Yesterday we talked about the power influence of music in setting the mood for worship and opening our hearts. Today I want to look at another important influence on ministry: physical space. Most people don't realize it, but the space you're in affects the quality of experience that you'll have, conveying messages that work for or against the desired result.
Let's start with an obvious space: our sanctuary. Some of the most powerful things we've done to define the seasons of Advent and Lent this year involved nothing more than a change in physical space. Recall the lights during Advent, the baptismal font being moved to the center of the aisle, the nativity scene progressing forward with each Sunday, artwork appearing on the wall. You'll not forget communion in the round anytime soon either, I'll wager. The same service done in a slightly different physical way gave a whole new spirit to the proceedings. So, too, with Lent. No doubt you've noticed the purple curtains draping the windows and the cross at the center of the aisle. In both seasons the pulpit has been stored elsewhere, opening up the altar space, affording a clear connection between congregation, pastor, and the altar symbols.
But space considerations go far beyond decoration. Size of room and physical proximity matter as well. For example, a couple weeks ago we had around 68 people in Sunday morning worship...not our largest crowd but that's still a bunch of people. What did 68 people feel like in St. John's? Empty. You look across the pews and people are scattered. About 1/3 of the congregation can't be seen because their heads are too short to peek above the pews and/or they're in the cry room. We had great music that day and a pretty good sermon. It all felt flat, not because of the quality of the material but because everybody out there was feeling like they were alone, separated from everybody else, in an empty building. Take those same 68 people and put them in the Valley church and what do you have? A throng! The space is smaller, people are closer, and 68 feels like 100. Do the same service out there and "flat" becomes "enthusiastic" and "uplifting". If, on the other hand, you take 100 people--about what you'd need to feel full at St. John's--and stick them in the Valley you start hearing "uncomfortable" and "too crowded". The people haven't changed. The space affects the energy and tone that much!
We get the same thing every time I teach confirmation after worship. Because the Fellowship Hall is being used for fellowship we have to begin in one of the back rooms. They're small, cramped, dark. The first 15 minutes of every class I have to spend amping up energy. If I don't come out on fire in that room I've lost them. They're just going to stare blankly and doodle, like the weight of the world is leaning on their shoulders...no energy at all. After everybody else leaves we take a break and then re-assemble in the Fellowship Hall. It's bright, it's open, and all of a sudden people are cheery and enthusiastic again. If I'm going to have a deep discussion I need to save it for the second half of class so we can do it in the light with willing participants instead of pulling teeth in the dark with a bunch of kids huddled around a table pinned in by walls.
On the other hand that same Fellowship Hall is ill-suited for small-group meetings like our recently-completed Marriage Care group. In a group about intimate discussion and baring souls you need to feel some level of security, comfort. That space is too big for those purposes. You have to move tables to even get chairs in an open circle, a necessity for discussion. Now you've got 6-8 people in a weird circle of chairs at the corner of a big room with a mass of empty space around, multiple entrances to the room, anyone able to walk in...in fact mandated to walk in if they want to access the building. You have to really, really build trust in order to work up conversation...not because the people aren't willing but because the physical space gives no assurance.
The same thing happens in Women's Bible Study every Wednesday. We need, at minimum, two full tables of ladies to even begin to occupy that space. Anything less and it feels like we're a drop of humanity in a gulf of emptiness. If you come in on a Wednesday where two or three tables of ladies are present you'll find them carrying much of the discussion during Bible Study. If you come in when there are less than two tables' worth you'll find me having to talk constantly to fill the space and keep the energy up. Same ladies, same Bible, different sense of space. The latter makes all the difference.
Next time you enter one of our church rooms in either building, everything from the sanctuaries on down to the restrooms, ask what message the physical space is sending you. Notice what qualities your space gives to the proceedings and what qualities it lacks or takes away. Next time you see a meeting or worship or other gathering going really well or poorly--you feel an abundance of energy and Spirit or lack it--take a quick look around and ask whether the physical space is working with your gathering or against it. You'd be surprised how much difference it makes.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
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