About Us Facilities
If you are interested in using the facilities at Westwood, please click here.
Check out the Photo Gallery from August 15
See all the photos of the first worship service in the newly renovated Sanctuary
Sneak peek in the Sanctuary on Sunday, July 11
Come check out the cross and see photos of the furnishings!
June 17 - Sanctuary photos
Chancel and front of sanctuary
June 13 - Making progress!
Sanctuary with new windows, door openings to courtyard and chancel area.
May 23 - Windows
North side top half of windows are installed.
South side door openings are cut in place and steel support framing is installed.
May 2 - Empty Sanctuary
The sanctuary sure looks big - and empty: no pews, altar, pulpit, cross and even no concrete chancel platform in front. But the ceiling work is now done - the sprinkler system is above the new acoustic panels and the new lights are turned on. Looking good!Much heavy construction yet to do - replace the windows; cut in the doors to the courtyard; construct the new chancel platform; finish restoration of walls, floor, & columns; etc.
April 25 - A peek in the Sanctuary
During this week the scaffolding in the sanctuary will come down. Next Sunday morning, May 2, the doors will be opened so people can go in and see what it looks like - so far. One item of interest is the new ceiling "clouds".You may wish to plan on coming a little early or staying later next Sunday to take advantage of this opportunity to go into the normally restricted "construction" site.
April 11 - Window of Opportunity
A unique situation exists as a result of renovating the sanctuary. In addition to sponsoring new windows, new chancel furnishings and other sanctuary items, such actions may be designated to honor or memorialize someone.A book listing donors and remembrances is kept in the Chapel.
For information on creating or adjusting your participation in the Capital Appeal Program
The Program describes financing of the whole Sanctuary Renovation Project.
March 23 - Recent Construction
Moisture resistant purple colored drywall has been installed on the walls in the four corners to cover the old cracked plaster surfaces. The drywall has been furred out with a slight angle to help the acoustics by bouncing the sound around the room and not directly back and forth. This slight change will improve one's hearing and understanding of the spoken word in several locations. Ironically the worst location has been the pastor's pew behind the old pulpit!March 19 - Westwood Sanctuary Seating
The Facilities Team thanks you for all your comments on the sample sanctuary chairs we have had in the Commons. We have heard you and we are trying to incorporate your thoughts into our selection. Rest assured we are still looking. The Facilities team criteria for the new flexible seating in the sanctuary is (not in prioritized order):* Chairs are to have a solid back and a padded seat (to maintain our excellent acoustics)
* Chairs must be able to be ganged (connecting together helps add stability)
* Chairs to have a hymnal rack (below the seat)
* Chairs are to be comfortable while being seated for one hour or longer
* Chairs need to accommodate persons of various heights and sizes
* Chairs need to be able to be stacked several chairs high for temporary storage
* Chair design should not look dated, but have a more modern timeless quality
* Chairs must be available with arms as an option (We plan to have a few chairs with arms)
* Chair cost should be close to our budget of $150 each
* Chair must available in the future (Purchase within our budget and order more as funds become available)
The samples you see are just samples and not the final product. We will custom order the wood stain color, type and size of upholstered seat, base frame color, and any other modifications made to the standard design. You do need to use your imagination to see the possibilities in the samples. Please try to envision fully padded seat cushions and wood stained to go with the wood in the sanctuary.
Ed Sovik spoke of the church as a dynamic verses static body of people. A space that "moves" tells the community we are a church that is on the move. Following our mission statement WestwoodLutheranChurch wants to be a church that serves the community. Truly flexible seating will allow for easy changes in ways we have yet to imagine that will help us serve Westwood and the community.
Our apologies for the missed "update" last Sunday. On Palm Sunday, March 28, the Town Hall meeting will include an introduction to the "Coming Together...A Window of Opportunity" campaign, which will kick off on Easter, as well as a time to hear updates and ask questions from Facility Team members on the latest work and decisions.
February 13- New Ceiling "Clouds" 
The sanctuary ceiling will have new "clouds" suspended from each coffer as shown in the construction photo. These new ceilings will help hide the sprinkler piping and provide the depth required for the new recessed light fixtures. In addition each "cloud" has a slight angle build in to be able to bounce the sound around in the sanctuary. The direction of this angle varies between ceiling coffers. Our acoustical consultants at Kirkegaard Associates have checked the layout of these angles with their acoustical computer programing allowing Westwood to maintain the excellent acoustics already present in the sanctuary while improving dead or bright spots that previously existed.The Goal - our Renovated Sanctuary
Theological and liturgical reasons for the chancel changesThe comments below are from conversations with Ed Sovik in 2006 and 2008 in our sanctuary. Sovik is the original architect of our sanctuary 48 years ago and a good Lutheran theologian. Because this is a unique and award-winning space, our hope is to take into consideration Sovik’s feedback and input as we go forward in order to maintain architectural and design integrity. Quotes are also from Sovik’s "Architecture for Worship" video with Mons Teig and the Lutheran Book of Worship "Manual on the Liturgy".
