Earlier this month, I had the privilege of being sent to a conference in Nashville with others from our church staff. It was the Sing! Conference hosted by Keith and Krystyn Getty. I enjoyed listening to many powerful speakers and being led to worship by many gifted musicians.
One breakout session stood out to me in particular. It was hosted in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Nashville. With great crowds of people, I made my way through modern, sleek hallways and stairwells to an older section of the building which held the sanctuary.
Stepping into the sanctuary, my first inclination was to snicker. I love old buildings and architecture fascinates me, but 60’s/70’s architecture tends to hit or miss with me, usually miss. I later saw a plaque dating the building to 1969, right at the very end of the Mid-Century Modern design movement.
The sanctuary was brick. It had a floor level and balcony level. I couldn’t find anyone from my group on the floor level so went to look in the balcony. I was so glad I did! I tend to think of balcony seating as overflow, or even worse, associated with old segregation laws. Here, it somehow felt like preferential seating.
The main shape of the sanctuary was cruciform with two wings of seating on both levels which faced in. However, the building wasn’t a perfect “t”, there were many jut outs and inlets. The ceiling had simple beam work painted white. Though I could see a few hints of recently updated stage lighting and speakers, I was impressed and somewhat baffled to see no obvious trace of HVAC vents or intakes or heavy wiring. Yet somehow, we were comfortably cool even in the balcony from the scorching Nashville heat.
Behind the stage, climbing the full length of the wall (3 or 4 stories high) was a large stained-glass window. While the rest of the sanctuary was made up of a clean, straight lines, the stained-glass danced into whimsy. Bright colors, unusual shapes, blurred seams, gradually moving from a dark base to lighter and lighter colors. On either flank of the stained glass window, the organ pipes were displayed up the wall as an artistic feature. Rounded stained-glass (of similar whimsy) was set over each balcony wing and there were more long stripes of stained-glass behind the center balcony.
The stage area was sleek with space for a large choir, but on that day, there was only a 5-person band. The breakout was a sing-along led by Sandra McCracken. As we listened to her songs or stood and sang along, though I could clearly see the stage below, my eyes were often drawn upwards. Instead of a dark ceiling trying to deemphasize masses of wires and lighting and air ducts, there was a beautiful white ceiling and gleaming organ pipes and colored glass. When the sun came out, the stained glass behind me let in warm light. As we sang, the cruciform shape made it feel that we were singing to each other, reminding one another of the truth we sang just as surely as we were offering praise to God. We sang Steadfast and We Will Feast in the House of Zion along with many classic hymns.
Of course, the things I loved about this experience were not unique to the Mid-Century Modern design. In fact, they were borrowed from much older traditions, of lofty ceilings which draw the eye upward to God in hope and worship. The very shape of the building reminds us of the cross of Jesus while functionally connecting us in a special way. The use and beauty of natural light coming in through the stained-glass by day is an ancient feature. The windows also allow the light from the church to shine out by night, a lesser light than the sun, but a reflection of it.
I am reminded of what Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Yes, beauty can be costly. Beauty requires more time, more labor, and often higher qualities materials than the ugly or commonplace. Certainly, His Spirit enables us to worship anywhere in Spirit and truth. This worship is pleasing to him even when we have nothing to offer. Yet, when it is in our power, let us consider how even our buildings can bring honor to God through beauty and aid the church (that is the people of Christ) in our worship of Him.
Give beauty back, beauty, beauty, beauty, back to God, beauty’s
Gerard Manley Hopkins
self and beauty’s giver
Welcome To The Carriage House 