How would your 'dream church' look like?

  • Thread starter Thread starter patrick457
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

patrick457

Guest
NOTE: Please keep discussions as civil as possible; if possible please do not ever open a can of worms. I do not intend to start a debate thread here.

Many of us know (and go in) churches which rather resembles a newly-built storage house or an auditorium instead of a church, with minimal or no imagery for some time now, which (in the minds of many) are products of a rather bad artistic period. As for you, dear reader, how would you like a church building to look like? If you have a ‘dream church’, how would you imagine it?

As for me, this is how my ‘dream church’, so to speak (or at least the Sanctuary portion) would look (Sorry if this is a picture; I’m not really a good describer using words myself so I settled for a visual description):

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/3124/altarerm5.png

The Apse, detail
The Altar, detail
 
Im not catholic but I like St. Patrick’s Cathedral:D
I like the old stone buildings–you know the gothic style. I like pews and one middle aisle. Stain glass is beautiful as well.

😃
 
patrick457 said:
If you have a ‘dream church’, how would you imagine it?
]

I actually do dream about Church, and it always looks like the Church where I grew up. Pretty big, the typical cross layout.
But that’s never what is striking about my dreams.

When I dream about Church, it’s always the people who are in the dream that matter. In my dreams I see my most beloved non Catholic friends. :gopray2:
Click to expand...
 
Well, my “dream” Church - as in favourite architecture - already exists. Though it is an Anglican Church. See here - it would only require a few changes… 😛

Now, about dreams… well, when I have dreamed about Churches I have been in ruined Abbeys, either fully restored (like Pluscarden), or not (like Melrose)…
 
lt would look like St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis, Missouri.

:harp:
 
Mine would have a High Altar with ornate wood and stone carvings. The Tabernacle would be in the middle in the place of honor. So we do not have to search for our Lord when we come in.
Communion rails and the choir set to the side out of sight so that Christ is the focus and not the singers.
There would also be side Altars. Quiet prayer niches where someone can go for quiet prayer. Old fashioned confession booths where the priest is in the center and the pennants are on each side.
Kneelers in front of the side altars and before the prayer candles.

But all of this is optional. The thing I most desire in my dream church is lots of people that are there to worship with all their hearts and souls. Young, old and everyone in between there because of the desire to worship God.
 
If I could I would demolish my local church, which resembles a community hall rather than a church, and replace it with the following:

It would be built in the gothic style using stone as the main building material.

The floor plan of the church would be in the shape of a roman cross. There would be a long nave with an altar rail separating the santuary at the end of the church.

There would be three altars. There would be a high altar in the centre of the Church raised above the ground level. There would also be two smaller altars at either side of the larger main altar. One of these would be dedicated to Mary and the other would be dedicated to a popular saint, preferably the patron of that particular church.

The tabernacle would be in the centre of the Church on the high altar. The tabernacle would be gold adorned with precious stones.

There would be large stained glass windows on both sides of the nave.

The Church would be adorned with statues of the saints and there would be stations of the Cross.

There would be a large organ.

Every altar would contain a relic of a saint.

Large paintings of the Virgin and the Saints would adorn the walls of the church.

Provisions for the celebration of both Masses would be made.

There would be pews on the left and right sides of the nave.

There would be seating at both sides of the sanctuary for the Choir and the altar boys. There would also be a special throne for the Priest.

There would be at least two confessional booths.
 
I would not demolish my Church because really it is Catholic, just stripped down.

It is designed like a Catholic Church, it just looks like some Protestants came in and destroyed the Catholic images and left bare grey walls and then some hippies came in and put up some felt banners. Kind of like summer camp when I was a kid in the 80’s. We used to make felt banners in grade school.

Well I would take my beautiful bare Church and fill it with some Catholic art, enhance the stained glass so it would actually convey the faith and then add a bit of decoration to the tabernacle and the altar so they don’t look so bare.

Just add a bit of Catholic faith, replace the banners with some nice Catholic art that actually will teach the faith, instead of just look like the local Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom hall.

Replace the carpet around the altar with marble, to make it more dignified for worship. Hmm there are many things I could do if I wanted my Church to reflect the Catholic faith, now that I think about it. I will stop right there for now, we don’t want our Church to look too Catholic now, do we?

God bless
Scylla
 
My personal preference is for a stripped-down church with very little adornment. A crucifix would be sufficient. I find a lot of the adornment distracting and a temptation to not concentrate on the Holy Mass.

But I also enjoy the ornate churches. Here is a link to one of the churches where I play piano (make sure to wait to allow the picture to scroll–it will show several pictures of the interior and exterior of the church):

stanthonyrockford.com/

Can’t you just smell the incense?! (Actually, you’re just as likely to smell marina sauce and cannoli!)

And here is a link to another parish where I play:

holyfamilyrockford.org/Parish/

Two very different architectural styles, but I love them both.

I’m happy with reality.

The miracle of the Eucharist is so beautiful that the external surroundings don’t matter.

In Auschwitz, St. Maximillian Kolbe offered Mass in an overcrowded dormitory using a cheap wine glass (obtained by bribing the guards) and the tin lid of a can.
Certainly it’s nice to be in a pretty place with imagery and music to your personal taste, but it’s not necessary.

