Hope Reformed Church was meeting at a Carrollton junior high school when Selzer Associates was selected to design their new church. Located in a rapidly growing residential area, Hope Reformed Church wanted a contemporary church design that expressed the congregation’s spirit of openness and inclusivity. The building committee wanted a highly flexible sanctuary that would allow experimentation with varied worship forms. There was a limited budget.
The 400 seat sanctuary allows natural light to enter from a strip of windows at the bottom of the roof structure and from windows looking into enclosed gardens. Stained glass was purposefully avoided to enhance the feeling of openness and spiritual illumination symbolized by light streaming into the worship space. Heavy timber roof members seem to float above the windows directly below their bearing points. All furniture (pews, altar, altar platform, etc.) is moveable to allow for flexible use of the space.