St. Anselm's Church in Lafayette,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

is an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

noted for its architecture. In 1959, the Episcopal bishop of California,

James Pike James Albert Pike (February 14, 1913–) was an American Episcopal bishop, accused heretic, writer, and one of the first mainline religious figures to appear regularly on television. Pike's outspoken, and to some of his fellow bishops, heretic ...

, hired Olav Hammarstrom to design St. Anselm's. Hammarstrom was a Finnish architect who worked with

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

and later with

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

and

The Architects' Collaborative The Architects Collaborative (TAC) was an American architectural firm formed by eight architects that operated between 1945 and 1995 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The founding members were Norman C. Fletcher (1917–2007), Jean B. Fletcher (19 ...

.(finding aid for the Hammarstrom papers indicates that the papers include project files for projects including Chapel of St. James the Fisherman (1957) and St. Anselm's Episcopal Church (1960)) Hammarstrom worked with the San Francisco architectural firm of Marquis and Stoller on St. Anselm's. The concept for St. Anselm's was based on the Chapel of St. James the Fisherman in

Wellfleet, Massachusetts Wellfleet is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, and is located halfway between the "tip" and "elbow" of Cape Cod. The town had a population of 3,566 at the 2020 United ...

, also designed by Hammarstrom. The church's interior features exposed

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

and

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

beams and columns. Using a "church- in-the-round" approach, the square

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

is in the center of the structure surrounded by redwood pews. The church seats approximately 450 parishioners in an octagonal space with everyone seated within seven rows from the altar. In December 1960, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' wrote that St. Anselm's design, in which the clergy and choir sit among the people, "appeals to Americans' democratic instincts." Ground was broken on the church in May 1960, and it was dedicated in October 1960. After seeing the completed church, Bishop Pike noted, "At St. Anselm's, the congregation is not the audience for a performing clergy and choir. The clergy, choir and congregation perform together, and God is the audience." A history published by St. Anselm's notes that the building's design was covered extensively in the news, before and after it was completed. Coverage included the December 1962 issue of '' Better Homes and Gardens'' and the December 26, 1960 issue of ''Time'' magazine, as well as

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

newspapers, the cover of the September 1959 issue of "Pacific Churchman", the October 1960 issue of "This Earth" magazine.Our History
St. Anselm's Episcopal Church. Retrieved 2011-07-27.

References

External links

St. Anselm's Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Anselms Church, Lafayette California Churches completed in 1960 Churches in Contra Costa County, California Episcopal church buildings in California Lafayette, California Christian organizations established in 1959