{"id":1304,"date":"2024-04-16T15:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2024-04-16T15:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T19:26:00","slug":"thorncrown-chapel-attraction-offers-thin-place-with-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/04\/thorncrown-chapel-attraction-offers-thin-place-with-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Thorncrown Chapel – Attraction Offers Thin Place With Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Thorncrown Chapel is located in a natural setting [Picture courtesy of Ryan Jones, Unsplash]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Tourists may aim for a slice of heaven during their travels. Although often disappointed, that result would not occur with a visit to the stunning Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Nestled in the Ozarks, the attraction offers a thin place with heaven.<\/p>\n

The Chapel<\/strong><\/h3>\n Thorncrown Chapel is a creative masterpiece uniting architecture with environment<\/a>. Located just outside Eureka Springs in the rolling Ozark hills, the woodlands structure with free admission<\/a> is a tourist favorite. In fact, over seven million people<\/a> have visited since Thorncrown\u2019s 1980 opening, and the site is a premier wedding location<\/a>.<\/p>\n The narrow structure rises 48 feet towards the sky and extends 60 feet in length and 24 feet in width<\/a>. The 425 windows<\/a> looking out over the surrounding terrain make it a glass chapel. Inside Thorncrown are a colorful flagstone floor and fieldstone walls<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thorncrown Chapel is a premier wedding venue [Picture courtesy Kari Bjorn, Unsplash]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOutdoors Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n**** The use of native materials makes the chapel appear a natural addition<\/a> to the surrounding area. Specifically, only organic materials indigenous to northwestern Arkansas<\/a>, such as flagstone and Southern pine, passed muster as materials for constructing Thorncrown.<\/p>\n The gray-stained pressure-treated pine used for the building matches the tree bark<\/a> outside, and\u00a0a skylight provides connection to the sky <\/a>overhead. Also, the stone floor and walls blend<\/a> perfectly with the structure\u2019s rocky location. The result of these features is little distinction<\/a> between inside the chapel and the environment surrounding it outside.<\/p>\n The design planning took care to preserve Thorncrown\u2019s natural setting. No structural element<\/a> was incorporated that was larger than what two men could carry through the woods.<\/p>\n The Architect<\/strong><\/h3>\n Architect E. Fay Jones, whom Frank Lloyd Wright mentored<\/a>, designed this magnificent chapel. Jones drew inspiration for Thorncrown from touring Gothic chapels in Europe<\/a>, particularly a light-filled one in Paris, Saint Chappelle. Accordingly, he dubbed his woodland chapel\u2019s style as \u201cOzark Gothic\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n In addition to designing Thorncrown, Jones also came up with the chapel\u2019s name. He considered it a combination of humility and glory<\/a>, fitting for his creation\u2019s description.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Jones\u2019 beautiful design has garnered numerous architectural awards such as the American Institute of Architect\u2019s (\u201cAIA\u201d) Design Award of the Year for 1981. Another accolade is Thorncrown\u2019s appearance at #4 on AIA\u2019s top buildings of the 20th<\/sup> century<\/a> list.<\/p>\n The Chapel Idea<\/h3>\n The initial idea for a chapel in the Eureka Springs location came from Jim Reed, a retired schoolteacher<\/a>. In 1971 he purchased 26 acres<\/a> on which to build his retirement home. After returning from a walk on his property one day, Reed informed his wife they should build a glass chapel on their land.<\/p>\n But how would he make that dream a reality? Through a chance encounter at a local restaurant, Reed met a man who connected Reed with Jones and provided transportation for Reed to go meet the architect. During his career, Jones had always wanted to design a church or chapel, <\/a>even doodling what such a structure might look like in the Ozarks. Reed\u2019s property and Jones\u2019 design were a match made in heaven, and Thorncrown Chapel came to life.<\/p>\n The nearness of God\u2019s creation generates a thin place with heaven [Picture courtesy of Pinterest, https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/530721137352577510\/]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Thin Place<\/strong><\/h3>\n**** The impact on visitors to the chapel is powerful, <\/a>affecting believers and non-believers alike. Reactions range from tears to speechlessness. Many describe a feeling of peace<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cause for these reactions? Architect C. Page Highfill<\/a> characterizes Thorncrown as a thin place. Such a place is variously described as a location where heaven comes close to earth<\/a> or a place where the sense of the sacred is more pronounced<\/a>. So, the concept is that the line between heaven and earth<\/a> is thin.<\/p>\n The phrase \u201cthin place\u201d comes from the ancient Celts and Celtic Christians<\/a>. The Celts made the phrase popular and connected it to a specific location. Celtic Christians felt a deep connection to the natural world and viewed a thin place more in the context of the presence of the Divine<\/a>.\u00a0Celtic saints found a thin place where a location\u2019s spiritual atmosphere allowed easy connection to God<\/a> with little barrier between heaven and earth. Today the phrase\u2019s meaning generally combines a location with a spiritual connection<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experience It Yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n************ ** Although a picture may be worth a thousand words, no picture or even a thousand words could do justice to the beauty of Thorncrown Chapel. Instead, the sight is one visitors must experience personally. They also need to experience the feeling of sitting inside a structure that looks like an arrow pointing heavenward and containing so many windows it feels the building is one with nature. Does the attraction offer a thin place with heaven? Only a visit to Thorncrown Chapel will answer that question for you. I did and would answer in the affirmative.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** ************Tourists may aim for a slice of heaven during their travels. Although often disappointed, that result would not occur with a visit to the stunning Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Nestled in the Ozarks, the attraction offers a thin place with heaven. The Chapel Thorncrown Chapel is a creative masterpiece uniting architecture with environment. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5354,"featured_media":1310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[452,449,446],"tags":[461,458,464,455],"class_list":["post-1304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-travel","category-worship","tag-architecture","tag-eureka-springs","tag-thin-place","tag-thorncrown-chapel"],"yoast_head":"\nthin place with heaven<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thorncrown Chapel is an attraction offering a thin place with heaven.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/04\/thorncrown-chapel-attraction-offers-thin-place-with-heaven\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"thin place with heaven\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thorncrown Chapel is an attraction offering a thin place with heaven.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/04\/thorncrown-chapel-attraction-offers-thin-place-with-heaven\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Feet to Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alicemurraywriter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-16T19:26:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2072\/2024\/04\/ryan-jones-Hvxlf7_VRbY-unsplash-1-e1713277939962.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alice H. 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