Humble Simplicity Marks Tiny Packard Rd. Chapel

In humble and unaffected simplicity, the tiny Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi stands here as testimony that the fellowship of man is still humanity’s greatest bond.
Built in 1940 by men of many callings, under the inspiration and guidance of Dr. Inez Wisdom, the 11 by 22 foot stucco building is no bigger than a small garage.
But it was build of the spirit, hopes and good fellowship of carpenters, architects, painters, stone masons, laborers, and the gifts and donations of innumerable interested citizens.
The busy Dr. Wisdom somehow found time from her medical practice to bring into reality a dream of many years. She built the little chapel in a grove of trees adjoining her home on a three-acre plot at 2301 Packard Rd.
Plenty Of Helpers
And though she footed much of the bill herself, there was no lack of helpers.
Some patients, short of money, worked off their bills on the chapel, she explains. “Some worked out of interest and good will. Others, many others, sent gifts to outfit the chapel.”
Students from the University of Michigan, the doctor’s alma mater, contributed a share. One, an architect now, designed and hand-built the cedar roof, transported it complete by truck and installed it over the walls of the building.
Another, a painter, conceived and executed the brilliantly colored mural of Christ as a young man that forms the background for the tiny altar.
And, as it was constructed, so it is being used – by all people. Weddings and christenings have been performed here for people in all walks of life.
The doctor doesn’t remember all their names. One, a “friend of our milkman,” wanted a church wedding but was short of funds.
Dedicated In 1941
“It was a nice wedding,” Dr. Wisdom recalls. “And he was very pleased.”
The Ann Arbor-born doctor illustrates the broad cross-section of persons using the chapel by recalling the dedication ceremonies held in 1941.
She invited, particularly, all the workmen whose efforts had gone into the actual construction of the building.
“Most of them came,” she says. “But one fellow, a cement worker, forgot – at least he forgot until he passed the chapel on a load of cement and saw all the people about. He came in to apologize.”
“However, I gave him a coat left in the house by one of the officiating priests. My friend put it on over his work clothes and joined the procession.”
Most prized features are the four beautiful stained glass windows that break the walls of the tiny chapel.
One Window To Peace
One was donated by a mother whose son died as a Marine aerial gunner during the last war. One is in memory of the doctor’s father. Another remembers the mother of a nurse-associate of the doctor. Another is dedicated, simply, to peace.
The window the doctor installed for her father depicts St. Francis and the animals, including a specially installed cat, worked into the scene at the request of Dr. Wisdom, whose love for that particular animal is attested to by the half dozen felines that have free run of her residence.
All the features, however, from the attractive flag stone floor to the oak pews which seat “about 16,” and the small organ loft where the doctor’s brother, choir master in a Detroit cathedral, holds forth – all contribute to the charm and simplicity of this unusual little place of worship.
Despite its physical uniqueness, however, the chapel’s most unusual feature remains the diversity of faith and fellowship on which it was build and is used.