Pews
Still learning how to link things etc. from this but just read an entry on Dan Kimball's blog that was interesting. http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2006/03/what_are_these_.html
Space matters and how we arrange space makes a difference.
Two comments. First, I'm not so sure that what we associate with "house" and what first century Christians associated with "house" are the same. I've done some research on family in the first three centuries of Christianity and while there was at times an egalitarian, casual feel to it, there was more likely a nt patriarch. Just a caveat.
Second, at St. Andrew's we have pews, relatively comfortable ones, but pews never the less. Wonder what would happen if we started to play with that? Take out the middle pews so that there is freedom to do stuff in the middle? More realistically we would need to set up an alternative worship space but how do you do that with rooms so multi use?
Space matters and how we arrange space makes a difference.
Two comments. First, I'm not so sure that what we associate with "house" and what first century Christians associated with "house" are the same. I've done some research on family in the first three centuries of Christianity and while there was at times an egalitarian, casual feel to it, there was more likely a nt patriarch. Just a caveat.
Second, at St. Andrew's we have pews, relatively comfortable ones, but pews never the less. Wonder what would happen if we started to play with that? Take out the middle pews so that there is freedom to do stuff in the middle? More realistically we would need to set up an alternative worship space but how do you do that with rooms so multi use?
posted by blair at 3/11/2006 10:53:00 p.m.
1 Comments:
I have a dream. Our sanctuary here at Trafalgar is barely 20 years old but has wooden pews (we were the recipients of a gift from a more established church who 'knew' that we would need them). I dream of taking them all out (gasp!) and replacing the floor with hardwood, inlaid with a labyrinth. Chairs would enable us to have intimate worship on Maundy Thursday, or spirituality centres for our Week of Guided Prayer.
Perhaps we are a society of mutitaskers who also want everything to be multi functional, but I don't think that's a bad thing. As our ideas about worship change it seems strange that there would be an element nailed down, especially furniture.
I also think that it would help people move away from the idea that they are spectators at worship, with a "stage" at the front and theatre-style seating.
My question is, how would it change worship if we could see and interact with one another (as Dan Kimball suggests)?
Post a Comment
<< Home