House of Prayer new altar dedication on Sunday, June 19, 2022

House of Prayer in Rock Point shares the good news of a new altar made of live-edge cypress inlaid with turquoise.

For the past few months, members of House of Prayer have been brainstorming altar and designs along with talented Navajo artists we have invited to give shape to our ideas. Our new altar is in the table style, an altar style that emphasizes the holy meal, the Lord’s supper that is served from this holy table.

The table top of live-edge cypress inlaid with turquoise and the table base of custom designed powder-coated steel, the design exemplifies the undulating movement of the landscape where treasures like gem stones, petroglyphs, and the mystery of creation lie hidden. We will be dedicating our new altar in a special prayer of dedication on Sunday, June 19.

House of Prayer serves many purposes, worship, children’s programs, warehouse, lunch room, auditorium, and lecture hall. Together we have examined how we live in our worship space. This much we do know: As a Navajo culture, we are steeped in artistic expression, utilizing elements and forms of nature to express relational, social, and spiritual beliefs. As Lutheran Navajos, we are not afraid of using all the arts, including architecture and music, to proclaim the gospel. Our goal has been to use the filters of Navajo culture and the theology of our Lutheran tradition as sources of wisdom.

In years past, House of Prayer members have not had the opportunity to make choices for their worship space the reflect their cultural roots and theological understanding. It is our hope that the new components of the worship space will center our assembly and witness around word, table, and bath, where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered according the gospel.

We invite your prayers for House of Prayer and our Wisdom Keepers who reach out to the community of Rock Point through the ministry of this holy house.

“Every house is a missionary. Space that is transformative changes the people who live there. Every house is a missionary. I don’t build a house without predicting the end of the present social order.”

— Architect Frank Lloyd Wright said this about houses, but it applies to houses of worship, too

“We shape our spaces and then they shape us.”

— Winston Churchill, on the rededicating of the House of Commons

“The shape of the worship environment will shape the faith of the next generation.”

— Walter Huffman, Retired professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary