Most Blessed Sacrament

Most Blessed Sacrament was a new parish meeting in a funeral home when Selzer Associates was selected to design a facility for their young, growing congregation.  The congregation was ready to begin worshipping in a space with more joyous connotations than a funeral home chapel.

Our first task was meeting with the building committee to understand what they wanted from a building and to refine the architectural program they had established.

The program was extensive and the budget, while substantial, was not large enough to provide for all the facility needs.  Phasing of construction became a part of our master plan for the site.  The congregation placed the highest priority on a permanent worship space; ministries to youth were important; a contemporary design that drew upon traditional church forms was a major consideration.

The worship space derives its form from the strong and simple early Christian basilica.  Tradition is evident in the reinforced brick masonry construction and the exposed heavy timber roof members.  The familiar forecourt, narthex, nave and altar, all traditional church forms, create an axis leading to the altar.  The tripartite facade, representing the Holy Trinity, greets entering parishioners, and the clerestory provides a glimpse of the structure inside.