The main goal of the project was to help prepare the ground for a congregation’s monumental decision to redesign worship space which had remained intact for 80 years. The intent was to help them identify more clearly the problem of the present worship space, but more importantly, to explore an alternative that would significantly help the congregation frame their identity and carry out their mission differently. I began this thesis project as a result of pastoring a church that is dominated by a glorious past and an immense and beautiful sanctuary which was built for a congregation that no ionger exists. Since we have on a good day 140 worshipers, they are swallowed up in the space that seats 600 and are isolated and scattered throughout, and the sanctuary itself communicates a sense of triumphalism that no longer is reflective of who we are. The building which houses our sanctuary is our biggest strength and our biggest burden. We could not walk away from the building because of the unique treasure of the sanctuary, yet it is very expensive and keeps us locked into a past identity which no longer seems appropriate.
My initial thought in the thesis project was to see how we could make a change, and I began research into worship architecture. In that research I ran across approaches to flexible space which I thought allowed us to maintain the remarkable beauty of the sanctuary while changing the interior arrangement of that space so we could worship more comfortably and as a community. A second important piece of my research was a paper by William Seth Adams which suggested that if a congregation used flexible space for worship, then that space could be designed around the liturgical seasons.
However, I discovered that a change of this scale required much ground work. Our first year was spent in a participatory visioning process using materials from Percept. Throughout that process, the question of the building and the sanctuary were discussed, and it became apparent to me that the congregation saw the problem, but were unwilling to entertain solutions without clearly understanding them. I determined that the thesis project would help them to imagine these changes. The session decided to worship in the social hall downstairs (a wide-open space) for two months in the winter. This triggered the opportunity to engage in an exploratory process with the congregation. At the same time, the Horizons 2005-2006 Bible study arrived, and I found a vehicle which would organize and structure the project.
Using the worship committee as a guiding group, we invited other groups in the church to become worship teams to be trained and design the setting and plan a service for a particular season. Once the groups emerged, I met with each for two or three training sessions. These sessions included Powerpoint presentations on 1) a survey of the history of church architecture, 2) how our worship space fits into that history, and 3) a summary of the liturgical seasons with an emphasis upon their chosen season. At the end of this training time, the group planned for design of the worship space according to the season, helped to plan the service itself, and then participated in the leadership of that particular service. With the Horizons study as an organizational structure, nine weeks were set aside for the project. Ihe first, was led by me as an introduction to the concept of time and liturgical seasons.
The next seven were led by different groups on the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week (or Triduum), Easter, and Ordinary Time. Pentecost was considered the celebrative end to the season of Easter. Then, on the ninth week, we looked at the concept of worship space, and provided for a review and evaluation of the experience, again led by me. The congregation embraced the project, knowing that it was for a limited time. They were very enthusiastic about the arrangement of space, especially as it created community and caused them to encounter so many different people. They enjoyed learning about the liturgical seasons and appreciated the participatory nature of the project. Whether we will be able to take the next step to redesign of the sanctuary will depend on the willingness of the congregation and the availability of resources. One clear learning that I take from this project is that we need to find a way to include both reverence and community in our worship experience. However, regardless of whether we do a major redesign or not, the cemented ground of a congregation strongly stuck in tradition has been loosened. This is an important step in the life-cycle of this congregation.
There are literally hundreds of “mainline” churches whose congregations have changed over time, and who worship in sanctuaries that have not, places of worship that exert hidden influence over the life and identity of the people. It may be very helpful for congregations who are stuck in dusty traditions of the past to use this model for becoming more creative in the use of their worship space. There may be many other congregations who are building new space for worship, who would find this project helpful in thinking through the design of their space, before they simply build on old models which will immediately shackle them.
