carved Halloween pumpkins on the altar

  • Thread starter Thread starter franciscangirl
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
YoungTradCath said:
Splendid! I shall fetch the other fruit salad ingredients.
Click to expand...
While you’re shopping, why not grab a bag of mini marshmallows, and a couple of cornucopia dishes, too? You know … for a nice “ambrosia” arrangement. 😃
 
YoungTradCath said:
And while we’re at it, let’s just go down to the produce section at the local grocery store and raid the vegetables to make a broccoli and green been decoration for the altar…
Click to expand...
We’ve got a century-old thanksgiving tradition in our parish of having items collected for the food pantry on display near the altar. But it does seem out of place. As I’ve come to discover on CAF, Jesus never really said anything about tending to the needy. Too much compassion for the poor and people might start thinking we’re Obama voters or something! 😃
 
Lerchinator said:
but for me, seeing Life Teen members in all manners of undress in the sanctuary is more abuse than a pumpkin will ever be.
Click to expand...
:eek: That’s sad.

We have LifeTeen in our church. The youth participate fully in altar serving and the music and they are very respectful and reverent.
We have them wear khakis ( no jeans, shorts or short skirts) and either white or navy blue polo shirts as a sort of “uniform” if they are altar servers, ushers or if they are singing. ( because teens will be teens…and some do not have good role models…and others do, yet still leave the house with a tshirt with a rappers face on it 😊 without their Mom noticing…Yes, it happens!..They need reinforcement of what is /isn’t appropriate to wear to church, and in the meantime they put on the “uniform” and they are ready.
I have found that the teens are excited to be at church, participating in the Mass…

Sorry that your LifeTeen teens are not dressed appropriately.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
As I’ve come to discover on CAF, Jesus never really said anything about tending to the needy.
Click to expand...
Best to get along to say our prayers and worship? Let the needy fend for themselves? I guess the priest and the Levite must have got it right when they were rushing past the injured man in order to get to the Synagogue. I guess if he’ d been a responsible citizen then surely he would have gotten himself appropriate medical insurance cover.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
We’ve got a century-old thanksgiving tradition in our parish of having items collected for the food pantry on display near the altar. But it does seem out of place. As I’ve come to discover on CAF, Jesus never really said anything about tending to the needy. Too much compassion for the poor and people might start thinking we’re Obama voters or something! 😃
Click to expand...
You’re completely right, because it is an exclusive condition for when you collect food for the poor you care about you must display it by the altar. Just as Christ said, in whatever book that was - whatever, specification doesn’t matter.
 
Pumpkins carved with scary faces is part or our Catholic tradition. It was done on the eave of All Saints to keep away evil spirits, and so the the spirits deceased family members would come and visit.
We need to reclaim this holiday and put aside mistruths that have been spread.

Deacon Frank
 
Pumpkins carved with scary faces is part or our Catholic tradition. It was done on the eave of All Saints to keep away evil spirits, and so the the spirits deceased family members would come and visit.
Click to expand...
That may be, (in Anglo-Germanic custom, anyway), but what evidence is there that such were placed on the altar during Mass? :confused:
 
cshoremom said:
:eek: That’s sad.

We have LifeTeen in our church. The youth participate fully in altar serving and the music and they are very respectful and reverent.
We have them wear khakis ( no jeans, shorts or short skirts) and either white or navy blue polo shirts as a sort of “uniform” if they are altar servers, ushers or if they are singing. ( because teens will be teens…and some do not have good role models…and others do, yet still leave the house with a tshirt with a rappers face on it 😊 without their Mom noticing…Yes, it happens!..They need reinforcement of what is /isn’t appropriate to wear to church, and in the meantime they put on the “uniform” and they are ready.
I have found that the teens are excited to be at church, participating in the Mass…

Sorry that your LifeTeen teens are not dressed appropriately.
Click to expand...
ignore the quip, it come out of ignorance.
 
franciscangirl said:
Thankyou…and just to be clear the pumpkins were ON the altar with plastic leaves…
Click to expand...
Speak yo your priest. He can tell you why they were there and you can let him know how much it disturbed you.

