Saturday, May 27, 2006
The styles of places of worship have changed over the years.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Rev. Tim Wright admits he is so accustomed to seeing the "bicycle rack in the sky" atop the chapel where he preaches that he doesn't think much about it.
Inside the chapel, a Frank Lloyd Wright design featuring that unique "racklike" structure, angled ceilings and colored bricks allow natural light to stream in. Some days, the chaplain practically basks in it.
"It's the community of faith that makes the worship happen," says the Rev. Mr. Wright, no relation to the chapel's famed architect. "But the fact that it happens in this wonderful work of art that is Annie Pfeiffer Chapel enhances the experience we are able to have."
Nearly 140 people gather to worship and listen to Mr. Wright each Sunday morning in the chapel. It was built by student labor from 1939 to 1941 and is considered the epitome of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings on Florida Southern College's campus.
Film shows journey
Taking viewers on a journey through architectural space designed with higher callings in mind, a new film called "The Sacred Spaces: The Houses of Worship Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright" explores Annie Pfeiffer, along with the school's Danforth Chapel and several others.
What is sacred depends on whom one asks, but one thing is certain: Eliciting emotion from brick and mortar isn't so odd. Buildings have been used to intimidate, to coax and to calm for centuries.
The 12,000-square-foot Hindu Temple opened last June in Casselberry, Fla., in an elaborate five-day ceremony. It blends architectural styles of both northern and southern India, and incorporates numerous deities.
The space, when filled, hums with chants of the faithful, who say they feel peaceful energy throughout.
Twenty-three artists from India spent two years working on the carvings for the building, which was constructed to precise specifications of scholars, says Mahendra Kapadia, chairman of the Hindu Society of Central Florida.
As church growth increases, it's apparent many houses of worship aren't built like they used to be. Gone, it seems, are massive cathedrals and spires, meant to awe and inspire viewers.
How they've changed
Instead of reverent spaces of solitude, today's churches are often large buildings with stucco exteriors. Massive auditoriums that may seat thousands and convert seamlessly into dining halls or basketball courts capture the fancy of modern worshippers at many of the fastest-growing Christian denominations.
"We think there's a place for stained glass -- we teach that. But we're not in the 18th, 15th or 16th century," says Waymon Thomas, a senior ministry staffer at Celebration of Praise in Clermont, Fla., a church that has grown from 19 people eight years ago to nearly 1,300 today.
This 70,000-square-foot church led by the Rev. Rod Trusty has two swimming pools, a hot tub, a basketball court, game room and what looks like rock-concert facilities for teen worship. There are also ambitious plans for a nursing home, an assisted-living facility, a retirement community and another new sanctuary to seat 3,000. They may even build a funeral home.
"But what is a church?" Thomas asks. "When you step back and ask yourself what that is, a church is a caring place for mind, body and spirit. And how can we present that to the passers-by -- that we are a quality place to take care of that function? That's our question."
People come for all sorts of reasons besides worship, including eating wings and watching football.
"You'd have to be blind to not see this place looks like a mall," Thomas says.
Mixed together
Spirituality and architecture have been intricately entwined -- sometimes in controversial ways -- nearly forever. From ancient Mayans to modern Hindus, the physical structures of worship loom large as cornerstones of belief across all periods of time and cultures.
The ancient Chinese philosophy of feng shui has taken off in the West as people incorporate its ideas into their architecture and interior design. Feng shui is not a religion, but it teaches a deep and direct connection between our lives and our environs.
Historically, Christians have disagreed on how to build a church.
Different theologies sometimes play a role, says Rollins College professor Kim Dennis, an expert in art history and architecture.
With no printing press and an illiterate population, the church relied on art to tell the stories of the Scriptures. From detailed sculpture to elaborate paintings to the structures themselves -- all served as visual tools for the masses. Stained glass today still often tells a visual story.
"It was meant to inspire spirituality and stand for the awesome power of God," Dennis says of old cathedrals reaching toward the heavens. "The church itself functioned as a visual billboard."