Our Place To Be
by David C. Partington
In 1985 he said, "The building is a symbol and a tool. The building preaches all of the time." The "he" was James L. Doom, consultant on church architecture. We were an infant congregation, not yet a year old. We had been born June 24, 1984. This particular new church development had a yearning for building "a place to be." Worship was already central in our life together, and we had a hunger for worship space. Building a church building where form would follow function and which would be for us both a symbol and a tool was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime, maybe never, kind of experience. We knew that we needed sound guidance. In February 1985, we invited Jim Doom to spend a weekend with us.
We learned that "form follows function." Following the visit of Jim Doom, we met in small groups seeking to become, at least to some degree, architecturally-theologically literate. We studied. We read. We told stories about spaces that had been sacred spaces for us or for loved ones of previous generations. Every member of the congregation read two articles: "The Ambiance of Spaces for Christians" by E.A. Sovik, and "You are What You Build" by Gordon Scott Bowie. We met for several months, reflecting on those articles, listening to other voices, and envisioning the many ways that the form of a building would enable our life together as a worshiping community. We wanted a building that would preach a particular message. In a paper that was written following our months of prayer and reflection we said:
We had a sense that such a building would "preach."
From the very beginning, worship at Shallowford was both ordered and informed by The Supplemental Liturgical Resources prepared by The Joint Office of Worship. We field-tested many of those materials.
As we prepared to select an architect, we required that candidates be familiar with Supplemental Liturgical Resource, No. 1, The Service for the Lord's Day, particularly the sections in the commentary titled "Convictions Concerning Worship," "A Presbyterian Order for Worship," "The Purpose of the Pattern," and "Leading the Lord's Day Service." As we prepared to build worship space, it was important to us that the worship space enable our worship and that it be a space where our growing convictions about worship and integrity in our liturgical life would be reflected.
The space that we were preparing to build for worship would preach a message for years to come. The sermon in the building would speak a sincere invitation: "Welcome to a loving place intended to be an extension of God's love for all people." The horizontal dimensions of our life together as well as the vertical dimensions of our life before God were to be preached in the presence of our building. The ambiance of the space where the people of God would gather was a matter of importance to us. It was our desire that the building would speak, or preach, beauty, simplicity, humaneness, graciousness, hospitality, integrity, authenticity, truth, love, and wonder. All this would be a symbol, but this space, this building, would also be a tool.
As a tool, this building would enable not only Word and sacrament, but also prayer and praise. As a tool, this building would be a place for the making of covenants: baptismal covenants, marriage covenants, ordination covenants, membership covenants and covenants of renewal. As a tool, this building would be a place for color, art, light, silence, moments of presence, majesty, and awe. As a tool, this building would be a place for confession and lamentation as well as adoration, supplication, petition, and thanksgiving. In this space we would commend our dead into the merciful care of God. Here would be a place for contrition and the imposition of ashes as well as a place for the lifting of hands. In this set-apart space, we would bring our offerings, affirm our faith, and respond to invitations to discipleship. From this sacred space we would go out to mission and service.
On November 15, 1987, we entered the building for "A Service of Worship Celebrating the Entrance of the Congregation Into Shallowford Presbyterian Church." The building has preached. It has been and continues to be both a symbol and a tool. One of the great gifts to us and to the larger community of this sacred space is the gift of beauty that has enabled moments of synergy (more than the sum of things). Paul Philibert in a recent lecture and workshop on The Arts as Embodiment said, "We need to create environments safe for contemplation, environments where when we turn a corner we are hushed."
The "being hushed" by the beauty of our sacred space has marked our life together from that first gathering for worship. This narrative of the manner in which a variety of uses of this liturgical space has enabled the worship of the people of Shallowford begins with the following story.
THE SHAPE OF THE SPACE
The service began with a procession. The congregation had gathered in the parking lot. We used "Enter His Sanctuary Singing" by Hal H. Hopson as the music for our entrance liturgy. The sanctuary had been designed with both fixed seating and flexible seating. The areas for seating on the sides had chairs that could be removed to accommodate different instrumental ensembles. On this day we required space for the Matrix Brass Quintet. In a room designed with aisles that would enable the movement of the congregation in a variety of acts of worship, a grand procession of the whole congregation put the space to the test. The central aisle is wide. It is very wide at the point of entrance into the sanctuary and narrows by degree to the first pew. The aisle then opens into a wide span of space in front of the chancel steps. That space is well used.
