Appendix B Sufism Reoriented

APPENDIX B SUFISM REORIENTED : ANALYSIS OF WHY ADDITIONAL SPACE IS NEEDED A New Sanctuary for Sufism Reoriented An Analysis: Why Additional Space Is Needed April 13, 2009 B-1 A New Sanctuary for Sufism Reoriented Why Additional Space Is Needed Contents The Question The Discussion Appendix A – Prayer Hall Seating Study by Project Architect Appendix B – Rooms and Area Listing Appendix C – Maximum Concurrent Use Scenarios Second Submission – Response to July 31, 2008 Letter from Lashun Cross 2 B-2 A New Sanctuary for Sufism Reoriented Why Additional Space is Needed The Question The question has been asked, “Why does Sufism Reoriented need additional space for its new sanctuary1?” Some neighbors are concerned that the added space is intended to accommodate plans to expand its membership. This in turn leads to fears of increased traffic to and from the sanctuary and associated problems of road congestion and safety. We have been open and clear about this question. Our local membership has been stable since the mid-1980s at around 350. We do not expect it to increase over time, and we make no effort to proselytize. As prospec- tive members must have a strong, inner desire to dedicate all of his or her surplus energy to love for God and service to His creation, proselytizing has no place. We have found that new members tend to find their way to us naturally at about the same rate as life changes take former members from us. Sufism Reoriented didn’t even have a website until Supervisor Uilkema and some supportive neighbors suggested that we make ourselves better known in the neighborhood. Nonetheless, the concern about growth persists among at least a small number of neighbors. These doubts may persist because our activities and member involvement, and hence our space needs, are broader than other small churches with which they are familiar. We hope this memorandum about our use of space in the new sanctuary will help make it clear that the increased square footage for the new sanctuary is not the result of expected membership expansion, but is required by the nature of our activities and worship. A key idea to hold in mind in evaluating our need for additional space is the high value that we place on beauty and the general aesthetics of sacred spaces. Although much of the additional space is required to house specific activities (outlined below), a significant portion is space in the sense of “spaciousness,” needed to express beauty and create an appropriate environment for worship. An important element in our lives is an ideal, articulated by Meher Baba, of “expressing in the world of forms, truth, love, beauty and purity.” A significant portion of the additional space in the new sanctuary is simply to make the sanctuary beautiful. Space is needed to show respect for and give priority to worship, and to mirror the sense of the worshiper’s inner expansion and inspiration. This is especially true of the Prayer Hall and the generous surrounding ambulatory with its skylights. It is also true of the lower level where almost 10,000 square feet is dedicated to a very wide and long concourse, which will be lined with inspirational murals and flooded with light from a commodious skylight. The area has been designed in this way to provide inspiration for those who pass through for purposes of work or other activities, and significantly to ameliorate the sense of being underground and cramped. In other words, a sizeable portion of the “added” space in our new sanctuary forms part of our aesthetic design intended to focus the mind and heart of the worshipper on divinity and higher ideals. In order to understand the spatial needs of Sufism Reoriented to house the specific activities associated with its worship, it is helpful to review the scope of uses and functions outlined in Sufism Reoriented’s response to Lashun Cross’ letter dated July 31, 2008 (submitted October 8, 2008), referred to herein as “Second Submission.” A folder containing the printed portion of that 1 The new sanctuary proposes 66,074 gross square feet, of which 59,071 square feet is usable space (see Appendix B). This document examines the usable square footage of the new sanctuary. 3 B-3 submission is enclosed with this memorandum. The exhibits that were included with that submission are available at the offices of the Department of Conservation and Development. It is recommended that this submission, along with the exhibits of documents, books, films and audio tapes accompanying the submission, be reviewed to gain a better understanding of the scope of the work and activities of Sufism Reoriented and especially how they differ from those of many small churches. That detailed submission additionally specifies how Sufism Reoriented’s activities relate to specific spaces in the new building. In this memorandum, we summarize some of that material. In addition, we clarify how the additional space relates to specific activities that currently cannot be provided for at all within our current building as well as activities now carried out at our center that are not adequately housed. The Discussion The Prayer Hall Our current Prayer Hall was formerly a large, bare dining hall used by the former owners, an ethnic association. At present, Sufism Reoriented is forced to use its plain, converted Prayer Hall as a multi-purpose room. In addition to holding our weekly worship and devotional gatherings here for thirty-four years, the Prayer Hall is also used as a rehearsal space for chorus and drama, as a social hall for large gatherings, for a variety of elective summer classes in dance, for art storage, for photo and document archives, and as a studio to videotape discourses and record music used for worship. The new Prayer Hall is by design a true sanctuary, or sacred space, and will be dedicated solely to worship and prayer. It is important to note that the size of the new Prayer Hall speaks eloquently to the issue of whether Sufism Reoriented is seeking additional space in order to expand its membership. The seating area of the new Prayer Hall has the same square footage as the current Prayer Hall, approximately 5,000 square feet. The Prayer Hall is the only space in the new building designed to accommodate a general gathering of the membership. The size of the Prayer Hall demonstrates that there is no provision in the new building for significant growth of membership. The Prayer Hall, the focus and centerpiece of the new building, is designed to seat only 350 to 400 people—the same as the current Prayer Hall. Appendix A contains a seating study performed by the project architect, Alan Ritchie, which was used to determine that the Prayer Hall could adequately seat about 370 people. As our full membership attends our worship services, when the Prayer Hall is in use no other activities will occur simultaneously in other parts of the sanctuary (see Appendix C). The Supporting Activities The remainder of the new sanctuary is designed to provide proper space for the activities that are integral parts of our worship or allow us to meet portions of our spiritual mission. (See Second Submission) For the first time, all activities will be integrated under one roof, avoiding the dispersal of energy that occurs when activities related to our worship and spiritual mission are in unrelated spaces. For the first time, important projects (such as the creation and publica- tion of spiritual literature) will be able to proceed after languishing for decades for lack of space to realize them. And just as importantly, designated space appropriate in size for each activity will be provided so that each activity has adequate space and does not interfere with another or have to be terminated artificially to provide space for other activities. 4 B-4 Sufism Reoriented currently has insufficient space to fully perform the activities associated with its worship and spiritual obligations. The current building is a converted restaurant. Sufism Reoriented has considered it a temporary and inadequate facility from the time it was purchased in 1974. It was all we could afford at the time. The congregation has saved money for over thirty years in order to build a true house of worship. The following analysis provides a breakdown of these activities and their space requirements. This analysis demonstrates our need for the additional square footage included in the new sanctuary design and accounts for the amount recommended. We have broken the space needs into the following categories: 1. Projects postponed indefinitely for lack of space 2. Activities currently housed elsewhere in private homes or The Meher Schools that can be brought under the roof of the new sanctuary 3. Current activities that now must compete for space with other activities needing dedicated space 4. Activities performed in inadequate spaces 5. Requirements resulting from placing two-thirds of the building underground 6. Increased storage requirements 1. Projects postponed indefinitely for lack of space Sufism Reoriented has many important projects on hold due to insufficient space required for artwork, music, drama and dance, education and training, publications, book distribution and preservation of historical memorabilia and documents important to our worship. The current building does not have adequate space for: Art Storage – Space is needed for the production, display, reproduction, storage, and packing and shipping of art housed by Sufism Reoriented. Much of this artwork is now packed away in odd nooks and crannies and cannot be adequately maintained, catalogued, or displayed. Current devotional art holdings include 148 original paintings. (See Second Submission, p.

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