Sacred, Space, and Buildings

One of the things that I have picked up on my journey through life is an appreciation of the function of an object. This has carried somewhat into my church experiences where one looks at how a church functions, and also at the ‘air’ around the church. I visited Bel Air Presbyterian church in the hills looking over the North LA county. For being one of the more populated Presbyterian churches in LA it had a very ‘home’ feel to it. To be honest it didn’t really feel like a ‘church’ but rather a large meeting hall where friends gathered together. Much of the technical oriented stuff was tucked away and hidden to the best of their ability but there was just a feeling of peace and home that one does not always find in a building alone, often one needs people to make that happen. Yet I could easily see myself spending a morning there alone in quiet contemplation.

I just read this article on buildings, beauty, and the idea of ‘sacred.’ I find that this concept of sacred is important to many and that others are often not aware of it. In many of the churches I have been to it is difficult to separate the sacred from the social. It is the sacred that I have tried to recreate in my own space, and am moderately successful. Yet I don’t think that everyone understands a need for the space of the sacred.

One of the things that is mentioned in the above article is that buildings and spaces get forgotten over time for what they were built to create space for. Yet the building still holds meaning in the form of ‘sacred’ and it is understood that sacred is something that is now an adjective describing the building. The perception that a congregation has on a church is easily noted in how they tend to their pre-service activities. Often I will see friends in fellowship talking at normal volumes without consideration for others in the sanctuary/chapel. Other people will be near by and seeing to have a moment of contemplation and silent reflection but are unable to do so with the conversation.

I’m going to Saddleback sometime in the next two weeks to see what the church is like and I’m not sure what I will find. I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of the whole 40 days of purpose thing, if only cause I had to do it for 80 days back to back, but I have never seen him in person so it should be … interesting. I know I haven't made a point or anything concrete, but then again I'm still doing 'research.'