There is no altar at Gallery Church Downtown.

There are no pews. Or stained glass windows. Or permanent sign by the entrance.

With murals depicting Baltimore neighborhoods and an old White Tower coffee shop’s counter, stools and signage, the place looks a bit like a funky museum – which is what 29 South Front Street once was. The grand building once housed the now-defunct Baltimore City Life Museums.

These days, on any given Sunday, more than 200 people from all over the world come here to worship.

“I love how our church has become such a diverse place,” said lead pastor Ellis Prince, during a recent Sunday service.

He had just asked worshipers to say what countries they’re from. Lithuania, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Singapore, Korea and Louisiana were among their answers.

Architectural Mash-up

Like Gallery Church Downtown’s congregation, the building where they worship is also a bit of an urban mix.

Built in the 1990s, the oxblood-red four-story structure features the salvaged and reconfigured cast iron facade from the 1800s-era G. Fava Fruit Company, making it one of Baltimore’s most distinctive buildings.

After briefly serving as the Morton K. Blaustein Exhibition Center for the City Life Museums (and then housing a Latin-themed restaurant and nightclub called Gardel’s), the building is now a rentable space.

It’s referred to as “the 1840s Plaza Building” by owner Anne Pomykala, who also owns the 1840s Carrollton Inn on the same block. For more than three years, Gallery Church has leased the building’s third floor. The other floors are rented out for meetings, weddings and receptions.

On Sundays, the church also uses the Plaza Building’s second level, which still has murals and other features from the days when it was part of a museum devoted to Baltimore history.

Known for the way its once-flat facade was “folded” like an accordion when it was re-erected on Front Street, the building was designed for public use. It has high ceilings that have exposed beams, large windows framed by the cast iron, and flexible, column-free interiors reminiscent of a Venetian loft.

The architects were Charles Brickbauer (who travels to Venice every year) and Ziger/Snead.

Serving the City

Considering the church’s mission, the setting along Baltimore’s gritty Fallsway is apt.

Gallery Church Downtown is part of a group of four Christian churches that are working to bring religion back to urban areas where other churches have moved out.

“We’re trying to take the good news into the dark places,” Prince says.

The Gallery network was founded in 2008 by Prince, 43, an ordained minister who started out by holding worship services in his living room.

Other churches in the network include GC Patterson Park in the old Patterson Park Baptist Church on Eastern Avenue, GC Eastpoint in the former Colgate Baptist Church on Fairview Avenue in Eastpoint, and GC Sowebo inside Steuart Hill Academy on South Gilmor Street.

Both former churches, Prince said, were donated to Gallery Church by dwindling congregations that wanted their buildings to continue as churches. Each location has its own worship leaders and musicians. Prince presides downtown.

Noting that many churches have left the city, Prince says he wants to move back into areas that he believes are underserved or have been abandoned. He said Gallery Church’s name was inspired from a passage in Ephesians that says, “God is the master artist and we are his craftsmanship,” the creations he sends out into the world.

Diverse, Young and Casual

The services at Gallery Downtown are relatively informal, with many worshipers dressing casually, often in jeans and open collar shirts. There is a stage for the pastor and musicians and a dj booth in the back corner. Chairs are arranged in a semi-circle facing the stage.

Last Sunday there was a metal tub filled with water used for a baptism. Above the stage are flat-screen TVs to display song lyrics, Bible verses and messages throughout the service.

The service has a structure that would be familiar to many church-goers: morning coffee (which worshipers can take to their seats), music, prayer, reading from the Bible, time to greet fellow worshipers, the sermon and more music.

Church leaders aren’t big on ritual. They don’t pass around a collection plate, although they encourage donations with a specially marked “Tithes and Offerings” box. They do allow applause, apparently.

Worshipers clapped twice during the first service on Sunday – once after the baptism of an adult male who was renewing his faith and once after a worship leader made it through a list of hard-to-pronounce Biblical names from the Book of Matthew.

The crowd skews young and is racially diverse – many of the worshipers are college students and young professionals. Many are connected somehow to the Johns Hopkins University or medical campus.

Some appear to be less well off than others, and a few come from the homeless people’s encampment a few blocks away along I-83.

Bar Became Coffee Stand

Prince said he learned about the former City Life building from a real estate agent and concluded it would meet the church’s needs. He wasn’t specifically looking for a non traditional worship space. He said he was primarily looking for a gathering place that wasn’t overly expensive.

“It either has to be free or cheap,” he said of the properties used by Gallery Church. “We want our resources to go out into the community.”

The building has made the transition to house-of-worship with quirky ease. An existing bar became the self-serve coffee stand. Bibles are stacked on small tables near the stage.

The only permanent religious symbol is a cross by the main entrance. This month the church put two Christmas trees on the stage, each with white lights and a star on top.

During its two Sunday services, part of the second floor is called Gallery Kids, an area where young children go during services. On the first Sunday of each month, there’s a potluck brunch on the second floor.

Tables and chairs are set up in a former museum gallery that still bears wall images of Centre Market, Eubie Blake, the Patterson Park pagoda and Baltimore’s old movie theaters.

The White Tower coffee shop, transplanted from Howard Street to be part of an exhibit about diners, was too big to remove from the building when the museum closed in 1997. It works well as the food preparation area for the brunch.

Trying to Build Bridges

The church doesn’t skimp on religious nourishment either. Every service has an over arching theme, such as “peace.” Musicians write their own songs, which are mixed in with familiar hymns and, at this time of year, carols.

Prince’s sermons are thought provoking, yet accessible. He speaks about people with “messed up” lives and issues ranging from civil rights to crime in the city.

He prays about the “brokenness” of the world. “We are weary of the brokenness,” he says. He invites people to come towards the stage, if they want, for a sort of group hug.

At the appropriate time, he makes a modest plea for donations.

“We don’t want you to think we are only interested in you for your money,” he tells worshipers, explaining that Gallery Church wants to be able to provide for those in need.

Christmas, he said, can be “a very discouraging time, especially for those who want to give to others” and can’t afford it.

Prince’s sermons are both rooted in Biblical times and filled with references to current events.

On Sunday he noted that he attended Liberty University but said he doesn’t agree with anti-Muslim remarks made last week by its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., who encouraged students to get permits to carry guns on campus.

Prince said he has tried to create a welcoming environment for people to gather, whether they believe that Jesus is the Son of God or question that. He said he believes that many people today yearn for a place where they can explore their relationship with God.

Asked what denomination the church is, he replies, “I would say we’re trans-denominational. We’re trying to build bridges.”