December 16

Today is a feast day, in the Episcopal Church, for the architects and artists Ralph Adams Cram, Richard Upjohn, and John LaFarge. They were responsible for some of the iconic sacred art and architecture in American churches from the early 1800’s to the mid 1900’s, including stained glass windsor. . 

Of course, like all of American and European history, sacred architecture has been dominated by white men, not because the Holy Spirit inspired mostly white men but because of systemic oppression of women and non-white folks. So I feel it’s also important to acknowledge some famous women architects of sacred spaces today: Julia Morgan, who designed the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland and Saint John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, Maria Schwarz, who designed modernist churches in Europe, and Ingeborg Krafft, who designed the Mesnali Church. 

I think it’s also important to acknowledge Hettie Anderson, the African-American model and muse who posed not only for John LaFarge’s murals, but also many of the artistic representations of Justice and Victory during the same time period. 

Today also marks the death of Soe Hok Gie, a young Roman Catholic Indonesian political and environmental activist who stood up to the dictatorships of his country. 

Reflection:

Soe Hok Gie wrote: 

and

I have little understanding of architecture, but I’ve done quite a bit of research into the theology of Christian sacred spaces and how the implicitly or explicitly teach people about authority, creation, and so on. For example, some churches choose to make the pulpit the focal point of their sacred space; others choose the table. Others make the table into an altar. Some place the walk-in baptistry at the very front of the church, and others place a font near the entrance. A church building that looks like an amphitheater has one kind of theology about worship; a church in the shape of a cross has another. 

I am agnostic about what kind of space is “better,” though I have my criticisms about our culture that is fixated on spectacle and passive participation. Spaces that emphasize the preacher’s role as “sage on a stage” are not my favorite, nor are places designed to imitate concert venues. I’m interested in spaces that highlight congregational participation, not performance. 

Prayer: Architect of Creation, we move through life mostly unaware of how the spaces we inhabit impact our behavior, our actions, and our emotions. Tune us in more deeply to your natural, social world. Amen.