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First United Methodist Church of New Castle   Newcastle, PA

In the late 1960's as "urban renewal" swept through Pennsylvania, the congregation of The First United Methodist Church of New Castle abandoned their original downtown location for a new facility in the suburbs. All that remains of the original church building are two beautiful stained glass windows spared from the wrecking ball minutes before they were to be demolished. The new suburban facility provided an educational wing, church business offices, a kitchen, and a multi-purpose room. However, due to budget constraints at the time, the multi-purpose room would serve as both the sanctuary and main social gathering space. The original stained glass windows were placed in crates and stored anticipating construction of the planned sanctuary in the area reserved in front of the first phase of the project.

Thirty years would pass before the opportunity to build a new worship space presented itself to the congregation. This new worship space is connected to the existing building by a spacious narthex. The fan-shaped seating arrangement of the sanctuary allows the entire congregation a close relationship with the worship activities. Inclusion of an integral choral shell to accommodate the strong music ministry of the church, which includes a large choir and symphonette, influenced the form of the sanctuary roof design. The existing wood, stone and brick vernacular of the original building was incorporated in the exterior composition of the new addition tying together the distinct forms of the two structures.

While multimedia presentations are used in many of the worship services, the congregation's desire to also provide for traditional forms of worship guided the composition and selection of materials for the interior of the worship space. Interior treatments include large stained glass panels and wood grillwork which filter the light entering the space and a cross suspended above the altar at the focus of the sanctuary. The newly restored stained glass windows are once again on display in the sanctuary flanking the chancel in support of the asymmetrical dynamic of the space.

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