Floyd Marsellos, a PineCrest resident, spent his career in architecture and design. While his fingerprint has been left on many structures over the years, none were as personal as the work he did designing the sanctuary for First United Methodist Church in Lufkin in 1962 alongside an architect partner, Wilbur Kent. As a member of the church himself, and a man of faith, building the new worship space created an opportunity to infuse design elements that would enhance the worship experience.
Not only is the space absolutely beautiful, but it holds many symbols of faith that were meticulously thought out by the architect pair. For example, The eight windows along the side of the nave represent the eight beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-10 with specific symbols within each window to illustrate each of the beatitudes. There are sixty-six rows of pews, one for each book of the Bible and can hold a total of 757 worshipers.
Other symbols of faith are more evident, like the bronze cross hanging as the focal piece above the alter measuring thirty-five feet tall within a room the equivalent height of a five story building when measuring from the floor to the peak. Across the ceiling there are nine laminate arches, each weighing 6,600 pounds. The three manual Casavant pipe organ adds to the grandeur of the space and to the worship experience when the music swells and the deep hum of the organ begins to crescendo. The architectural design demanded a series of intricate catwalks to allow for maintenance of the 2,374 organ pipes which make up the full collection of tones for the instrument.
Marsellos is quick to categorize his personal and professional investment into this project as an act of worship. He continues to find great contentment in knowing that over the course of six decades, the sanctuary has become a space where many have encountered the Lord.
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