God's House Is Our House: Re-Imagining the Environment for Worship

2007 Catholic Press Association Award Winner

"God's House Is Our House" serves as a platform for rethinking the Catholic environment for worship. Father Vosko provides a theoretical foundation for building or renovating a worship space, by drawing upon biblical, theological, and ecclesiological sources as well as studies on architecture, spatial settings, and creative problem solving.

Since Vatican II, changes have occurred in liturgical texts, music, and life-cycle rituals, especially the Eucharist. Cathedrals and churches have also been transformed, making a formative impact on the life of the church. Some say that new and renovated churches no longer feel like God's house. Others maintain that a developed understanding of liturgy requires worship settings that accommodate the ritual making of the community.

The liturgical reforms that have guided Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran congregations over the last half-century have transformed what these denominations know about worship. Worshipers are no longer spectators, but active participants in the ritual acts that once were the sole possession of the clergy. As the liturgy is modified, church buildings are altered. Almost overnight God's house has new owners and users and, once again, is known as a house for the church.

How does al such change affect the architectural style of church buildings? Here Father Vosko considers worship space dilemmas and offers practical advice. This book is for faith communities and design professionals. It addresses diverse opinions regarding the environment for worship and through photography and illustration features award-winning examples of new and renovated places of worship.

"Father Richard S. Vosko, PhD, Hon. AIA has been a design consultant for 35 years. His award-winning work continues to shape worship environments in different faith traditions throughout North America. He is a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Albany, New York."