

The group is looking at about 600 square feet in the Mitchell parking garage, accessible through the walkway that connects the ramp to the terminal.

It's beefing up its board of directors, working with an architect who has expertise in liturgical design, and planning a capital campaign with a target of around $300,000.

And they're hoping to incorporate some elements of the old St. Stephen's Church.

"We've received some stained-glass windows, some marble from the sanctuary, a few pews," said McKinney.

"No statues, no crosses, because it will be interfaith. But it's going to be a beautiful, spiritual place."

For information

The Interfaith Airport Chapel of Milwaukee can be reached at P.O. Box 402, South Milwaukee, WI 53172, or by calling (414) 570-9906.