As it turns out, one of the group is a member of the church, so we get to record there. This is a BIG old brick Episcopalian Church in Ellicott City, MD.
I don't really know how tall the peak of the roof is, but I'll guess over 40 feet. It's at least 40 feet from side to side. Carpeted. Cushions in pews. If I pull back much more than 5-6 feet, the reverb starts to swamp the vocals, especially on the quicker tunes.
We set up where the choir is in this pix, in front of the altar.
http://www.stjohnsec.org/music-and-choirs
There's one step up (at the rail) from the congregation to the chancel and three steps up from there to the altar. Most everyone I put on the main level of the chancel and the short ones go one step up, just to keep the mouths on axis. Simple coincident XY (with a little tweek, so not exactly 90 degrees.)
Regards,
Ty Ford