The church complex features three general areas. On the main floor, the WORSHIP SPACE is comprised of the church, daily mass chapel with vestry, a chapel of reservation and work sacristy. The OFFICE SPACE is comprised of the parish offices, religious education offices, parish outreach offices, and several study/offices, and across from the parish office, a small library/conference room. The LOWER LEVEL includes space for various activities. There is a large Fellowship Hall, two meeting rooms, a kitchen, stage area, and public rest rooms.

 The handsomely etched glass which adorns the main entrance to the church complex is both decorative and a safety feature, to alert people to the presence of the glass. The door and side panels have a pattern of randomly spaced vertical lines. The central panel depicts the Good Shepherd and the first words of Psalm 23. 

 

 

 

Upon entering the building, your attention is drawn to the atrium or inner garden, the focal point of which is a graceful bronze sculpture of the Holy Family. The image of love, harmony and serenity portrayed in this peaceful scene is designed to inspire all who enter here with a sense of the peace and harmony which God*s loving presence offers.

 

 

 

     To the left of the entrance is the office area. As you face the receptions window, on the wall to your right is our Parish Mission Statement which reads: "We, the disciples of Jesus Christ, who worship at Good Shepherd, accept the privilege and responsibility of supporting one another in love and service, of giving witness to the Good News of Salvation, thus enabling others to experience the loving presence of Our Risen Lord."

 The entry hail in which you are standing becomes an extended narthex, a foyer leading to the worship area. The broad dimensions of this narthex allow people to greet one another and pleasantly chat before and after mass.

 

 

 

          The  library/conference room is located at the right as one walks through the narthex..

 

 

 

 

 

     Between the windows is our stewardship display and opposite the display, one finds the bulletin board and public information notices. Proceeding past the bulletin board, one finds the stairway to the lower level and the elevator to accommodate the handicapped.  

      Now we come to the narthex proper. Mounted on the wall in a niche opposite the main doors to the church is a crucifix, the corpus of hand-carved chestnut wood and the cross of fir, a vivid reminder that as the Good Shepherd laid down his life for us, so should we love one another. The case beneath the crucifix holds the book of names of benefactors, in whose memory donations for the construction of this church complex were given.        

 

 

 

 

     To the right of the crucifix is a painting in ABSTRACT style, which is a representation of the artist*s impression of Good Shepherd. The background captures the colors in the building. The main figure is the Shepherd, with the cross in the background. The shepherd is holding a lamb in his arm, at his feet are the rest of the flock. There is some "activity", color, around the head of the shepherd, but most is in the "heart", because the artist sensed a great deal of warmth and love in the congregation. Throughout the figures, are specks of light green, signifying vitality and hope.

 

  As one faces the crucifix, to the right is a door leading into the vesting room for servers and other ministers, and beyond that to the priest*s vestry.

 

Next to the door to the vesting rooms is the entrance to the daily mass chapel. The chapel is triangular in shape and allows for a more intimate celebration

of the Eucharist. At the apex of the triangle is a stained glass window which allows soft light to wash the earth-colored brick side wall on which are mounted the uniquely designed Stations of the cross, carved out of chestnut wood.  (Donald Shepherd designed the stations of the cross in 1985.   They were carved out of chestnut wood by the Pante Studios in Ortisee which is in north east Italy near the Austrian border. He also designed the Good Shepherd statue and and the Holy Family, but they were made in cast bronze by Vincenzo De Metz Studios also in Ortisee.) The base of the triangular shaped chapel is a wall of etched glass, designed with the pattern or randomly spaced vertical lines.

 

Opposite the brick wall are found the doors to two Reconciliation rooms. They offer the option of anonymous or interpersonal celebration of the sacrament. The furnishings are simple, the walls and floor are carpeted, a crucifix hangs in each room and lighting is soft and indirect.

 

 

 

 

 

  Returning to the chapel proper, the altar and lectern are crafted in wood and are of simple design. They are situated on a platform near the stained glass window. General seating consists of upholstered wooden chapel chairs, one of which serves as the presiders chair. The chairs permit a certain flexibility. As the need arises, these chairs can be turned toward the glass wall facing the main church. This provides additional seating for the main church. The glass wall allows visual contact and the audio system links the two rooms.

