A city of churches
Throughout the City of St. Louis you will see steeples from the many churches. Most are outstanding structures. Some are still used while others are vacant and deteriorating.
Last weekend one of my brothers, visiting from Oklahoma City, wanted to see the New Cathedral. I hadn’t been inside in over 15 years so I was game to take him.
The mosaic tile work is stunning. As an atheist I don’t get the religious symbolism. What I appreciate from our old churches is the quality of construction — the permanence of the buildings.
Most are not opulent like the New Cathedral. While we’ll probably never see this level of opulence again I am dismayed by the cheapness of so many new churches.
The metal is starting to be attached to this church under construction on North Florissant Rd., just North of downtown. The building will never inspire anyone. If it manages to last 100 years people won’t take tours of the historic structure.
My brother and I debated the importance of new church structures. He felt the money spent on the great buildings would be better spent serving the mission, such as helping the poor. While I agree there is a need to serve others I have an issue with every new building being reduced to the lowest standards. A church is no different than a warehouse. This cheapens the neighborhoods where these are built. Churches are often the finest buildings in a community. When you make a cheap church the housing around it will not surpass the established quality level. A cheap church = cheap housing.
– Steve Patterson
Disclaimer–I'm speaking from the Christian point-of-view. I think a church should take very seriously how they want to honor God through architecture. A church should look and feel different than a warehouse or office; there should be a look and feel that inspires reverence. Now in this day and age, churches also need to be multi-functional as there are many community needs that must be met. I forget the name but I was in a Catholic church in the City the other day that had a bowling alley inside. I liked the combination of historic architecture along with building functionality.
If one is going to claim the name Christian then they should do everything possible to give honor to the name they claim. This includes not only the building but the ministry that comes out of it.
Epiphany of Our Lord at Smiley & Ivanhoe in SW city has bowling lanes in the adjacent school building. Magdalen Lanes has a bowling alley in the old Saint Mary Magdalen (City) school at Kingshighway & Eichelberger (or is it Devonshire?). How many South City kids remember bowling parties? Too many to count….
This is a great and sensible post (like I've seen inmuch of the website), and thanks for acknowledging your atheism. You are correct though that churches should be something … different. Too often, modern ones are not. A lot of the symbolism oyu will see in the New Cathedral ( a deer drinking from a stream, for example) is straight from the Bible.
Places of worship, when celebrated like most are by their congregants and their calls of attention in symbolism (steeple and ascendant height, for instance) should be built of a higher quality as an institutional neighborhood anchor. These structures assume this responsibility by assuming to be of a higher order than the common home or place of business. While true spiritualism requires no bricks and mortar, organized religions build meeting places for their pastoral traditions, and in fact use them to attract new members to strengthen their congregations. In our current throw-away culture of building, unfortunately the place of worship barely rises above the perfuntory, and is often simply distasteful or awful. Special architecture has even allowed itself to be dumbed down.
http://www.romeofthewest.com covers some amazing churches and delves into the symbolism contained within their walls. Terry Dempsey, SJ is director of MOCRA (Museum of Contemporary Religious Art) at Saint Louis University and is a world-renowned expert on Christian Iconography. I took his course in college and still look back on what I learned in that class everytime I enter a church. I encourage anyone with an interest in Christian Symbolism in Art to take time to read up on it's importance. The itchus for instance (the fish) was a way for early Christians to identify each other when they were fearful of Roman spies. The pelican piercing her breast in order to feed her brood in the narthex of the Basilica symbolizes Christ's blood shed for our salvation. The artistry is absolutely amazing as well as the stories it tells. If you know nothing of Mother Duschene, you can learn her story by reading the Basilica ceiling.
On a side note, you can see some of the tensions between Irish and German workers in the Cathedral (ever notice the vestment colors of their patron saints?). There is a child holding a Raggedy Anne doll in the nave. St. Peter has some edemic feet. The list goes on and on of what most miss. And no, I'm not being sacrilegious–those stories were told by former MC Rev. Tom Keller.
