This sculpture by Anne Mimi Sammis is a centerpiece of the Hope Reflection Room.

The Providence Journal Kathy Borchers

WARWICK — Amid all the happy travelers at T. F. Green Airport –– many leaving with suntan lotion and returning with mouse-eared Disney caps –– there are people making sadder pilgrimages as they rush to reach ailing relatives and friends.

Until recently, there was no special place at the airport for people to gather their thoughts, say their prayers or have a moment of peace as they arrive or depart. In April, however, the doors of the Hope Reflection Room opened –– a project that was started more than eight years ago by members of Episcopal churches in the West Bay area.

The sage-green room with its soft lighting and large stained-glass panel of an opening flower is an oasis of quiet on the upper level of the terminal, not far from the busy airline counters. Tucked down a corridor at the building’s north end, the reflection room will eventually have more signs guiding people to it, and since it is outside the security gates it is accessible to people who are waiting for travelers as well as those preparing to board planes.

In addition to the illuminated stained-glass window with flowing waves of blue that carry the word peace in many languages, the reflection room features a sculpture of a globe cradled safely in a large hand, while a figure of a family dance above it. Both pieces were created by Rhode Island artists from the South County area — the stained glass by the late Jacqueline Benjamin and the sculpture by Anne Mimi Sammis.

The room is nondenominational, but the time it took to make it a reality ended up being a true test of faith for members of the West Bay Deanery of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island.

It started late in 1999 when Bishop Geralyn Wolf challenged all the churches on the dawn of the new millennium. She asked parishioners in the six geographic regions, or deaneries, of the diocese to come up with a project that had never been done before, would benefit people of all faiths and would have longevity.

“I wanted to ignite their imaginations,” Bishop Wolf said Friday.

A group of people from churches in Warwick, Cranston and Coventry quickly formed a committee to address the bishop’s challenge –– never dreaming that they were embarking on an eight-year endeavor.

Nancy Dorsey, who was one of the mainstays in keeping the committee going even as its numbers dwindled over the years, said a number of ideas were considered. It was Barbara Caniglia, chief of staff for Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian and a member of the deanery, who brought up the fact that there was no place at Green Airport for people traveling during times of trouble.

Caniglia said that when her mother-in-law died, she had to meet relatives at the airport and impart the sad news as the family hugged and tried to find a quiet corner in the baggage pick-up area.

Dorsey said the idea was immediately embraced by the committee and by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, which readily agreed to make space for the reflection room as part of its expansion of the terminal.

“We recognize that travel has changed and become more and more hectic,” Kathleen Hittner, chairwoman of the Airport Corporation’s board of directors said. “The intention is to provide a respite to our visitors at any time of day.”

What no one could foretell, Dorsey said, is that the project would span eight years as the result of the travel security changes stemming from 9/11 and delays with the airport upgrades.

“It took a lot longer than we ever thought,” said Dorsey, a member of Trinity Church in Cranston’s Pawtuxet Village neighborhood. “But we made sure that the idea stayed alive.”

The room was officially opened in April, and Dorsey and Wolf said that they now hope that more travelers discover it.

“It’s a very comforting room,” said Avedisian, who supported the idea both as mayor of the city of Warwick and as a member of the Episcopal Diocesan Council. “People sometimes have to fly for some pretty bad reasons.

“This is a beautiful room, where hopefully they will find some comfort.”

bpoliche@projo.com