Evangelicals in Chrást have a gazebo and a glass cross by David Vávra

photo: www.plzen.cz

Chrást - A new wooden gazebo and a four-meter cross made of stainless steel and colored glass officially began serving Evangelicals in Chrást near Plzeň today. The gazebo and the cross for the parish garden, where not only believers but also other people from the community gather, were designed by architect David Vávra. The gazebo can also serve for worship in the summer, where about 25 regular attendees can fit. The cross, through which sunlight passes and which glows at night, is like a lighthouse making the Christian message visible in public space, said Pastor Karel Šimr to ČTK today.

Vávra designed the gazebo as an open garden chapel reminiscent of the arrangement of a tolerant prayer room, where believers sit in a circle. The design of the gazebo also incorporates motifs of the cross. The standing cross is made of glass because the believers did not want it to turn its back on the community and only face their garden. Thanks to the transparent glass, it is double-sided. In its center, a red heart dominates, and the red color appears throughout the area.

"It is a celebration of Christ's suffering on the cross, which is the red color of blood. Into that is white, representing purity and our hope, which is the basic theme. There are traces of how Christ was nailed to the cross, and there are three doves as symbols of the Holy Spirit and the apostles," Vávra told ČTK, who himself created the glass part using the fusing method, that is, sintered glass. "I cut myself, so the cross has not only symbolic blood but also mine," said the architect. The cross is equipped with solar panels, so its red heart shines like a lighthouse at night.

The gazebo is also double-sided. In addition to the interior, it has a bench around the exterior, so it can serve as a seating area for parents who come to the parish garden with their children to the sandbox and playground.

The Evangelicals in Chrást are celebrating a harvest festival today; it marks 62 years since their prayer room was consecrated, said Šimr. In Chrást, which has 1,900 inhabitants, there is no church. However, there is a vibrant evangelical community that has already ensured that the sound of the bell can resound throughout the community. Thanks to a collection among the people, the evangelicals built a small bell tower with a bell directly on the roof of the parish church. More than ten years ago, they opened the parish garden to the public.

The construction of the gazebo and cross cost 550,000 crowns, most of which the evangelicals raised through donations from local people and businesses.

The gazebo and cross in Chrást is not the only work by Vávra in the Plzeň area. The architect was involved in the creation of a chapel in the prison in Plzeň-Bory some time ago.