The Facilities Team is making decisions based on our Lutheran theology, our current liturgical practices, some things we’d like to do in our worship based on the Guiding Values created by the Worship Review Team, recommendations from our architect, and of course cost has to be factored in.
FONT: At this point, we will be using our current font. Sovik: "It should be in the passage so people move by it. I’d put it in the center aisle so everyone needs to walk around it when they come in." (Our theology would dictate a larger pool of flowing water located near an entrance.)
SEATING: Sovik: "I still would advocate for flexible seating, just as I did when this (the sanctuary) was built. You could make it intimate for funerals, summer worship or smaller gatherings by arranging the chairs differently or removing some. Or turn them around for a concert in the balcony!"
"The church is a dynamic, versus static, body of people. A space that ‘moves’, where everything isn’t bolted down, tells people that this is a church on the move!"
"Every church is meant to be a servant of the community!" How will our more flexible space allow us to serve our greater community in new and more effective ways?
PULPIT/LECTERN: Sovik: "We need one space for the Word, not two. (Why we wouldn’t have a pulpit and lectern.) We don’t separate the Word of God."
LBW Manual: "It is important to show the relationship between the readings and the sermon, and this is enhanced when both are done from one place."
ALTAR: Sovik: "This is the dining room table for this family around which you should gather. It should be as close to the people as possible." "This table belongs to everyone. I’d move it much further forward!"
LBW Manual: "The most desirable arrangement is for the altar to be well away from the wall…." -so the people of God can gather around it; to show the pastor as leader, yet clearly one of the people…
COMMUNION: Sovik: "I’d get that fence out of here…or make it removable. In most churches that have them now, they are temporary." He felt the rail "fenced off" the Word and sacrament from the people.
He went on to talk about our stances: when we kneel it is for individual prayer, it’s a penitential position…and when we celebrate or honor someone, we stand. So, which is it for communion?
In our liturgy, our primary understanding of communion is a post-resurrection feast. Martin Luther speaks of communion primarily in terms of the forgiveness of sins, which makes it both penitential and celebrative. At this point, we are working to provide a kneeling option.
CROSS: As the object of greatest import and affection, we all want to keep the cross in a most prominent place. We believe that bringing it forward from the wall, along with the chancel…with the Word (the pulpit) and the sacraments (the altar and font), it will be even more noticeable, rising into the space above all else and lit by a spotlight.Suddenly, the cross is amongst us. It is next to us and over us, literally, as we worship. For those facing north, south or east, the cross will not be to your side or behind, but always in front of you. We imagine gathering "beneath the cross of Jesus" for healing prayer, or at an Easter sunrise service. During communion, the cross becomes part of our circle as we gather around the table. As a worship leader, I’m beginning to imagine the possibilities this brings to our worship life and to understanding ourselves as people whose lives center around and under the cross of Christ.
LBW Manual: "The altar is the principal focus of the church building, and its appointments must not be allowed to overshadow it or detract from it. Large crosses, for example, can lead the eye away from the altar and distract from giving attention to the actions around the altar when the Eucharist is celebrated. The cross should be placed in close association with the altar." (p.154)
SCREEN: Several options were considered as to location, but the current location on the west wall is the one place where it can be fully retracted into a cross-beam, therefore it is the most discreet. We did have a "test run" on the screen there, walked to different locations around the space, and it is workable almost everywhere. It is not large for that size room, but it won’t overwhelm, and we believe with an adequate font size, it can work well. We will soon be exploring the latest and best technology for our purposes with our vendor, as these things have improved even in the last year.
9(13*Off)11(2*2)&utmwv=1&utmn=9692977434&utmsr=-&utmsc=-&utmul=-&utmje=0&utmfl=-&utmdt=-&utmhn=westwoodlutheran.org&utmr=&utmp=/noscript&utmac=UA-27114567-1&utmcc=__utma%3D77666242.1153334859.1369531484.1369531484.1369531484.2%3B%2B__utmb%3D77666242%3B%2B__utmc%3D77666242%3B%2B__utmz%3D77666242.1369531484.2.2.utmccn%3D(direct)%7Cutmcsr%3D(direct)%7Cutmcmd%3D(none)%3B%2B__utmv%3D77666242%3B)