Place and worship: Design of church has an impact on worshippers

Older and newer churches just feel different.

The weekly rituals, the yearly holidays may stay the same. Architecture, however, tends to evolve. And as places of worship change over time, so do the feelings they evoke.

David Loertscher worships at the the LDS 10th Ward Historic Complex on the corner of 400 South and 800 East. The ornate old church, with its stained glass and curved ceiling, bears little resemblance to the standardized, utilitarian design of modern LDS meetinghouses.

"The 10th Ward is unique in the LDS environment," Loertscher said. "You enter the chapel on a typical Sunday morning and everything is a warm yellow from the stained-glass windows. Part of it is the atmosphere which you never get over. You instantly get the feeling you're in a very special place."

Both the LDS and Roman Catholic churches have encouraged simpler chapels in the latter half of the 20th century in contrast to the more ornate ones built in the first half of the century with intricate stained-glass windows and decorative art.

Loertscher and Marty Seiner, an art historian and member of the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese committee on art and liturgy, agree the older designs evoke a certain feeling.

After the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, Catholic churches were asked to make changes that included moving the altar closer to the congregation and placing all baptismal fonts in the front of the church to remind parishioners of the vows as they enter.

Newer churches were designed with floor layouts and seating arrangements to bring the congregation closer together and to the altar.

"I can appreciate the group coming together," Seiner said. "That is the purpose of coming to church rather than always coming alone for individual worship. There's a lot to be said for that, it's the congealing of the parish into a single entity."

All the same though, Seiner likes to worship in the older Cathedral of the Madeleine, where she also gives tours.

"My personal preference is for the older form of worship because there's so many things to contemplate — images of the past. There's a lack of those suggestions in the newer chapels," she said. "The history of Christianity is all there, and you feel the tradition going back to St. Peter."