Church Talk

One of the reasons I started this blog was the absence of a forum in which to talk about how what you believe influences – or should influence – the places you make in which to act on those beliefs. The search for talk about this aspect of church is beginning to take some other forms, too.

On the national level, the subset of architects interested in such things is called IFRAA, the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture; but IFRAA is focused on a narrow piece of the spectrum. The balance of the conversation is being led by projector salesmen and building vendors. The irony is that, 150 years ago, the American Institute of Architects was born in part out of the debate over the proper aesthetic of a church and who might be qualified to say so.

Over the next few months I hope to see organized a regional group (Georgia and the Carolinas) for this purpose, under the auspices of the American Institute of Architects’ South Carolina Chapter. It should regularly create a setting for addressing some of the questions raised here and elsewhere about how buildings express and support ministry. The Virginia Society of Architects, under the leadership of Chantilly, VA architect Bill Robson and others, has led the way with a similar local effort, and expects to offer a raft of programs on the subject at its November 2008 meeting.

Because of our smaller size, and the history of good cooperation between the three states that make up the AIA’s South Atlantic Region, the regional conference scheduled for 2009 in Greenville, SC looks like the logical platform for our launch. If so, there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then. If you are interested in helping to get things started, drop me a line and let me know what you’re thinking.

Deceleration

I’m teaching my 15-year-old daughter to drive. She has good instincts, but up until now, the little bit of experience she has came from watching my wife and me. On a recent practice drive, she seemed to panic: “Daddy, I’m not going fast enough! The driver in the car behind us is going to think I’m an idiot!” She was driving right at (or slightly above) the speed limit, and I assured her that she didn’t owe the other drivers anything more than predictability. “But,” she countered, “I don’t want to be one of those people Mom yells at!”