Architecture of Holiness - part 3
This building is like a book. Its architecture is the binding, its text is in the glass and sculpture. Malcolm Miller Last week we saw the confusion in the word "church". The point was made that church refers to people who respond to the love of God some of those people choose to congregate in a ?house for the church?. Since Constantine the architectural model for these houses has been "palatial" rather than the homes and synagogues used by Jesus and the early church. Some congregations have to meet in very difficult conditions. Disrepair, vandalism and the cold mean that many meeting places are quite inhospitable. Persecution has often meant that Christians have had to meet underground?often abandoning the buildings which have served as their meeting place. Our architecture sometimes looks like it owes more to the Victorians than to Jesus. Can we use Jesus as a lens to review how we organise our buildings? There's change and there's change and the money changers didn't like the changes Jesus made. When it comes to the environment of worship, we should never underestimate the influence of our building upon the way we think about God, about each other, Our building needs to speak clearly of what we are as the people of God. Richard Giles An inside of a building is far more interesting than the outside isn't it? Why then do we persist in using images of the outside of our buildings when we could be making the most of the opportunity of showing others this is what it's like inside - see how friendly, how stimulating, how peaceful. Or ??.. In the Temple: A complete rebuild A torn curtain Removal of tables (without faculty!) At St Andrew's Moving tables (with faculty!) New pews New window(s) Magic carpet etc etc At St Peter's Moving table Memorials (in triplicate) New window | This is the third in a series on The Architecture of Holiness. We have looked at how all our buildings convey messages ? using the quote by Malcolm Miller. We have covered the confusion of church being people or buildings Now we pay more attention to our buildings, "house of the church" - meeting place of the church. I need some help from the children here. Tell us about your rooms. Colours/tidiness/posters/curtains/furniture. others will have made changes to their houses. A new bathroom suite or new lights. We are making changes to our living space all the time aren?t we? Thereis always a reason for the changes we make ? and there?s always certain guiding principles which reflect our values and beliefs. AND WE WORK HARD TO IMPLEMENT THEM. (Stand up Zs, cleaning teams, flowers .) We make changes because we are always thinking. While we are thinking we are responding to our environment and this is reflected in the changes we make to the house of the church our meeting places. At St Peter's changes include: memorial stones on walls (several!) candles for Carols Millennium Window - celebrating Joy and Healing the Communion table At St Andrew's most recent include: table in the middle of the church coffee and tea after church - yes, that's an architectural change processional cross activity bags for children ramp toilets loop Why? What has been the driving force for all these changes? What are the beliefs and values behind them? We are installing a new window Why? because someone has gifted it but why that design and not others? Gospel and We carpeted round the font. Why? It was to cover the uneven floor - a practical response to an issue of hospitality but it was also to highlight the baptistery area, to make something of the font and to create a meeting place - particularly suitable for children. Less recent changes include the removal of the box pews, the resiting of the pulpit, the building of an extra aisle And behind each change there is a gospel principle ? a reason why. In our cities, churches have introduced kitchens, refectories, shelters, counselling services, libraries, health clinics etc etc cf St Peter's, WHY? This building is like a book speaking volumes. The message needs to be checked against the Gospel. Does it look as if anyone lives here anymore? When you look at some houses of the church it really does look as if hope has been abandoned. When our church buildings, by their internal layout, stand in the way of the development of the local Church's worship, or the proclamation of the Gospel - then the Church has a responsibility before God to seek to change that arrangement. Robert Maguire Liturgy North 96 When it comes to the environment of worship, we should never underestimate the influence of our building upon the way we think about God, about each other, Our building needs to speak clearly of what we are as the people of God. Richard Giles We should not underestimate their message announcing to the passer-by that this kind of building belongs to a group of people who have lost their way, who have forgotten why they meet in this place, who they come to encounter, and what they expect to happen. When this stage has been reached, the building is no longer a house for the people of God, but merely a valuable but little used heirloom in the corner-cupboard of our lives. Giles The aim of these sermons is to help us all to see our buildings in the context of the Gospel and the to enable us to give reasons for the changes we make ad the changes we resist. Jesus himself was responsible for some major architectural changes. Besides predicting the destruction of the temple and its remodelling and rebuilding in 3 days (Challenge Anneka!) he destroyed the carefully arranged tables ? which had been collected, carefully set up week by week but were not fit for purpose. The moneychangers had destroyed the meaning of the That was a major change confronting the temple authorities. He did it without a FACULTY! Then WHO DID MOVE THAT STONE. That stone which was carefully rolled in front of the tomb and which was intended to keep the dead dead and in their place. We have faced many issues relating to our house over the last months many more will follow. Are we to open our churches ? like Audlem, Ashton, Plemstall and many others do? How are we to manage our churchyards? Do we make our buildings accessible? Do we spend thousands on reordering? There are different opinions on all these issues. But there is a question which keeps propping up in people's minds. What would Jesus do? Should we allow Jesus and Gospel principles to make our decisions? The architectural features of our buildings aren't the only fixtures and fittings of our lives ?' and I suspect that if we don?t allow the Gospel to influence our decision making we won't allow God to change the fixtures and fittings of our minds and hearts to change our lives. What we regard as fixtures and fittings may owe more to the Victorians or Constantine than ever they do to Jesus. But it's the story of Jesus that we want our buildings to convey in mission to the world. | ||||
