First
Church of Religious Science of Hemet
An atmosphere of tranquility
by Freda Parker, reprinted from the Roundup Summer 2000
A dark green that's almost black and soft pink - seems an unlikely color scheme for a church interior. But it's not. The unique, awe-inspiring sanctuary of First Church of Religious Science of Hemet (California) proves it.
In 1989, under the pastorship of Drs. Ernest and Florence Phillips, the small congregation of First Church began the preliminaries for the construction of their new facility. Two short years later, they officially opened two Monolithic Domes. The larger one (100'x 33') houses the sanctuary with seating for 300, offices and a boutique. The smaller dome (80' x 27') functions as a social hall.
According to Rev. Michael Summers, current pastor at First Church, about 150 of the 300-member congregation attend a typical Sunday service. "We have meditation and a musical interlude," Summers says. "Those are followed by a celebration service with solo renditions, readings, hymns the people join in and sing, a talk or sermon and the offering."
First Church's environment encourages meditation. Summers says, "The dark green on the ceiling or upper third of the dome doesn't make the inside look so expansive. But at the same time, it creates the illusion of sky and promotes a feeling of togetherness, coziness. It's a very peaceful atmosphere and feeling."
A large platform or stage, banked by a semicircle of seats, stands at the west side of the Monolithic Dome. The soft pink creates the background for the platform, and it along with soft lighting helps focus attention on the pulpit or the on-stage event.
First Church's beautiful, stained glass window, with its rounded, triangular shape of a Gothic arch provides another focal point. Summers says, "The window depicts what we believe is the way life expresses itself. The upper part symbolizes where the spirit, God, or the conscious mind is. The middle (of the window) is where the soul or subjective part of God is, the law of cause and effect. The lower part is the expression of that or the physical being, physical matter. So God expresses from mind through law and into creation."
Folks at First Church carried its interior atmosphere of tranquility to the area surrounding the outside of the domes as well. There, members and visitors can walk along groomed, landscaped paths and enjoy a unique rose garden. "We're expanding the rose garden which is really a memory garden," Summers says. "It's a living memorial to loved ones still alive as well as ones who have made the transition." A variety of roses bloom in the garden, and each bush is identified with the name of its particular rose and the name of the person to whom it is dedicated.
Summers says that most members really like the church structure. "I think, for the most part, they are happy with the domes," he says. "They like the way they are set up because it is different and convenient. They like the uniqueness. The temperature is really nice inside. The domes are cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and we have no problem maintaining that.
"The acoustics in the sanctuary are wonderful," Summers continues. "The carpeting and fabrics absorb echo. It's wonderful for concerts. We really don't need amplification for the musical instruments."
Until recently, acoustics in the smaller dome or social hall were not that satisfactory. Summers says, "There was such an echo that you couldn't understand what people were saying. We installed carpeting and that took care of most of the problem. Now we can talk and carry on conversations, but there's still some work that needs to be done."
As for maintenance, Summers says that the domes are now nearly ten years old, and nothing was ever done to protect the Airforms. Consequently, some blistering resulted. The church is now researching solutions for this problem.
, First Church has no need or plans for expansion. But should that develop, Summers feels they would consider another Monolithic Dome. He says, "If I was going to do it or if I had a say in how it was going to be done, I would build an eight-foot wall first and put the dome structure on top of it, like they are doing now. Then the curve would begin higher up, and I think that would be more practical."
Asked if there was anything he would like to add, Summers says, "Well, we had a funny thing happen during the inflating of the Airforms that still is talked about. Arrows got shot into the Airform as a protest by someone who was convinced we were building on top of a Native American burial ground. The arrows really didn't do any damage - just funny to find them there."
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