So far, I’ve found something pleasing to my senses and uplifting to my soul in every Catholic church that I’ve visited in the last four years.
 
My personal preference is torn between gothic in the style of Assumption Grotto with lots of wood work, or Westminster Abbey(But smaller, of course), and then the slightly romanesque style of say, the detroit TLM community on youtube.

That being said, simple modern churches that honor tradition and sacredness are JUST as great, though rare. For example, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houstin, Texas. The only thing I’m not fond of is the style of the stained glass, and that the altar is used versus-populu, but those things are unimportant. Whatever the style, the only good measure is whether it calls the focus onto GOD and not itself.
 
I don’t like modernistic churches at all. I do like some of the “classic theme/modern materials” work of Adam Stroik and Henry Menzies. Pretty much all of it, really. You can look them up on Google and look at some of their work.

In older churches, I’m not crazy about dark interiors. Consequently, a lot of the German-built gothic churches are not my preference. Not all that crazy about a lot of dark wood, however well carved.

My absoute favorites are (not sure what to call them, being unfamiliar with architectural terms) Italianate Rococco. There is one in Kansas City (I think it’s called “Little Flower”) right next to Hallmark. Bright, sunshiny, cheery but very ornate.

I haven’t seen all that many churches, but I think even beyond my characteristic favorites, I have to go with the “New Cathedral” in St. Louis. It’s not so new, but it’s called that because the ancient French-built Cathedral downtown (wonderful in its own way) is the “old Cathedral”. It’s a Latin diocese, but the “new cathedral” is Byzantine in style and adornment.(I don’t know why) Enormous, beautifully polished, absolutely perfect stone columns made of all kinds of stone. Literally acres of the most incredibly detailed mosaics that could possibly be imagined. One of the side chapels is like a jewel box, the mosaics are unbelievably minute in detail, yet cover the whole interior. Made out of precious and semi precious stone pieces as well as bits of varicolored marble. Yet, the dominant initial impression is of it being “white” because so many of the pieces are white marble. I can’t even imagine how they got that done. Every side chapel is different from every other one; each being kind of a church of its own. Everything fits into the whole, though. Massive, stately, majestic, huge congregational and altar spaces, yet with little, prayer nooks and crannies seemingly all over the place. Lots of surprises. Well lit from windows high in the dome. It’s beyond beautiful. It almost seems beyond the work of human hands.

I have never seen St. Francis De Sales in St. Louis, but I’ll take the previous poster’s word for it and see it next time I’m in St. Louis.
 
KathleenElsie said:
Mine would have a High Altar with ornate wood and stone carvings. The Tabernacle would be in the middle in the place of honor. So we do not have to search for our Lord when we come in.
Communion rails and the choir set to the side out of sight so that Christ is the focus and not the singers.
There would also be side Altars. Quiet prayer niches where someone can go for quiet prayer. Old fashioned confession booths where the priest is in the center and the pennants are on each side.
Kneelers in front of the side altars and before the prayer candles.

But all of this is optional. The thing I most desire in my dream church is lots of people that are there to worship with all their hearts and souls. Young, old and everyone in between there because of the desire to worship God.
Click to expand...
Wow…I was going along with you until you said “all of this is optional.” Our Lord in the tabernacle is NOT optional. The people are. Many Masses are offered without a congregation, the angels notwithstanding.
 
Since the Lord cares not for fancy buildings or big structures, I’d build a small simple church, with the required Tabernacle, Altar, etc. It is the people who matter the most to me. They are the spiritual stones of the Church, just as the cherubs are the angels who make up God’s throne - for the Church on earth is a replica of the Church in heaven, as we read in the Letter to the Hebrews.
 
I can understand why some people might prefer a simplistic church over a more ornate one. However, I think beauty and splendor should be part of the experience of Mass.

When I go to Mass, I am leaving the modern world behind and entering into eternity. I am visiting the sacrifice of Calvary; in a sense I am being transported back two thousand years. I try to enkindle these thoughts in my mind before every Mass so that I can appreciate the sacredness of what is about to take place. Sacred images help me to do this.

A beautiful church decorated with statues and images of Christ help to create an ambience of reverence and holiness. The sights and smells all contribute to the whole mood of the Mass. Music also plays an important role in the Mass; I find that it influences how people feel during worship. Gregorian Chant has the effect of making people feel the solemnity of the Mass, whereas Gospel music would have the effect of making people feel rejoiceful.

The style of the church effects the type of Mass that can be celebrated. A church that is beautiful and traditional can be used to celebrate all Masses but a modern church would not be suitable for a Solemn High Mass in the Tridentine rite. This is why I always prefer traditional churches; they have something for everyone.
 
roguejim said:
Awesome. But, what’s with the Anglican Use Conference??
Click to expand...
These are former Episcopalians that converted, en masse more or less, to Catholicism. They are permitted to retain, with modifications, their Anglican liturgy. I’ve been to one Mass when there was an Anglican Use parish here in Las Vegas. It was great.
 
The church above is very similar to the church I attend, although I would say that my church is nicer. This is the perfect example of the kind of church I love. They are so much nicer than the modern church buildings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top