Session 7: Sacred Space

God's Presence and Holiness

• God's presence is not confined to a church building or any building, but is still "placed" in relation to humanity.
• William Cowper's Hymn: "Jesus, where'er thy people meet, there they behold thy mercy seat...every place is holy ground."

Humanity and Place

• Humanity exists in place and time, and our relationship with place changes as life moves on.
• Paul Tillich: "It is by its spatiality that everything living, including humans, is recognisable."
• Keith Basso: "Place is a powerful fusion of self, space, and time."
• Geographers and anthropologists: Place is where stories of power and contestation are played out.
• Psychologists: Interplay between physical geography and the geography of the human mind and spirit.

Forming Community and Identity

• Human desire to form community, stake a claim, colonize, mark out, and own a place.
• Place has both communal and personal identity.
• Architects: A place is a piece of the whole environment that has been claimed by feelings.
• Aristotle: Place is a sort of container where experiences happen.
• Winston Churchill: "We shape our buildings, and our buildings shape us."

Scripture and Place

• Scripture begins with humanity placed in the Garden of Eden.
• God's relationship with his people is a triangular threefold relationship: God, people, and place.
• Abraham's journey to the promised land represents a shift towards a more concrete understanding of place.
• Moses: The Temple building bore the brunt of the building and dereliction.
• Prophets: One day God's sanctuary will be amongst his people forevermore.
• Jesus is the new Temple, and God can be found everywhere through the Holy Spirit.

Church Buildings and Worship Space

• David Canter: The worship space in a building holds the threefold relationship between our actions, conceptions, and physical attributes.
• St Germanos: The church building is heaven on earth, where God dwells and moves, representing the crucifixion, sepulchre, and resurrection of Christ.
• Richard Giles: Liturgical space can help recall us constantly to the unknowable in the midst of the tangible.

History of Church Architecture

• Saxon churches: Often wooden, with stone ones resembling barns, font at the back, and chancel at the east end.
• Norman churches: Massive structures in stone, symbolizing the power of the Normans and the church, with buildings orientated east/west.
• Later styles: Perpendicular, Gothic, Early English, 18th century, Georgian, Gothic revival, Arts and Crafts, Pre-war, Post-war, Modernist, Minimalist, and Multipurpose.

Liturgical Changes and Challenges

• The Reformers damaged much of the ornaments and statues in our buildings.
• Vatican II: Changes to the liturgical thinking, with the altar and the reading of the Gospel placed in the midst of the people.
• Clash between old and new liturgical thinking and the design of buildings.

Human Experience and Perception of Church Buildings

• People's diverse responses to church buildings, ranging from feelings of home, comfort, and peace to detachment, distraction, and discomfort.
• The importance of considering the psychological impact of church buildings on worshippers.

Sacred Space Outdoors

• The concept of Forest Church, which doesn't have to be in a forest, but rather a sacred space outdoors.
• Tertullian: "Nature is the schoolmistress, the soul the pupil; and whatever one has taught, or the other has learned, has come from God."
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every bush afire with God."
• Pope John Paul II: "Up here one breathes with the pure mountain air the mysterious invitation to faith and conversion."
• John Wesley: "The world around us is a mighty volume wherewith God hath declared himself."

This quiz explores the concept of sacred space and God's presence and holiness in Christianity, referencing William Cowper's hymn and Pope John Paul II's statements. It delves into the idea that God's presence is not limited to physical buildings, but rather is present wherever believers gather.