Time to rearrange the furniture?

Our church buildings in the Diocese are from earlier generations. There have been no new Episcopal Church buildings in the current generation, and very few congregations have even undertaken a significant renovation of the church space (other than polishing what's already there). Yet, if we look at church history, we can see that the interior of our worship spaces have evolved greatly. Previous generations were willing to rethink the way they inhabited sacred space.

Perhaps it's time for us too. Here's a slideshow from St. Paul's Chapel in New York City. It's well worth watching. It's about the issues that surrounded a re-ordering of worship space, including pastoral and theological matters.

Watch the slideshow. And then ask yourself some questions. What does your church space say about your understanding of community and of ministry? What would someone understand about your congregation from your space, if they had never been to your church before? Why do get new furniture at home, but not at church? Why do we expect our malls to stay fresh looking, but not our churches?

(Thanks to Karen Fraioli+ for alerting me to this slideshow. By the way, if you want to see some great re-ordered worship space, visit Karen and Church of the Epiphany in Providence.)