Situated in the center of Divinity Hall at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, Hodges Chapel is a sacred space that daily declares the good news of Jesus, often in complete silence.
At services throughout the week, community members join the students, faculty and staff of Beeson for worship in the chapel, where the gospel is both spoken and sung.
At other times the chapel communicates the love of God through prayerfully designed art and architecture, according to Vickie Gaston, curator of Hodges Chapel and coordinator of spiritual life ministries at Beeson Divinity School.
Like other worship spaces that intentionally incorporate art into their design, the chapel hearkens back to a time in church history when images were used to communicate biblical and theological truths, Gaston said.
The subject of visual arts in the church, especially for Protestants, has a long and complex past, said Steve Halla, assistant professor of art at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
“Throughout history, the church has served as one of the most important supporters of the arts, providing financial support as well as a biblical and theological basis for thinking about art,” Halla said. “At the same time, there has never been a time when the church has embraced art with no major questions.”
The debate about the proper place of art in worship was especially prominent in the Protestant church. For example, Martin Luther once said: “Truly one cannot expose the common man to the Word and work of God too much or too often. Even if we sing and speak it, chime and preach it, write and read it, paint and draw it, nevertheless Satan is always only too eager and zealous to hinder and suppress it.”
Other Protestant reformers feared people would worship an image or its artist instead of God the Creator, so they rid their churches of art and ornamentation that might detract worshippers’ attention from the Bible and sermon. That fear was passed down through the generations, creating a barrier to the use of art in ways that are beneficial to worship, said John Woods, minister of worship at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association.
“As Baptists, our earliest days were spent rejecting overt iconography, so many of our buildings are more utilitarian rather than ornate,” Woods said.
As a result, a worship space like Hodges Chapel can seem foreign to first-time visitors, Gaston said. One of the first things she explains during tours is the scriptural foundation for every element included in the design of the chapel.
For example, the cross is a dominant feature, from the chapel’s cruciform interior shape to the cross that sits atop the exterior dome of the building. There are 66 pillars in the chapel, representing the books of the Bible.
In the center of the chapel’s interior dome is an artistic rendering of Jesus, bearing the marks of the crucifixion on His outstretched hands. Surrounding Him is the “great cloud of witnesses” Paul describes in Hebrews 12:1–2. Other artistic representations of biblical texts and reminders of church history fill the space as well. However the art and objects themselves are not the point, Gaston said.
“Nothing in the chapel is set aside as something man did. The signs and symbols direct us to God, but we do not worship them. The artwork throughout the chapel is meant to communicate the covenantal love of God for His people through His Word and in the landscape of the wider Christian tradition in His church,” Gaston said.
In addition to communicating biblical and theological truth to the present generation, Christian art has lasting value as well, Halla said.
“Barring natural disaster or human interference, the durable nature of stone, wood and glass means that the art will outlast the artist who created it, so through art the church is able to pass down a physical testimony of its tradition and doctrine,” he said.
In many churches, stained glass windows are the dominant example of sanctuary art. JoAnn Cole, a member of First Baptist Church, Ashville, in St. Clair Baptist Association, said she seldom thinks of the windows in the church’s sanctuary as art. Instead she looks to the scenes for inspiration and encouragement.
“Sometimes my attention is brought to a specific window at a specific time, and it reminds me of that time in Jesus’ life and what the Scripture says. It just lifts my spirits,” Cole said.
Such a response highlights the purpose of art in worship, Woods said.
“The point is not that we’re looking at the art but that we are looking through the art,” he said.
Ultimately the role of art and architecture in a sacred space is to remind believers of the source of their faith, Gaston said.
“We’re reminded Who comes into our hearts and makes each of us a ‘temple of the Holy Spirit,’” Gaston said. “The main word we pray visitors will see during their time in the chapel is Emmanuel, ‘God is with us.’ We want them to leave this space with that word in their hearts.”
Services at Hodges Chapel are held weekly during the fall and spring semesters on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. and are open to the public. The chapel is also open to visitors at other times. For more information or to schedule a tour, call Vickie Gaston at 205-726-2227 or visit www.beesondivinity.com/chapel.
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