Church Landscapes, Part 1

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Churches are very special places in American society and history. Churches are vital centers of religious and social activity for many people. Church buildings vary from prosaic and simply functionary to grandiose, and very carefully and artfully designed and crafted. Architectural design of churches can be quite complex, with special features and spatial patterns to complement the church’s liturgy. 

But what of church landscapes? What about the grounds around the buildings? What happens there, and why? 

Also to the point, what should we do as stewards of the resources provided to us, and how can we do better? 

Most people would agree that in the spiritual and personal sense, the church is its people, not the buildings or grounds; however, for the sake of this white paper about church grounds, the word “church” will usually refer to the buildings and grounds. Exceptions when “church” means the people or the institution should be fairly obvious. 

Landscape planning and design for a church can be both easy and hard. Which of these are true for your church?

The design can be easy because 

• There might not be room to do much more than the basics, so the design might be quite simple. 
• Most of the people might not expect much. 

The design can be hard because 

• There might not be room to do much more than the basics, which can be its own design challenge, because ... 
• ... some of the people might expect a lot. 
• The landscape might not draw much attention. 
• Most of the attention on the landscape might be from volunteer gardeners who might or might not know much. 
• Different people might have conflicting ideas about what to do. 
• The church might not have many resources. 
• The church might set a low priority on grounds issues, so the landscape becomes the last item budgeted and the first item cut. 

But whatever the situation, are we missing opportunities? 

• What does the churchyard landscape tell the neighborhood and the community about the church and its theology? 
• Does the landscape serve your church’s needs? 
• Do you need spaces or features that you don’t have? 
• Could your church function better or do more if the landscape had something more? Or less? 
• Are there problem areas that need solutions? 

Church buildings and grounds can serve a wide variety of functions, which can be clumped into a few categories: 

• Venues for church activities and events: Sunday services/meetings, Sunday school, weddings, midweek practices and services, etc. as well as administrative offices
• Venues for community activities and events: a church can host scouts, AA meetings (and similar), voting, civic groups (e.g., garden clubs), and perhaps for sporting events if the church has a ballfield
• Venues for casual use: church members and the community might use playgrounds, open space, parking spaces, and other features during the church’s off hours
• Symbolic: What do people see in how the building and grounds are developed and managed? What do the building and grounds say about how the church operates and what it believes about the world we live in and about the God who created the world and us? 

Next up, findings from a windshield survey of 80 churches.