TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Originally Gerald Robinson was trained as an Architect and Engineer − he is now an Adjunct Professor of Theology in the Faculty of Divinity of Trinity College in the University of Toronto, and teaches a course “Shaping Space for Worship” for M.Div. students in the Toronto School of Theology. He is totally dedicated to shaping places of worship; setting them on a foundation of the faith. This work exists in a field which lies somewhere between Architecture and Theology, difficult to define but none the less real.
Rudolf Schwarz (1897 - 1961)
A wonderful portfolio of foundations was delineated in 1938 by Rudolf Schwarz, a German architect and mystic. In his book "Vom Bau Der Kirche" he proposed Six Plans to embrace the worship of the Christian Church.
None of these plans could be built. They exist just in the mind as vessels for ideas about space and worship. However, Gerald Robinson established a way to use these insights when he deduced that there are six – and only six – ministries of the Christian Church, and each of these ministries is linked to one of Schwarz’s plans, which means that once a church has decided on its ministry it automatically knows the requirements for its worship space. Thus the necessary features of a congregation's worship space can be adopted with calm and logic as they are independent of personal taste, fashion, or precedent. Such calm and logic have not always been in evidence when re-ordering worship space.
Gerald Robinson is open to delivering lectures and leading seminars on this subject, and to training future teachers.