We like models. We like miniatures. In our first or second childhood we cannot resist the temptation to puts together an Airfix model of the Bismarck or some other notable vessel. Out of the box come the plastic parts. Yet another scale model takes its bow.
I have mentioned before that the Bible has its own drawing-board. This was a detailed handbook that Egyptian architects and engineers would have recognised. It was the guide to building a tabernacle.
The tabernacle was a movable worship centre that was suited to a people on the move. Its mobility did not compromise its artistic integrity. The people marching to the Promised Land needed a worship-centre. This one was designed as having precisely specified frames, joints and hangings. Gold, silver, copper, purple yarn and fine linen were only some of the materials required to service the scheme. Craftsmen worked metal, carved wood and cut precious stones. So thorough is the specification in Exodus that later generations have been able to make replicas of the tabernacle. I remember having sight of such a model.
After all, if those detailed instructions had been given and recorded, there must be some intrinsic significance in this Portakabin worship structure. So later scholars argued. Eager inquirers believed they had found that significance. There was a mystical meaning in the structure. Why else would it be there for us? But few nowadays are interested in such inquiries. These are some of the least-read chapters in the Bible.
However, these dusty pages serve one useful purpose. They remind us of our responsibility for the design of places of worship.
It is easy to get into a rut in this matter and to think that medieval master-builders knew it sll. Better to go back to first principles. We can start with Justinian’s St Sophia, then contemplate the great cathedrals like York Minister. Wren’s numerous London churches will show us another approach. So will the work of Gibbs, Street, Bodley, Butterfield and Gilbert Scott. Then we shall be reminded of churches owning nothing to medieval insights. Holy Trinity, Twydall Green, Kent show original thought, as does the hyperbolic paraboloid roof of St Aldates, Gloucester or St John’s, Ermine, Lincoln.
The task is an ongoing one, as is the task of making the best of church buildings we have inherited, many capable of inspiring worship today, others with manifest shortcomings. Even in days of austerity there are still choices to be made of furnishings etc. And church centres need designing as well.
WOODEN WONDER
The latest Airfix product is a new version of the Mosquito. This aircraft made of laminated plywood flew first at Hatfield airfield and gained an outstanding reputation. The furniture industry was able to contribute to its construction and it became known as the wooden wonder. Airfix started life in 1952 and is now owned by Hornby.
SOMETHING SPECIAL
Holy Trinity, Twydall Green website is worth a visit. Good air-shots, good gallery, a building to make a visitor say, ‘This is something special.’ Mike Nelson is the Vicar; before his ordination he worked in insurance. He became Vicar of Twydall Green in 2020.
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