I come from a family of architects. My grandfather and great-grandfather designed municipal buildings throughout the western United States. When I was in middle school, I found out that my grandfather had designed both a Lutheran church and a UCC church in our town. I was very proud of him and wondered what kind of things he thought about when designing those spaces for worship. I never had a chance to ask him about his specific process, but I have thought a lot about those buildings and many other sacred spaces through the years.

Teaching children and youth about worship spaces and architecture has always been a joy of mine. I have incorporated it into VBS, retreats, and Sunday school classes. I like to have the kids create their own worship space as part of the learning. We have built sacred spaces out of popsicle sticks, cardboard, clay, Tinkertoys, LEGOs, marshmallows, graham crackers, and foam.

I start the class with a tour of our Romanesque sanctuary. We also have a small chapel that was added in the 1950s. The original building is over 125 years old and has been through several renovations. I like to call attention to some of the design choices like the tall roof, the bell tower, and the wood carvings throughout the space. I allow the kids to explore the space when it is empty and encourage them to sit in many different seats, walk through the space slowly, and even lay down to take it all in. They notice the windows and the faded painted scripture at the top of the walls. They also notice the shape of the building and how it looks like an upside-down ark.

We then talk about other worship spaces that they might know. There are many church styles in our area. We pull up pictures of churches on the computer and look at modern spaces, outdoor spaces, and worship spaces around the country and the world. Focusing on how the design of the space encourages prayer, praise, and music, we start to develop some ideas of what we would create in a sacred space.

Some kids create worship spaces that look like our church. Some kids like to create futuristic churches with new technology. They work with whatever materials we choose for our project and thoughtfully craft a space for worship. It is an experience that helps them connect the idea of worship not only to a building, but to the care that goes into creating a sacred space.