Gloria Dei Lutheran Church - Sanctuary Renewal

Reflecting the Congregation's Values

At the heart of Gloria Dei’s mission is their call to care, heal, and do justice for their congregation and community. The church has been steadfast in their values since their founding in 1908 and lives out a legacy of radical acceptance and inclusion.

The sanctuary was built in a traditional, hierarchal model of worship that separated the congregation from the clergy, and consequentially from God. Gloria Dei progressively grew to understand the power of holiness as residing amongst the people and not observed from afar. As a congregation, Gloria Dei needed their sanctuary to better support their worship and reflect their values. The rigid organization of the existing sanctuary is intended to facilitate worship where the Divine is merely observed by congregants from afar. The physical hierarchy of the space limited how Gloria Dei could worship and come together as a community.

Breaking down this hierarchy, the design radically extends the chancel platform into the nave of the sanctuary. The high altar is demolished and replaced by a backdrop of pipes from the new organ. A ramp integrates the chancel with the nave providing access to all. Re-engineered building structure allowed the removal of a column to integrate the chapel space to the side of the chancel with the sanctuary proper. These strategies combine to create a sanctuary, and worship experience, with new adaptability that proclaims the egalitarian values of the congregation.