Why such a wide aisle? In building a space that would enable community, we wanted to provide a hospitable place for after-worship conversations, hugs, greetings, and so forth, as well as various acts of worship. A narrow aisle would constrict such moments and perhaps be claustrophobic for some, making the space a space from which to flee. From that day of great pageantry when the entire congregation processed into our sacred space, there has always been plenty of breathing space in that wide aisle.
The procession continued with a liturgical action that we called "Vesting the Sanctuary."
The Shallowford Banner was carried at the head of the procession. Light was brought into the room, and the Christ candle was lit. The pulpit Bible was carried in procession by an elder. A woman and her daughters carried a handwoven "Holy Table Scarf" and in a lovely gesture placed it on the holy table. Pottery vessels had been crafted for this worship space by North Carolina potter Clyde Gobble. He had crafted the baptismal bowl and the stand for the Christ candle. Those were already in place, but the pottery chalice and paten as well as pitchers for both the water and the wine were brought forward by children. Pottery flower vases by Gobble for the wooden flower stands were brought forward. Wooden offering plates from the shop of another North Carolina craftsman were carried in procession by children. During this grand procession, sounds of wonder filled the room. As the concluding "Alleluia" faded, we prayed our Collect for the day:
God of our lives: as you have hedged in from front and behind your people in every generation, so you have guided us to this day. With expressions of faith we have vested this new worship space. We have entered your sanctuary singing. Now vest our hearts that we might praise your name. We pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The community had assembled. We had gathered in a climate of awe, mystery, wonder, reverence, thanksgiving, and praise. We trusted that the impact of this sacred space would lead to authentic worship and mission. As a congregation with a future, we were already gifted by the presence of children. We wanted this space to be used to point them, as well as adults, to the presence of the Holy. In the essay "Sacred Space" in Seeing and Believing, Paul Philibert writes:
Now ten years after that Service of Entrance we can celebrate the fact that worship in such a place of beauty has landscaped not only the religious imagi-nations of our children, but of our adults as well.
TABLE, FONT, AND PULPIT
In his hymn "God Is Here!" Fred Pratt Green invites us to sing:
Architect Max McLeod of Matthews, North Carolina, designed the furnishings that would be central symbols in our worship space: table, font, and pulpit. We affirm that the principal action at the table is the Eucharist. We come to the table to receive the elements. Those who are able get up out of their seats and come forward to be served. There is a large open space where the congregation comes to stand and where the movement of coming and going is not congested. People can breathe. When smaller groups come forward, they are able to walk up the two steps, stand around the table, and serve each other. Those smaller groups can thus share in a more intimate experience of community around the table.
On those Sundays when we do not celebrate the Eucharist, the symbols of the sacrament--the chalice, the paten, and the pitcher--remain visibly present. The table is also the place from which the congrega-tion is led in prayer and other acts of worship. In an effort to be consistent in the central meaning of the symbol of the table, neither flowers nor offering plates are placed there.
We affirm the presence of a visible symbol of our entrance into the church through the sacrament of baptism: the font. The large pottery baptismal bowl simply cannot be missed. It is also portable. Normally the font is in place in a slightly elevated position in the chancel area. In that place, the gesture of pouring water into the font can be seen and heard by all. On those Sundays when the congregation has participated in the Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant for a Congregation (BCW, p.464), the font has been placed at different places in the sanctuary.
One time we placed it at the entrance to the sanctuary. Members of the congregation were invited to come to the font and to be anointed in remembrance of the fact that in their baptism they were sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever. The wide aisle enabled those who sensed God's call to this particular mode of renewal to come to the font as the Spirit led. On another occasion the font was placed at the foot of the chancel steps, another site for anointing. Here again there was space for the baptized saints to come forward. No ushers were needed to orchestrate the procession to the font.