On another side note, structures such as the Basilica, St. Aphonsus (Rock) Church and St. Francis Xavier (College) Church serve as witness to the integrity and grit and stong faith of those who built these amazing churches. These are buildings that will withstand the test of time and become beacons when hope is lost. Sometimes it is easier to feel God when we reflect on the charism and faith of our predecessors especially when our faith is shaken by current events. One of the most moving events in my trip to Germany was visiting the Freiburg Cathedral. When Freiburg was bombed during WWII, people gathered in the church and it was one of few buildings left standing after a night of terrible bombing.These buildings serve as testament to the strength of faith.
And yes, sometimes a church is “just” a building. It is in the gathering of the people in communio that transforms the structure into a place of worship. And for that, we all should be respectful.
Could it be that the shift away from “established” religions into non-demoninational churches is having an impact? That without the resources of a group like the Roman Catholic Church, a new, independent congregation simply doesn't have the cash to support “great” architecture, at least not initially? Or could it be because religion has become a lot more democratic, at least in America, and “design by committee” has supplanted strong, focused designs? Or, could the effects of Vatican II still be being felt, where it's somehow bad form to invest in oppulence and ostentation?
The church I grew up in in Louisville was very much a product of Vatican II. It started out meeting in a gym, and on nice days, outdoors. Instead of building a typical church new suburban church on a designated site in a new subdivision, they chose to build a glass box on the grounds of an old mansion: http://www.churchofepiphany.com/epiphany/about-us
I am pretty sure that the metal structure on North Florissant is going to be an early childhood center.
Picky picky. This specific example doesn't reallly matter, though. I was grudgingly involved in a church that went up almost exactly like this early in my career. The combination sanctuary/multi-purpose room had basketball court lines cut into the low-pile carpeting. They had outgrown their older more historic space and were moving further in the burbs to be closer to their congregation.
Well stated and good points. The “new cathedral,” i.e., the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, is so over-the-top that it makes my head hurt, but it is fascinating as architecture, and the mosaics are spectacular art.
Disclaimer: i'm speaking from a postmodern/emergent Christian point of view:
I don't see any reason for a single new building, let alone church, to be built. there are tons of vacant properties throughout our city. if someone feels the need to start a new place of fellowship, let them purchase/take over one of those buildings and do the necessary renovations (the fellowship i currently attend is in an old funeral home at chippewa/kingshighway). We live in too much of a disposable society; forget doing dishes, use paper plates, and if you don't like a building, just tear it down and build exactly what you want—heaven forbid people learn to be a little more flexible.
But i also don't like the idea of a church building being used on sunday mornings, and maybe one night a week. this is a total waste, and I think that christians need to be leaders in creating a more sustainable future. Church's should be partnering with other businesses (for profit or not) in making sure that there property is used to it's fullest. what would be wrong with a church meeting in a bookstore or coffeshop that isn't going to open on sundays? or better yet, why can't we just have small neighborhood based fellowships that meet in people's living rooms?
and yes, the “church” should be looking to eliminate unnescessary expenses in order to better use that money towards serving the people in their communities (note, i said “serve” these people, not necessarily proseletyze)-and this DOES NOT have to be at the expense of having beautiful artistic structures, we just have to learn to be a little more creative. the church in a funeral home i currently attend spent 1.2mil on that property and Lord knows how much on keeping it open and paying staff, all the while there are hundreds, maybe thousands of hungry people in the immediate neighborhood around it. (which is why i choose not to give my money to this church, in spite of attending for close to a year).
I could write all day on this subject….i'll spare you all.
