Our final day brought on last visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Moorestown. Our visit to the local Catholic church provided a great look at how intentional design creates an atmosphere of deep respect regardless of the religion you believe in. In the church we were able to make connections in terms of design, symbolism and iconography with the other spaces we had visited this week. We were also treated to an impromptu organ concert, which highlighted the importance of music as part of the worship experience.
After touring the sanctuary and observing how elements like light and sound can make an environment sacred, we transitioned to the classroom to present our own original design projects. For this project, we were asked to reflect on what we had experienced after visiting 10 different sacred spaces in a week. We needed to create a sacred space that reflected our views on design, decoration, use by the congregation and other elements. From a Minecraft temple to the Church of Barkism, each group’s unique creation combined elements from different faith traditions. It was a rewarding experience to share our personal visions for sacred spaces after viewing 10 sacred spaces throughout the week.
Through the visit to the church and creating our projects, we observed the connection between physical beauty and spiritual reflection. Please see our final blog post for a wrap up of our Sacred Spaces IL experience.