Since it is our conviction that all occasions of anointing are rooted in baptism, this is the place to tell the story of those other occasions for anointing. On those Sundays when our liturgical life includes the Service for Wholeness for Use with a Congregation (BCW, p. 1005), the sanctuary is prepared for this particular act of holy caressing and the enacted prayer of the laying on of hands. The open space at the foot of the chancel enables us to place a stand for the anointing oil as well as a kneeler or a chair for those who come seeking prayer. There is plenty of space for the four (or more) elders who participate with the pastor in the laying on of hands. The wide aisle enables those seeking prayer to walk comfortably forward, or move their wheelchairs to present their requests. They then may kneel, sit, or stand as they receive ministry. On those occasions when there is a Service for Wholeness for Use with an Individual (BCW, p. 1018), there is plenty of room for all elders who are present to come forward for the laying on of hands.
The open space at the foot of the chancel steps has also been the space for the laying on of hands when elders are ordained. It has been a covenant-making place for those who marry and for those who stand before the congregation to reaffirm their faith. Because there have been so many occasions of profound, earnest prayer in that spacious area, we could easily imitate Jacob and build a pillar of stone. We do not, but that pillar exists in our hearts.
We also affirm the clear, visible presence of the pulpit. This preaching desk where the Word is both read and proclaimed is a significant symbol of the gift of God's written Word in Scripture. We use it! Other forms of proclamation happen in our liturgical life, but they do not diminish the singular importance of the Word read and proclaimed. The Bible is displayed on the pulpit, not on the table. Scripture, read by members of the congregation and the pastor, is read from the pulpit. The sermon is preached from the pulpit. It is our conviction that the pulpit remains a crucial symbol in any worship space. In fact, all three symbols--table, font, and pulpit--remain, as the hymn writer says, "symbols to remind us of our life-long need of grace."7
OTHER FORMS OF PROCLAMATION,
OTHER OCCASIONS FOR PRAYER
The chapter "Elements of Christian Worship" in the Directory For Worship contains an invitation to "Other Forms of Proclamation":
All of the above! Our adult choir, the Shallowford Singers, understands itself to be the auxiliary choir. When we have choir rehearsal prior to worship, it is for the entire congregation. The Shallowford Singers is a wonderful group and is willing to sing choral literature of many different styles and from many different periods. Normally the choir members sing from where they are seated as a group in chairs to the left of the congregation. However, in moments of creativity, when something else seems called for, they sing from different places in the worship space. The wonderful eight-part motet Heilig (Holy) by Felix Mendelssohn was sung by the choir encircling the congregation. In that moment of wondrous praise there was a sense of being sung in and sung through, not just for the choir, but for all. The physical act of encircling the congregation in that manner enabled us to pray with a particular sense of the presence of the communion of saints.
One way to understand the Ten Commandments is as ten protective stakes surrounding the community of God's people. On the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, we were called to worship by words from Exodus 20. On that Sunday the choir encircled the congregation. Following the reading of each commandment the choir sang the verses of the hymn:
My soul, recall with reverent wonder how God amid the fire and smoke proclaimed his holy law with thunder from Sinai's mountain when he spoke.9
In the singing of the verses of that hymn, the choir continued the proclamation of each commandment. In that moment of worship, the congregation was literally surrounded by the "ten words."
The choir has also positioned itself in different places in the sanctuary to sing the setting of The Beatitudes from the Hymnal (1982).10 They were sung in the context of the Order for the Service of Preparation for Holy Communion in the Book of Common Worship (1946).11 Through the spoken prayer, the sung prayer, and the silence, we took an extended time to pray The Beatitudes. This particular order of service is one of the treasures of prayer in the 1946 book. In placing the choir around the congregation, as the room enables us to do, the sense of the corporate nature of our prayer was visibly demonstrated. It was a lovely way to pray.
In times of ordination, when the elders come forward for the laying on of hands and the ordination/installation prayer, the choir also comes and creates yet another circle around the elders. Prayer is both spoken and sung. Sometimes that sung prayer has been "God Be in My Head," the Old English prayer set by John Rutter.12 On another occasion of ordination the sung prayer has been "Brother Richard's Prayer":
We are a congregation that subscribes to the adage that "the one who sings prays twice."
