Elements Studio

Mission Hill Church

Remembering The Creator Through Outdoor Worship

As soon as the weather permits, outdoor worship would begin in the Garden of Remembrance at Mission Hill Church (formerly First Congregational Church) in Traverse City, MI. However, this tradition was in jeopardy. The existing patio was wearing out, and it was time for a redesign.

The new layout, inspired by the symbol of the Trinity, blends the patio’s curvilinear form into the existing garden beds. The concrete aisle-ways depict the interconnected rings of the trinity symbol. Brick pavers define the adjacent seating areas. The preacher, worship team or wedding party can be easily seen on the raised stage at the front of the outdoor worship patio.

Outdoor worship patio

The Garden of Remembrance is an interment garden where people’s ashes have been buried. Therefore, we carefully designed the patio to fit within the boundaries of the existing planting beds. Carefully placed shade trees, planted in and around the patio, help keep people comfortable on warm summer days. Additionally, we surrounded the patio with planting beds to seamlessly integrate the newly designed patio into the existing garden.

Raising Funds

We worked closely with Mission Hill’s Garden and Landscape Board to develop the conceptual design for the new outdoor worship patio. Then we created 3D perspective renderings of the patio set into the existing garden. This enabled the congregation to easily understand the vision of the project. The Garden and Landscape Board used the Concept Landscape Plan and the 3D perspective renderings to raise funds for the project.

Graphic rendering of an in process outdoor worship service with congregants standing facing the stage while a worship leader stands on the stage.
A 3D rendering of the patio set up for an outdoor worship service.
A 3D graphic rendering of the patio space. Grey pavement represents concrete. Red brick areas represent the brick paving that makes up the space where the chairs will be set up.
A 3D rendering of the patio when there is no worship service going on.

Construction

During the spring of 2015, construction commenced in the Garden. On June 28, Mission Hill Church held their first outdoor worship service on the new patio. The congregation was overjoyed to, once again, worship the Lord outdoors. With the Garden of Remembrance as a stunning backdrop, the congregation is continually reminded of God’s incredible majesty.

Chairs are set up on the patio and congregations sit while ushers collect the offering.
Mission Hill celebrates the completed patio with an outdoor worship service.
Mission Hill’s media (sound and video) team has designated space on the patio.
The elevated patio stage.
The planting area at the rear of the patio creates a garden foreground as visitors arrive for worship.
The patio seamlessly fits into the garden.
Shade trees and perennial plantings break up the pavement giving the space a gardenesque feel.
The arching lines of the patio walkways depict the symbol of the trinity; a key design element that Mission Hill wanted to incorporate into the patio design.

Elements Studio was our selection to make our vision for a new church patio become a reality. Their attention to detail and innovative thinking exceeded even our high expectations. The entire congregation is now enjoying what has become a showpiece for the entire community. Thank you for all your efforts.

Rick Smith, Chairperson of the Garden and Landscape Board

Mission Hill Church 

Location

Traverse City, MI

Completion Date

Spring 2015

Project Type

Professional Services

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