Bradley Touchstone, the architect for the building, called the project “amazingly complex.”
“We did a tremendous amount of work with the congregation to understand very clearly what their goals were, what kind of worship space they wanted to create and what sort of tradition they wanted to build into this church,” he said.
Touchstone said the building will be able to seat between 700 and 1,000 people.
“We’ve taken less than two years to complete this building, which is an enormously aggressive schedule,” he said. “Childers Construction has done a fantastic job. They hit the ground running and were able to mobilize tremendous manpower to get this done in less than two years.”
wow
Wish Anglicans would evangelize Southwest Florida.
anyone know how St. John’s Episcopal is faring in the wake of (some of) its formers members establishing this parish?
Congratulations to Fr. Eric Dudley and the other ordained and lay leaders of St. Peter’s Anglican. This Tallehassee congregation is one of the anchor churches for the ACNA, and this beautiful building does indeed show that we in the ACNA are here to stay. Unlike the Non-Jurors movement that died out, St. Peter’s and the ACNA represent the Anglicanism of the future in North America.
For those skeptics who still doubt the propriety of spending millions of dollars on a beautiful church building, just consider the precedent established by the Tabernacle in the wilderness and by Solomon’s Temple. Both worship spaces were designed to be not only functional but very beautiful. And both were costly. Yet according to Exodus 25-31, the Tabernacle was designed by God himself, according to a heavenly model. And Chronicles makes clear that for David and Solomon, the building of a glorious Temple of great magnificence was the high point of their reigns.
Thanks be to God.
David Handy+
What a beautiful building! God bless this congregation.
Sorry: but all I can is say is … Great, A church has another building – not exactly what The Church needs.
RE: “Great, A church has another building – not exactly what The Church needs.”
I don’t know what that means. There are many churches in Africa which desperately need a building.
Are you saying that the material world does not matter and we should not need buildings at all in which to gather and worship and teach and serve?
Something else?
I don’t get it.
I see it as an eminently useful monument to our faith – And, think it will provide a glorious place in which to worship, as well as be a beacon to the faithful of the entire area, showing the indomitable spirit of the people in the area, and how the Spirit has moved them to move forward.
Don’t envy them the upkeep, though. {;>)
Not to mention the heating and cooling bills. In Florida, cooling mostly, I guess.
Beauty vs. Utility is an old discussion in the Church. The fact is, as soon as they were able, Christians were building large structures and decorating them. I believe they have found a large church from about 250 and an Armenian church from ca. 300 is still in use.
There is an argument to be made for the mega-church campus that could be the local junior college. But there is also an argument for the recognizable church building standing year after year. Our local cathedral was built across the street from a brothel. The cathedral is still there.
It may look Gothic, but I’ll bet it’s got energy-efficient insulation.
This church won’t stand as long as the churches #9 mentions, but I can testify to the feeling of walking into the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, still standing since the sixth century and still inspiring, even defaced with Islamic mottos and a mihrab inside.