Aaronlevi,
I agree with your comments. Anyone interested should check out what my church has done on South Kingshighway across from Tower Grove Park. The Journey (I know, weird name) purchased an abandoned Catholic church and has built what we hope is an extension into the neighborhood. Besides the church building, which was redone internally, the rectory was re-habbed as the children's church, and an artist's loft named the Luminary was created to allow artists a place to work for free. The church also spends time at Adam's Elementary and our Non Profit community outreach named Mission St. Louis is also housed at the TG campus. A church, regardless of denomination is a great investment in any neighborhhod. I can only imagine what the block would be like without The Journey.
Matt – I don't think I'd call the church your group acquired “abandoned”. It was sold and your church now occupies it.
If you'd like to see abandonment, we have lots to look at. Abandoned buildings are always vacant, not operating ones.
By saying the Catholic Church “abandoned” the building, it sounds like a ding against the church. What happens instead is that the parishioners from the old Holy Innocence church on S. Kinsgshigway are absorbed into neighboring parishes.
It's a good thing the Journey is now making use of the old building. It's sad to see all the truly abandoned buildings in St. Louis, but it is a fact of life here. You can't take a city of 850,000 people and reduce the population by more than 50% and not end up having a lot of vacant and abandoned buildings.
If you want to see this level of oppulence again, visit St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in South Dutchtown/North Carondelet. It's every bit as beautiful as the New Cathedral, albeit at a neighborhood/parish scale.
Steve, so far as your atheism goes, that's a whole 'nother subject…you're probably a whole lot more faithful and spirit filled than you know.
After all you've been through, your just still being among the living is as much a testament to the goodness of man and god among us than anything else.
The Cathedral has about 4 liturgies every day of the week, so it gets plenty of use.
Catholic churches built in recent decades tend to have a congregational-style architectural theology, similar to the kind of church mentioned above, being seen as primarily a meeting-house for the brethren. The tradition rather sees churches as being in the image and likeness of higher things. Besides the strictly religious iconography found in a church, the symmetry, scale, proportion, and harmony of the structure is intended to inspire people, helping to encourage an internal harmony within the person, within the community, with nature, and with God.
Regarding help for the poor, it has long been a Catholic principle that beautiful churches help inspire giving. The vertical dimension in worship helps bring about the horizontal dimension of “loving your neighbor”, and more importantly doing it willingly and generously, which in turn strengthens the vertical. The best Catholic churches tend to be those which were funded by many small donations and with “sweat equity”. I've also noticed that the religious orders who have the severest vows of poverty tend to have the nicest churches.
There is unemployment, but it is not because there is not work to do. A walk down practically any city street will show sidewalk improvements, street improvements, building improvements that are needed. Certainly sculpting the buildings of the city is important. Can you imagine if the churches and chapels of Antonio Gaudi were warehouse buildings, no less Michelangelo and Bruneschelli?
Simplicity has its place though.
At the end the movie Religulous, by Bill Maher–he is standing out in front of the beautifully massive yet ornate structure that is the Vatican, and the following dialogue takes place between Bill Maher and Father Reginald Foster a Vatican priest. Couldn't be more appropriate:
Bill Maher: does that look like anything Jesus Christ had in mind?
[to Father Reginald Foster, a Senior Vatican Priest]
Bill Maher: When look at a building like that, a giant palace, does it seem at odds with the message of the founder?
Reginald Foster: Well, certainly.
Bill Maher: [giggles] Well, thank you.
Reginald Foster: I mean, that's obvious.
Bill Maher: It really is obvious, isn't it? But does it bother you?
Reginald Foster: [stammering] Well, I mean – well, yes it does. I wouldn't – if I were the boss, I wouldn't be living there
I can appreciate the value a nice looking church brings to the neighborhood. The New Cathedral is very beautiful. And who wouldn't rather have a nice looking, well built building, than a cheap tin can looking portable structure? I'd just wish that it was something more functional, like a park or farmer's market or even low income housing…
Disclaimer: I speak from the POV that religions,created by man, exploit people and their overwhelming desire to find (buy) hope in their life.
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