Church of the Week: Kenwood Baptist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio

I had the joy of speaking this past week to a fine group of home schooling parents, the Christian Home Educators of Cincinnati, in a gathering held at Kenwood Baptist Church on Kenwood Road in Cincinnati.

This church began in 1911 as Evanston Baptist Church (Evanston is another part of the city). By 1961, many members had moved to the suburbs, so the church went, too, locating on ten acres on Kenwood Road--which at that time would have been considered way out on the very urbs of the suburbs.

The distinctive trapezoidal shape of the sanctuary is striking from the outside and the inside.

The likewise striking stained glass window that dominates the east wall can be seen by worshipers on the way out, positioned as it is on the back wall as worshipers face the platform.

The rest of the church facility sprawls around on two stories with an elevator. It includes a chapel, an education wing, a large banquet or assembly hall, offices, and more.

One of my favorite features of the church property, common in Catholic and Episcopal church campuses but fairly rare in evangelical church construction, is a garden for prayer and meditation, named for Reverend J. S. Matthews, the church's pastor for 47 years, from 1921-1968.