Sacred Space

The following document is an attempt to shape the discussion about the future building needs of Bethany Covenant Church; it is not intended to determine all the spaces that need to be designed and brought into being in the immediate or near future. Some of the discussion and design in which we will engage will be a part of a process that may last years or longer. It is hoped that the ideas that follow provide inspiration for us as we seek to plan, design and build facilities that enable us to carry out the vision God has given us, Building Community in Christ.

Bethany Covenant Church has been growing. In the past few years, however, it seems as if we’ve been hitting a glass ceiling in Sunday morning worship attendance. This ceiling is created in part by limited parking space, and in part by limited sanctuary space. This is one of the reasons we are looking into potential expansion of the facilities.

But it is not the only thing we are after. Indeed, it is not even the primary thing. We feel that our role as a church is not merely to make room for people to worship with us, but to welcome them into a community of faith and all that that entails. 

Our vision motto is Building Community in Christ and our desire and prayer is that whatever plans we make spring from, are guided by, and fulfill this vision. Our vision embraces six key ministry areas: Christian Formation, Local Outreach, World Missions, Worship, Community Care and Stewardship. These ministry areas need to be kept in view and faithfully considered as we proceed in designing and implementing any proposed expansion.

This does not mean that we must provide “rooms” for each of the ministry areas, though it will mean that for some. Rather, it means that we create space where space is needed to accomplish a particular ministry, but we also recognize that some areas are all about what we do beyond our walls instead. For instance, Christian Formation, Worship, Community Care and Stewardship (Property and Finance, Administration) are all ministry areas that need space on church property. Local Outreach and World Missions are both outwardly focused. And Community Care does some of its work on site and a good deal off site as well, in the homes and lives of the people of our faith community. Whatever the specific space needs are for specific ministries, all the aspects of our facility should be welcoming, proclaiming the hospitality that is a part of who we are, as Christians and as this community of believers. 

Building a facility that honors our vision motto and these ministry areas means, practically speaking, that we not build a facility that will accommodate more people in worship than we are able to effectively welcome into the sense of community that is Bethany Covenant Church. Defining what this sense of community is and how it is built is not easy, but there are some markers.

One marker is simple: living room space. We need places to gather that are not primarily meeting rooms. We need various sizes of living rooms in various parts of the facility (sofas, chairs, coffee tables). By living room space we mean space in which people can talk and build relationships with one another -- some nooks and crannies, some full on living room areas, even some out of doors spaces. Outdoor spaces can be both active and passive, places to pray and meditate, and places to play and mingle. These spaces – both indoor and outdoor – may also relate to and be part of an overall fellowship area, so that we need less of a "fellowship hall" because fellowship takes place throughout a given area that is comprised of smaller, more intimate areas, and larger, interconnected gathering spaces.

Along with this is the need for spontaneous space. By this we mean space in which it is possible to stop and talk with one another without planning to do so. Are the hallways wide enough for this? Is the entryway (narthex) large enough to permit people standing around in conversation? This comes to mind most strongly when we consider our current, cramped narthex. There is no room there for community building. It is barely enough room for a decent flow of traffic, let alone spontaneous space.

Living room space and spontaneous space are the places where we care for one another, keep up with one another and can even stop and pray for one another. Which brings us to another marker, prayer space. By prayer space we mean designated areas for prayer. This might be a small chapel and one or two other small prayer rooms set aside for this purpose. It might also include the prayer garden that is currently in the planning stage. 

A fourth marker of community is flexible worship space. Worship space is the place where we as a community connect with God. Sometimes that space will need to be set up more traditionally, with all eyes focused toward the front or some other part of the room. Sometimes that space will need to be set up with the emphasis on community – in the round, a semi-circle, around tables or some other configuration. The key words in this discussion are “worship”, “flexibility” and “community”. How can all three be incorporated into the design of our worship space, where our minds, hearts and bodies are directed toward God in worship, and inclusive of one another as we do so? In this sense we are after sanctuary space that is both sacred (directed toward God and enabling us to worship) and communal (enabling all to participate). How can we design worship space that invites and encourages participation in the acts of worship?

This is not just about pews versus chairs (though it is that to some degree). It is about what is communicated by the design of the worship space. Does the design communicate that the person up front is always the most important person? Or is there a way to communicate that we are all a part of the “Body of Christ” – a community of faith – and that each of us needs the other to be effective, to be what God calls us to be?

A fifth marker is nurturing space. Though a good deal of Christian Formation could take place off the property, in homes, for instance, we still must have classroom space. We need enough classroom space to meet the needs of the worshipping community. But classroom space should also be flexible and nurturing, not just an extension of the "one important person up front" lecture - type model. In addition to classrooms, one of the needs of Community Care would be for nursery space(s) – neat, clean, orderly and welcoming rooms near the sanctuary, for the care of infants and toddlers.

The final marker is support space for the administrative needs of the church. By this we mean meeting rooms, storage spaces, offices and the like. Support spaces support the mission and vision of the church. But, as with other spaces we have described, they need not focus exclusively on productivity and efficiency, but should also be hospitable and welcoming. Some meeting rooms, of course, could double as classrooms; some offices could be set up with meeting areas. Storage areas are important as they allow us to keep other spaces clear of things that obstruct community and spontaneity.

We have entitled this document Sacred Space. We have done this to indicate the reality that every space in our facility is, in a very real sense, sacred. Every place is a place where we meet with God and with one another. Every place is a place that symbolizes and enables the building of community, the sending forth into mission and the worship of God, all sacred tasks in the truest sense of the phrase. In every step of this process and every decision along the way, we must keep first in our minds that we are creating sacred space.