Shaping the Assembly: How our buildings form us in worship

‘a fascinating volume… a work which should nourish and help inform all of us concerned with creating the appropriate special context for liturgy and prayer.’   The Pastoral Review

‘thought-provoking… acts as a useful guide as to how we might interpret or form sacred spaces, and also how we might pray ‘into’ them rather than just ‘in’ them.’  Thinking Faith

‘An important little book…a breath of fresh air’ La Maison Dieu

‘compelling and absorbing… the essays are varied, but all of interest.’  Church Times

‘This book would fascinate and stimulate all who have an interest in how worship is enabled and affected by space…well-written, timely and prophetic. Thomas O’Loughlin has served us well.’   Methodist Recorder

‘ a superb workbook for parishes and religious communities about designing liturgical spaces that are inclusive and formational, with plenty of insights and concrete ideas’.    Transforming Worship News

‘an erudite collection, which should reach a wide audience’.  Intercom

‘richly insightful, full of interest and new ideas and  some insights into the past. Nothing will replace the real enrichment of mind and spirit that will come from reading it.’  The Irish Catholic

‘brings great clarity and vision to the often-complex subject of liturgy, together with the challenges encountered by the practice of worship.’ Search journal

‘evocative accounts of congregations and architects in Britain and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, seeking to shape their worship and buildings for mission, with a rich store of church architectural anecdote.’   Art & Christianity

Every religion has used buildings as part of their worship: from Newgrange to classical temples to churches built of steel, concrete and glass. And it was this concern of the Second Vatican Council that led to the changes in the arrangements in Catholic Churches in the 1960s and 70s.

Shaping the Assembly: How our buildings form us in worship brings together nineteen Christians – liturgists, pastors, architects, artists – from several churches and from around the world who all address the question of how space affects us in worship.

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