An elegant tapered steeple of interlocking spirals tops the large concave entrance portico of the church. The portico is an enlarged version of Pavilion IX at the university. The complex, intricate geometry of the steeple is reminiscent of the work of seventeenth-century Italian Baroque architects Francesco Borromini and Guarino Guarini. The familiar presented with an eccentric twist is a theme in the work of Makielski, an early graduate of the university's architecture program, later a faculty member, and an area architect. In Autumn 2020, the congregation voted to remove "Thomas Jefferson" from the church's name following months of discussion and prompted a national conversation about systemic racism taking place across the United States. The congregation is holding a series of "cottage conversations" to determine new name.