Encountering God through modern church architecture

Lutheran, The, Aug 2004 by Gugel, John R

For a study guide, see www.thelutheran.org/study. To discuss this article with the author, Aug. 17-24, see www.thelutheran.org (click discussion boards).

St. James Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, Ill., is known for its acoustical worship space.

In Christian history, A.D. 313 was a watershed year. The proclamation of the Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. Now Christians could leave the relative security of members' homes to worship in public spaces. As a result, converts to the faith flooded the church.

So the church needed room. Looking around for a model, it adopted the basilica, a Roman courthouse/public meeting hall, as a place to worship. This remained the norm from the fourth century until the present era.

The Gothic form of the basilica-the style with which most people are familiar (long, narrow nave; center aisle; fixed pews; and small narthex)-has held sway for centuries.

"Not much that was new happened in church architecture until the last two generations," says Steve Edwins, president of SMSQ Architects in Northfield, Minn., the firm founded by Edward Sovik (see page 34).

"The more traditional and older style buildings don't fit the kinds of ministry people are looking for these days," adds Pete Norgren, architect for the ELCA Mission Investment Fund.

Today's architects reach for new forms of expression that will shape the life and worship of congregations. For example, making churches accessible for disabled people simply was not a concern of the great cathedral builders of the past. But it is today.

Another major concern is the way in which an architect handles the building site-it can determine a project's success or failure. "We think of site planning as a great stewardship issue, but it also is the first invitation the church makes," Edwins says.

One end of the narthex at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, Minn., overlooks a nature preserve called the Purgatory Watershed. That has led Rod L. Anderson, one of its pastors, to quip: "We're the only church with a view of purgatory."

At Faith Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa, a large window at the end of one hall provides a sweeping view of the "Church of the Land," a chapel built on the spot where Pope John Paul II celebrated mass in 1979.

The plans for All Saints Lutheran Church, Phoenix, include a large bow window on one side of the worship space affording a dramatic view of mountains in the distance.

Good site planning also anticipates future expansion. "You always have to figure out what the next move might be," Edwins says.

Design to build community

"Good design helps build community," says Marty Kleiber, a liturgical consultant with Milwaukee's KS Consulting. "The gathering space (narthex) is where we can get caught up with the rhythms of one another's lives."

Norgren adds, "Every contemporary design includes a large gathering space. Even in warm climates people head inside for air conditioning."

Gathering spaces are the building's hub, the place where people meet, whether coming into the building for worship, Bible study, choir practice, a committee meeting, exercise class or to drop children off for preschool.

The current rule of thumb is a gathering space one-third to one-half the size of the worship area. With their multiple uses, these spaces resemble modern shopping malls. They may contain an information desk, a bookstore, the coffee pot and library. Some have comfortable chairs-and even a working fireplace.

Christ the King Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C., has a prayer room off its foyer. The area features closed-circuit monitors, so no one misses what's happening at worship.

Members of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, Minn., enjoy their large gathering space so much they hold congregational dinners there.

And when Capitol Drive T utheran, Milwaukee, remodeled its interior, the congregation created a large gathering space at one end of the nave where pews had been anchored to the floor. "We were striving for a sense of unity," explains Lowell Timm, pastor. The old space gave a message of "God at a distance," he says; this was replaced by a feeling of "God in our midst."

Faith expressed

"Architecture operates in a symbolic way to express the faith of the community," Edwins explains. For that reason, it must be "an excellent building that does its work well."

The shape and roofline of the space should announce its purpose, evoke a sense of awe, tell something about the faith of the people who gather there, invite guests to come in and enhance what happens inside. The pyramidal roofline at St. James Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, Ill., for instance, is a timeless shape that enhances acoustics in the worship space.

St. Andrew's shape and roofline suggest a tabernacle-a reminder that Christians are a pilgrim people.

"The way you use light in a building is another architectural tradition that has to be constantly rethought," Edwins says.

Whether direct or indirect, bright or diffused, natural or artificial, passing through stained glass or shining through clear panes, light has spiritual significance and is, therefore, an important design consideration. At Edina [Minn.] Community Lutheran a central skylight over the worship space is a unifying element for the congregation. A smaller skylight over the font highlights the important role of baptism.