Do not take it upon yourself to move them without speaking to your priest first.
 
franciscangirl said:
The priest was furious and removed them thank God…it was a liberal nun that , knowing some people would be offended ,placed them just before mass…
Click to expand...
And the rest of that conversation should happen between the priest, the religious sister, and their appropriate superiors. Please do not encourage gossip about this incident with your fellow parishioners or the priest or sister in question.
 
FAB said:
Pumpkins carved with scary faces is part or our Catholic tradition. It was done on the eave of All Saints to keep away evil spirits, and so the the spirits deceased family members would come and visit.
We need to reclaim this holiday and put aside mistruths that have been spread.

Deacon Frank
Click to expand...
Well deacon frank , until it’s reclaimed ,and by the way,only in the ,it’s still ASCII USA is it really commercial ,it’s still associated with evil spirits and goblins…and it still shouldn’t be on the altar…
 
Mrs_Sally said:
And the rest of that conversation should happen between the priest, the religious sister, and their appropriate superiors. Please do not encourage gossip about this incident with your fellow parishioners or the priest or sister in question.
Click to expand...
Can’t be gossip if I witnessed it…and have said anything about the conversation they had
 
Iheartcoffee said:
I really don’t see why a pumpkin would be more or less offensive than using flowers to decorate the church. I guess my biggest surprise is the fact that the church has lit pumpkins because most insurance companies would deem them a fire hazard. Candles in public places usually need to be in a flame retardant holder. Depending on the level of moisture still in the pumpkin that might not be very safe.
Click to expand...
a pumpkin is one thing, but a carved jack-o-lantern is another.

I think it’s ok to have jack-o-lanterns outside the church, especially with a carved cross, but not as part of decorations for mass.
 
franciscangirl said:
Can’t be gossip if I witnessed it…and have said anything about the conversation they had
Click to expand...
Then if you witness the conversation and the pumpkins were removed, then why are you on CAF asking all of us? It sounds like it was handled in the parish as it should be by the priest who is in charge. I am bothered by you calling the nun liberal and that her motives were to upset others. I’m not sure what that analysis is about. If there are problems again with that particular nun that I am assuming is working for the parish, she is the priest’s employee and can be fired if that is the case. That is why threads that concern something that happen in a parish, how the Church is decorated, this or that happen at Mass etc should first be handled by going to the appropriate people at the parish, priest etc instead of coming on line asking others who aren’t there and don’t have the whole story. The rest is gossip and opinions and trouble.
 
franciscangirl said:
The priest was furious and removed them thank God…it was a liberal nun that , knowing some people would be offended ,placed them just before mass…
Click to expand...
What is wrong with some of these nuns today? I really don’t understand how they can take Vatican II so far out of context. I also don’t understand how nuns today don’t wear the habit when “on duty”? You rarely (if ever) see friars or monks in secular clothes when publicly doing the work of the Church. Why is it that we rarely see nuns in a habit?

Oh well, different thread - different discussion.

I’m just glad that the priest was mad and I hope the Bishop learns of this and speaks to the Mother Superior.
 
robwar said:
Then if you witness the conversation and the pumpkins were removed, then why are you on CAF asking all of us? It sounds like it was handled in the parish as it should be by the priest who is in charge. I am bothered by you calling the nun liberal and that her motives were to upset others. I’m not sure what that analysis is about. If there are problems again with that particular nun that I am assuming is working for the parish, she is the priest’s employee and can be fired if that is the case. That is why threads that concern something that happen in a parish, how the Church is decorated, this or that happen at Mass etc should first be handled by going to the appropriate people at the parish, priest etc instead of coming on line asking others who aren’t there and don’t have the whole story. The rest is gossip and opinions and trouble.
Click to expand...
In the OP’s defense, the first post was early in the morning. The update was in the evening. Perhaps after reading everyone’s responses, the OP learned more.

But I also agree that people should not jump to conclusions all the time and spread “fear” when not warrented.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top