Does the architecture of the church (building) you attend inspire you?

[Christphr]

Does the architecture of the church (building) you attend inspire you?

 

[Irishmom2]

The church where I go to daily mass was built in 1848. It is bright and light, lined with 24 stained glass windows. There are 16 statues across the front of the church and many relics. There is a magnificent pipe organ that was installed in 1948.

The church where I go to Sunday mass is even older, I believe. It is also a lovely building, but darker inside. The lighting is different, only a couple of statues, one on each side where the votive candles are.

Both churches are part of our consolidated parish, along with a couple of others.

I would say yes, they do inspire me. They feel like home in a way, especially the weekday mass one, as that was our original church before they were consolidated.

We have been members of our parish for 22 years.

 

[otrrl]

some are definitely attached to our church. for one thing, they helped to pay for all the ongoing upgrades, and they had worked their way out from under the debt they had undertaken. It was and is well-maintained. Somebody donated the air conditioning. It was amazing how easy it was to retrofit into this 1950 cornerstone church.

the stained glass windows came later and they had to be styled to fit the curved top segmented windows. It was done well – biblical themes of course, but two special windows dedicated to the then reigning pope and our local bishop. But, they cast a lot of yellow light in the church, and some have editorialized by planting trees that are growing tall, to block out a lot of that light.

Our current organist or music director prefers to have the choir seated in the sanctuary, and she has gaudy, intrusive boom microphones which RUIN what aesthetics remain in the sanctuary. A recent bishop insisted that all the crucifixes be removed from above the tabernacles and an ascending Jesus statue be there instead. What a heavy-handed move for that late bishop. It’s taken a lot of time and money to restore what he took away. Why is a crucifix in the place of prominence now objectionable?

We have one “modern church” in our town. What church doesn’t need a closet door right behind the altar? The processional cross is marched right up the central aisle and then right into the closet (where I guess it belongs). Of course, like the story about the emperor’s new clothes, the church is loved by all. This church was built on a concrete slab, and it collapsed into the ground, requiring a major restoration after only several years of use.