The Interfaith Center at the Presidio in San Francisco stands regal in history, architecture and purpose. Native Americans first honored the grounds as sacred. The Spanish/Mexican chapel was among the first buildings erected and dedicated in the Spanish fort in 1776. In 1864, the U.S. Army replaced the chapel with a small wooden structure. The Presidio's Main Chapel, raised in 1930 with $40,000, served the Army until they vacated in 1995. The Interfaith Center moved in the next day with a Gathering of Blessings ceremony delivered by representatives of numerous faith traditions celebrating the transition from military to civilian.

The center occupied the building and served the public with interfaith programs and services at first under temporary agreements. The center Web site, http://www.interfaith-presidio.org/ explains the next phase: "Three years later the tenancy went from temporary to long term. The Interfaith Center was awarded the right to negotiate a long-term lease for the care and custody of the Main Post Chapel. The lease is contingent on raising the funds for a renovation, bringing the building up to code, and making it accessible to all. Leading the renovation team is J. Gordon Turnbull, FAIA, of Page and Turnbull, one of the nation's most distinguished restoration architectural firms."

The center holds services and events at the chapel including an annual Memorial Day Service, a Gathering of Blessings each fall, meditation groups, ‘potluck & program’ evenings and an interfaith fair. Superb acoustics in the chapel and a professional recording studio in the basement offer primary assets. The public enjoys a fitting environment for weddings, memorials and special ceremonies. New and temporarily displaced congregations find welcome and comfort in the chapel, as do retreat and workshop participants.

Starting Monday, April 13, the center presents the 5 week program, "Mythos: the shaping of our mythic tradition." Screenings of 5 of Joseph Campbell’s final lectures, along with "The Hero’s Journey" will be hosted by Robert Walter, president of the Joseph Campbell Foundation and Campbell’s literary executor. Special guests include John Beebe, Don Frew, and Ann-Marie Sayers.

The Interfaith Center at the Presidio is a regional interfaith umbrella organization of twenty-two interfaith groups. The center has become networked with hundreds of communities around the world who share a common commitment "to promote daily, enduring interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the Earth and all living beings."
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Diana deRegnier writes from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her articles appear in numerous Internet and print publications around the world. Write to Diana at spiritlinks@comcast.net © Copyright 2009 by Diana deRegnier.