San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Modern skyscrapers stand next to Victorian-style buildings, every hill has a gorgeous vista, there are beautiful beaches. The city also respects its historically significant sites and structures, making sure that places such as Fort Point at the Golden Gate Bridge and Angel Island are preserved for future generations to enjoy. One such site is the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, which is both historically and architecturally meaningful.
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2004, the Swedenborgian Church is regarded as one of California’s first Arts and Crafts buildings. Completed in 1895, the church was born out of the vision of the Reverend Joseph Worcester, its first pastor, who bought the land on which it stands. A theologian and amateur architect and artist, Rev. Worcester collaborated with his friends, many of whom were artists, architects and painters, to realize his visionary idea for the structure of the church.
A. Page Brown, the designer of the San Francisco Ferry building, Bernard Maybeck, an architect of the Arts and Crafts Movement, A.C. Schweinfurth, a First Bay Tradition architect, Willis Polk, an architect, and Bruce Porter, an artist, each contributed to Rev. Worcester’s project. The result is a sanctuary that is warm and wooded, reflecting the Swedenborg’s central theme: the belief that all life is spiritual and all things reveal something essential of the divine.
Emanuel Swedenborg’s theological writings provided the spiritual foundation of the Swedenborgian Church. Born in 1688, Swedenborg was a polymath whom many described as a “Swedish Leonardo da Vinci.” He was a scientist and reforming theologian during the Age of Enlightenment. He believed deeply that the world was entering a new phase of spiritual potential. Almost two decades after his death in 1772, the first organized Swedenborgian church was established in England, based on his new Christian theology. By 1795 the Swedenborgian church had come to America, and by 1850 there were almost 100 churches throughout the eastern seaboard and Midwest.
Rev. Worcester wanted the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco to represent the ideas of Swedenborg, and he succeeded. The church presents natural objects that have been incorporated into the building’s structure and the gardens. Rev. Worcester’s long friendship with John Muir can also be discerned in the elements of nature nestled throughout this house of worship.
Instead of an ornate entrance, it is simple, welcoming those from all walks of life into the church. Once inside the entrance, the garden offers visitors what some have called an “oasis of spiritual refreshment.” A sunken pool is surrounded by trees from all over the world: a Japanese maple, a Lebanese cedar, a Palestinian olive tree, a yew from Ireland, and two California Coastal Redwoods.
Rev. Worcester respected the Spanish Mission heritage of the area, so he used wrought-iron grillwork to cover the curved windows. Another homage is the Spanish thigh-tiles on the roof. A cross from the Mission San Miguel guards and protects the high-walled garden.
The chapel exterior is constructed of oven-fired bricks. Rev. Worcester wasn’t satisfied with the original bricklaying. He wanted the mortar to be “pointed” such that each brick would cast a distinct shadow, and did the “tuck-pointing” himself.
Inside the bell tower, visitors marvel at a column made of Italian Carrara marble. Beneath the tower sits a window of medieval glass from Westminster Abbey in London that was secured by Bruce Porter.
A great fireplace can be found inside the church, contributing to its warm atmosphere. The roof of the church is held up by eight madrone tree trunks (bark intact) that Rev. Worcester selected himself from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Rev. Worcester insisted the bark not be removed from the trees so that they would convey the sense of peace and serenity found in a forest. Artist William Keith contributed four great paintings that hang on the north wall and are a favorite of all visitors.
This magnificent church and parsonage was completed in 1895. Thus began the reign of the Rev. Joseph Worcester at the helm of the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco. His legacy is that of a devoted and creative genius, dedicated to his ministry, orphaned children, and former convicts.
Luckily, in 1929, the Rev. Othmar Tobisch arrived with his wife Margit. For 41 years, Rev. Tobisch was able to guide the congregation through the Great Depression, World War II, the booming 1950s and the turbulent 60s.
It was under the leadership of Rev. Tobisch that the ministry tripled the number of weddings that took place at the stunning church. Because of its unique beauty, the church had been sought out for weddings before, but with Rev. Tobisch at the helm, more than 200 couples a year celebrated their vows there.
At one time, the Swedenborgian Church was the second most popular church in the nation to be married in, the first being the Little Church Around the Corner in New York. The beautiful sanctuary offers couples an intimate and elegant space in which to make their sacred vows to each other. The church was one of the first in San Francisco to accept non-members to be married there, and was among several early congregations and synagogues in the Bay Area to allow gay and interracial marriages. Today, thousands have exchanged vows within the hallowed walls of the Swedenborgian Church. The couples who decide to marry there weave themselves into the history of both the church and the city of San Francisco.
In the modern era, under Rev. Junchol Lee, the church continues to thrive, with the beauty and spiritual vision of Rev. Worcester still intact. Over 10,000 spiritual services of different types have been held there, including meditation with Daoism.
With over 100 years of fascinating history, the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco continues to serve the community in the open and loving way that Rev. Worcester nurtured. All those who are drawn to its beauty, tranquility, and grace are welcome.
To learn more about the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco, visit www.sfswedenborgian.org. For more information about hosting your wedding at the church, call (415) 346-6468 or visit www.sfwedding.org.