Newly Light-Filled Church Leaves Dark Days Behind

It’s been a roller coaster year or so for the First Presbyterian Church of Encino.

Its sanctuary reopened its doors in December 2002 after an $800,000, nine-month renovation. But only four months later, an arson fire gutted another part of the church.

Now the hard work of remodeling and then rebuilding after the fire is paying off. The architects and the church are receiving local and national design awards for the sanctuary’s new light-filled and more inviting look. And the leaders of First Presbyterian are optimistic about attracting new members.

Associate Pastor Janelle Tibbetts said the congregation had been “pretty beaten up” by the fire but “realizes that we can do anything we put our mind to.” Including spending about $800,000 on remodeling the sanctuary’s interior.

When the head pastor, Malcolm Laing, came to the Encino church in 1996, he saw that membership was dwindling. “We had a large number of visitors my first three years who came once and didn’t come back,” Laing said.

He attributed that to the gloomy sanctuary. “The low ceilings and the dark lighting -- regardless of what we did -- set a low tone, almost as if [people] were going to a funeral,” Laing said.

Over a three-year period, the congregation pledged and donated more than $1 million to fix up First Presbyterian.

The church hired Abramson Teiger Architects, and that firm could see the challenge.

“It lacked any light and any spirit in the building,” architect Trevor Abramson said. “The congregation was aging with the building, and they wanted to literally breathe some new light into it.”

Abramson had the idea of installing curved arches in sculptural forms inspired by images of cupped hands in prayer in medieval paintings. The space went from having almost no light to being flooded with it: Sixteen skylights and theater lighting reflect off the white Venetian plaster that replaced the dark oak paneling.

To create a more intimate worship space, the shape of the pews and the location of the chancel were rearranged. The pews, which originally were linear and faced forward, are now in a curved design. The chancel, instead of being with the choir in a stage setting, is now closer to the congregation. And there is no clergy seating; the pastors sit in the pews.

For those changes, the American Institute of Architects gave Abramson Teiger an Institute Honor Award, which the firm will receive in June. The institute’s California Council gave the firm the Honor Award of Design Excellence in May. The Los Angeles Business Council also gave the firm an award.

“They took a kind of forgotten and neglected building type that had absolutely no individuality and transformed it,” said Lee Mindel, chairman of the national AIA jury that chose the award-winning projects.

Mindel, of the New York firm Shelton, Mindel & Associates, said the church space now lives up to its potential. “Spiritual places are intended to inspire, and it’s an opportunity to be inspirational in your design choices,” he said.

The old sanctuary separated the chancel and the pews too much, members complained. “It was very hard to communicate ... because of the distance and the barriers,” said Lynne Jackson, a church member for 40 years.

Now people call the church welcoming. Membership has been about 200 people, but the number is rising, even if slightly, and Laing believes there’s only room to grow.

“I don’t think we went into [the renovation] thinking we would grow huge,” Laing said. “I do think we offer something that is effective and very meaningful in people’s lives. It’s not unreasonable that it would grow to 300 to 400 members.”

Another addition to the new sanctuary was a large screen to create a more modern churchgoing experience. People throughout the sanctuary can read words to hymns and liturgy or see graphics corresponding to the sermon.

One recent Sunday, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ first arrival in the United States and, to accompany the sermon about love, Laing displayed on the screen the lyrics to the band’s song “All You Need Is Love” and a picture of their “Yellow Submarine” album cover. After the sermon, the choir chimed into the song’s chorus and Laing said people in the church also started singing.

The pastors said the awards and recognition were a great honor and a nice way to put the fire behind them.

A man was charged last year with allegedly setting fires at five places of worship in Encino, including three synagogues and a Bahai center, within two weeks. The First Presbyterian Church blaze was limited mainly to Tibbetts’ office and caused an estimated $75,000 in damages, which was covered by insurance. The arson suspect eventually was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a state hospital.

The fire would have been worse if not for the central fire alarm system installed during the renovation. It also helped that a fire station is just down the block.

“I couldn’t believe it had happened,” Tibbetts said. “When you see the firemen all over the place throwing piles of rubble out of your office that were books and personal items, it certainly becomes more real at that point.”

The fire destroyed the interior of Tibbetts’ office. She lost all of her books, personal pictures, two guitars, and personal mementos from her seminary.

What made the experience more painful was that the alleged arsonist had attended services there a few times.

“I would never have had a clue,” Laing said of the man charged with the fires. “He had been in church maybe four to six times over a year.... He talked to people and asked questions. He seemed friendly.”

Members said they never had any doubt that the church ultimately would be all right.

“That’s one of the strengths of the congregation,” Jackson said. “Through good times and bad times, we’ve been there.”

After holding services in the church’s social hall for months during the sanctuary overhaul, the congregation is enjoying its new architectural recognition. But although visitors might think the new space is beautiful, that wouldn’t be the reason why they’d stay at the church, Tibbetts said.

“The church is about relationships and caring for one another,” she said. “In a city where people don’t know their neighbors very well, the church is their family.”