 Three sets of doors provide entrance to the main church from the narthex. One*s attention is immediately drawn to the chancel, the space around the altar. Located beneath the lantern, an architectural design in the roof which allows natural light to brighten this area, is the altar table. It is fabricated of a combination of hand-hewn red oak and forged iron. The wood is lightly tinted to pick up a "hint" of the color of the split redwood reredos, the wall behind the altar. The top of the altar table is studded with five forged iron crosses, one at each of the four corners and one in the center. A band of iron is wrapped around the perimeter of the altar top and trims one face of each of the four legs which support the altar. We believe this handsome altar will faithfully reflect its significance as a symbol of Christ - noble, strong, yet warm and inviting.

   To the right of the altar stands the ambo or pulpit. The pedestal is granite and the desk-like top is made of red oak. Similarly, the presider’s chair, located to the left of the altar and one step above the predella (the top of the raised platform in the chancel), has a granite base and seat of oak.

 

 The baptistry is located to the left and down two steps from the predella. The angular granite font is designed to allow water to flow from a well into the baptismal pool. This continual flow of water is meant to be a visual illustration of the living waters of baptism. The rounded hollow ridges in the granite are the natural quarry drill holes.

 

 

 

The paschal candle is impressive as it rests in its four-foot high forged iron stand on the predella.  Altar candlesticks and the railing which highlights the baptistry and portions of the chancel are also fabricated of forged iron.

  

 

     The processional cross is a stylized shepherd*s staff with a cross bar. This unique image of the cross has served as the parish emblem and was featured on the letterhead of stationery for the first fifteen years of our parish history. It was chosen as the design for the cross in our sanctuary because it represented the title of our parish and serves as a sign of continuity with our past.

 

 

The split redwood reredos, the oak and granite furnishings and the forged iron details all blend in harmony with the dark-tinted quarry tiles that cover the chancel and baptistry floor. However, these muted tones need a contrast of bright color. So, on the section of reredos behind the ambo hangs an applique tapestry with painted silk panels in the center. These colored panels will be changed according to the liturgical season and will coordinate with an ambo frontal. The symbols on the tapestry from top to bottom on either side of the colored panels are: a dove, and wheat with grapes; the tree of life, and bread and fish; a cross and the Greek letters, Alpha and Omega and Chi Rho; a chalice and the host, and tongues of flame and a sheep; an angel and an oil lamp burning brightly, and a sunrise. These images are mostly taken from the scripture and refer to Jesus or to symbols of our Faith.

 

   The nave, or main body of the church, is fully carpeted. The benches are custom-made laminated oak and arranged in five sections, allowing a broad center aisle and several intermediate aisles. The sixth section is located to the far right of the center and is comprised of the same type of upholstered chairs found in the daily mass chapel. The choir and folk group occupy most of these seats during the appropriate celebrations.  The custom made A.O.B. organ is located to the right of the chancel. It is of contemporary oak styling, and its speakers are mounted on a specially built platform above and behind the reredos wall.

 

      The East wall of the church is dramatically different The morning sun casts its rays through the broad panels of stained glass and projects a kaleidoscope of color into the church. The various tints are designed to evoke images of the beauty of creation, elements of earth. sea and sky.

To the right of the stained glass panels is the statue of the Virgin Mary, carved of chestnut wood. Inspiration for this statue is the "Magnificat", the prayer of Mary found in the Gospel of Luke. Mary is the model of the church, the perfect disciple of Jesus, Spirit-filled, joyful, beautiful, graceful. The sculptor seems to have captured these expressions in his creation.

   

 

 

 Faithful to liturgical directives, which state that wherever possible, the tabernacle for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament should have its own chapel, conducive to private prayer and meditation, there is a chapel of reservation behind the chancel. The tabernacle is of hammered aluminum, without decorative symbols, because the tabernacle itself is a sign of the sacramental presence of Christ It is set on a pedestal of quarry-drilled granite, framed by side panels of stained glass.

The hand woven cloth canopy hanging above and behind the tabernacle is meant to evoke the "tent of meeting" in the scriptures. When the "Word was made flesh and dwelt among us", He set up His tent in our midst On a personal level, when Good Shepherd was founded as a parish, the congregation worshiped in a tent in the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, between the chapel of reservation and the chancel, there is a work sacristy, a practical room where much of the "behind the scenes" preparations take place.

We have now described various features of our church. It is an expression of talent and ability, the result of prayerful planning and collaborative cooperation. Yet, this building must be more than a physical reality. It is the spiritual expression of our people. May you find it to be a sign of the desire of our faith community of Good Shepherd to live the Good News and enable others to experience the loving presence of the Risen Lord.