CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH: A MIDCENTURY STUDY IN GROWTH AND LIGHT

THE ORIGINAL SANCTUARY | 1959

The first Christ Lutheran Church at this location was completed in July 1959 by Underwood-Testman, with architectural design by Kruger, Lake & Henderson.The $75,000 building had a capacity for 200 congregants.

The church was built of concrete block, and the wall serving as the backdrop to the altar was made of colored glass brick, which was intended to give a similar effect to stained glass windows.

The new church building was dedicated in late January 1960, as Pastor Rev. W. Klattenhoff formerly of Carlsbad, NM was installed in front of an audience of 350 people. Below is an early image of this church.

Amazingly, the church outgrew this building by the late 1960s. It was eventually repurposed as a parish hall, and despite some maintenance upkeep issues, it's still used some today for church events and as a recreation center for the attached K-8 Lutheran School.

As shown below, the colored blocks of glass are still in place, along with the wooden cross. On the inside, however, a solid wall has covered up the glass block feature.

GROWTH DEMANDS A LARGER FORM

The 1960s were a period of tremendous growth in overall church attendance and church building and expansions across the Albuquerque. After just eight years, the Christ Lutheran community had outgrown its original church building, as its congregation grew to 800 people.

In May 1968, the church broke ground on its larger building, also designed by Kruger, Lake and Henderson. The rendering below also shows a courtyard connecting it to the original building on the left.

AN EXTERIOR STUDY ON EASTER MORNING

I found myself in the neighborhood of the church for an early Sunday morning walkabout and decided to explore the exterior and take some photos. Finally realizing it was Easter Sunday and noting the quickly growing crowd of congregants arriving, I decided I'd try to schedule a later visit to see the interior. Below are some of the exterior shots of the main church building.

The early morning light emphasized the warm beauty of the massive brick walls reaching into the sky--simple but elegant to my eye.

The tall side windows are made of bronze-finished aluminum with vari-colored glass, as well as a few smaller windows near the base and to some rooms behind the balcony area.

Over the west entrance of the building (facing the original church), panels of pre-cast colored stone with free-form inset colored windows were installed. The mortar seem to resemble tree branches, while the green-colored stones mimic foliage. In the lower parts of the wall and around the entrances, aggregate materials were used to give a terrazzo design effect.

Finally, my hosts kindly showed me the balcony; there, a large pipe organ, a seating area, and a sweeping view of the sanctuary stretched out before me. I was also able to get a closer view of some interesting silver light fixtures that lined the perimeter of the interior roofline.

I never expected that this west-facing wall was hiding these beautiful details in design, color and texture. It's certainly a grand entrance even though it's hidden from view of the street and even the parking lot.

INSIDE THE SANCTUARY

Since there was so much to take in just in the exterior, I was excited to find out what other treasures lay inside. On a Friday morning, the current Pastor (Eric Robinson) and his assistant were kind enough to let me into the church to explore and take some photos.

When I asked the Pastor if he knew any of the history or interesting tidbits about the church building, he simply said, "I heard it's been struck by lighting twice---and it even made the news." Looks like the old adage that lightning never strikes the same place twice did not apply to this holy place.

Sure enough, the inside was equally impressive, with its high ceilings, the warm glow of sunlight filtering through the tall, multi-colored glass windows, and beautiful warm oak pews and furnishings.

The rich walnut wood was hard to ignore throughout the sanctuary, not just the pews, but the altar, including a circular wood perimeter, pulpits, lecterns, and even the floor heating grates.

The more I read about the history of this Christ Lutheran Church and then visiting it, the more it felt like a place where architecture, light, and memory all work together quietly and beautifully. What began as a quick exterior walkabout turned into a deeper appreciation for a building that has clearly meant a great deal to this community over the years. I left with a lot of photos and an even fuller sense of admiration for the space and the care it's been afforded for nearly six decades.

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Sources: Albuquerque Journal: 8/14/59; 1/8/60; 1/13/60; 1/22/60; 1/25/60; 5/24/68; 5/26/68; 1/11/69

The $350,000 budget allowed for a much larger structure, more complex architectural design, and the integration of the latest materials and mechanical components. Brick masonry walls comprised the interior and exterior of the building. The floors were finished with carpet and a vinyl-asbestos finish. Self-colored plaster ceilings were designed at varying slopes to provide acoustical correction and also to conceal lighting and AC diffusers.

The new church was completed in late 1968 and dedicated in January 1969 with a valedictory service in the old church, followed by a procession to the new church building. At this point, the overall congregation size approached 800, but the opening of the new building presented an opportunity to recruit more community members (as seen by the ad below).