The Shallowford Singers both helps us and teaches us how to pray. The same is true for The Joyful Noise, our children's choir. The children have assisted us in prayer, praise, and proclamation. The sound of tone chimes rung by the children lingers in our music-friendly sacred space. The children, sitting with family or extended family, ring the chimes in random order when we pray. On one occasion, the ringing of the chimes followed the spoken "Amen" of the congregation in the Prayers of the People. The sound of the chimes symbolizes the ascension of prayer in a mode of musical incense (Psalm 141). During the Eucharist the tone chimes are rung in aleatoric fashion as we sing plainsong melodies such as Veni Emmanuel and Veni Creator Spiritus. In such a simple way as the ringing of tone chimes as we pray, we discover that "deep calls to deep" (Psalm 42:7)
Liturgical dance, drama, and the visual arts have been gifts to us in experiencing other forms of proclamation and other occasions of prayer. In Advent we have prayed and liturgical dancers have danced our Advent yearnings using the "O Antiphons" and "Canticle of Mary" settings by John Weaver.14 When Bible stories seem to call for some form of dramatic storytelling, members of the Shallowford Players proclaim the Word. We still smile about the time that the Smith Family Players portrayed the story of the call of young Samuel. Dad David was Eli sound asleep. Son Peter was young Samuel who kept hearing the voice of God. Daughter Whitney was the narrator. Son Camden was the voice of God. Because son Micah needed a part to play, a dog was added to the scene. It was a never-to-be-forgotten telling of the story.
Those who enter the sanctuary for worship, concerts, or other events are immediately aware that "Here the cross has central place."15 On Good Friday, the large brick cross is draped in a sweep of black fabric. In front of the cross, on the day of Pentecost, the congregation is greeted by a wonderful red flame that descends from the ceiling to the base of the Christ candle. Banners designed and made by artists in the congregation proclaim the various liturgical days and seasons. Sometimes a particular artwork is brought into the sanctuary or greets the congregation at the entrance. Most recently in a service that invited us to live "A Eucharistic Life," the Shallowford Singers issued that invitation to an attitude of gratitude by singing the setting of "i thank You God for most this amazing day" by e.e. cummings. Lloyd Pfautsch's imaginative setting of cummings' poetry16 continued the proclamation and invitation to "give thanks" that had already been visually trumpeted by the presence of the poster "i thank You God" by John August Swanson.17
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1 This article appeared in a Resource Kit on Church Architecture published by the former Joint Office of Worship of the Presbyterian Church in the 1970s. It may still be available in presbytery or synod resource centers.
2 Reprinted from Presbyterian Survey, June 1973.
3 The Arts as Embodiment: Spiritual Transformation Through the Arts. Lectures by the Rev. Paul J. Philibert, O.P. Sponsored by the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, Bethesda, Md., April 10-11, 1997.
4 "Enter His Sanctuary Singing: Introit and Procession" by Hal H. Hopson, published by Choristers Guild.
5 Paul Philibert, Seeing and Believing (Collegeville, Minn.: the Liturgical Press, 1995), p. 141.
6 "God Is Here!" The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990), No. 461.
7 Ibid., st. 1.
8 Directory for Worship, The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Part II, Book of Order, (Louisville, Ky.: the Office of the General Assembly, 1994), W-2.2008.
9 "The Ten Commandments," Psalter Hymnal, (Grand Rapids: CRC Publications, 1987, 1988).
10 Hymnal (New York: The Church Pension Fund 1982), p. 560.
11 The Book of Common Worship (Philadelphia: Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America, 1946), pp. 136-143.
12 Oxford University Press. 1970.
13 "Brother Richard's Prayer" (adapted from the works of Richard Rolle). Music by W.H. Anderson,(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Western Music Company).
14 See The Psalter: Psalms and Canticles For Singing, (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993), No. 162.
15 "God Is Here," st. 2.
16 "i thank You God" 1964 by the Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, Inc. L.G. Co. 51215.
17 Poster available from the National Association for Hispanic Elderly, 3325 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles, Calif. 90010. Tel 213/487/1922.
18 Seeing and Believing, p.141.
Reprinted in part from Reformed Liturgy & Music, 31 (No. 3): 167-172, 1997.