It Didn't Look Like A Catholic Church!

[mammallama]

Recently I went to a different church and got the shock of my life.I thought I was in some all-purpose meetin’ hall.Then some lady pointed out that "Yes,this is indeed the inside of the church and seemed to be very proud of it!!! This is a true story.I had to ask where the holy water basin was…could not locate the tabernacle…and the stations of the cross…well they were kinda just stuck up in one corner…all lumped up together.No pews only these folding chair lookin things with a sort of kneeler attached to the back.I think I saw a few candles and one crucifix.People were milling around and yacking loudly,sitting in their seats backwards and having a good old time.Someone said that this was a special day because there were to be two baptisms.I admit it,I left and found a Sunday Mass at a beautiful church several miles away.I’m sorry,I just didn’t feel very holy at the new-fangled church.Was I wrong to leave??

 

[Rolltide]

Are you sure it wasn’t a temporary structure? My grandmother’s parish actually DID move into an office building temporarily while their new church was being built, for about a year. It sounds just like you describe. The parish made the best effort they could at sprucing up the place to make it slightly more Catholic, but there was never any doubt as to what the original function of the building was. Of course, in such circumstances, one needs to make allowances.

 

[mammallama]

Are you sure it wasn’t a temporary structure? .

Actually that’s the funny part of this story.A few years ago I stopped in to talk to the parish staff about joining their church.The very nice woman in the main office took me on a tour of their temporary location…a large meeting room.She said the church itself was undergoing a re-model.Well I had pretty much forgotten about that episode when I visited the second time,Then it dawned on me…"oh yes of course this must be that meeting room I had visited all those years ago."Wrong.

 

[Cat]

Please check it out before making a judgement.

Our parish met in a gymnasium for years until their sanctuary was finished.

Or perhaps the parish building was destroyed in a flood (see Iowa last spring) or fire, and the people are waiting for a new building. Of course they would be very proud that their people are still meeting for Mass, even if it’s in a less-than-beautiful meetin’ hall.

There are some parishes that are very poor, and something like this is the best they can afford.

Just check it out first, OK?

 

[cfell]

Dear Mammallama,

Parishes must be able to afford to build and maintain a “Church”.

This will include the “sacred space” where you find the Tabernacle, Altar, Holy Water fonts, Baptismal Font, Stations of the Cross, a CRUCIFIED Christ and Cross over the Altar…etc.

A “Church” also includes the Airconditioning, plumbing, utilities, parking, traffic control, etc, etc, etc…

That’s hard to do on 50cents or even $5 from every person…and it ONLY comes from you and me.

If I cannot/do not support my parish home, it will only grow so big.

There is also the needs of the parish… perhaps their St. Vincent DePaul is doing great things and that is where the bulk of their “treasure” goes…

 

[mammallama]

Or perhaps the parish building was destroyed in a flood (see Iowa last spring) or fire, and the people are waiting for a new building. Of course they would be very proud that their people are still meeting for Mass, even if it’s in a less-than-beautiful meetin’ hall.

There are some parishes that are very poor, and something like this is the best they can afford.

Just check it out first, OK?

No,it wasn’t a problem of disaster or lack of money.They have a fairly large compound,although no school.And it’s all somewhat new.They seem to have put all the money into this gigantic hall and office space.I have lived in this general area all my life and am familiar with what’s going on.I just never expected a Catholic church to be so bland inside.And they have NO excuse for practically hiding the holy water and displaying the stations of the cross the way they do.I honestly did try to stay for the Mass,but people were talking rather loudly and the guitar band was practicing and checking their sound system.Too noisy to concentrate on prayer,so I left.

 

[scylla]

You did the right thing to leave, there are some parishes where the faith is barely recognizable and people seem to hate anything Catholic.

There are many healthy parishes designed with Jesus as the center of worship and where you will find the faith faithfully expressed.

Unfortunately these days we just have to be discerning and cautious with our spiritual health. Seek the good, reject the bad.
I see plenty of bad out here in California, but there are islands of Orthodoxy, where the faith is held on to. Don’t lose hope and be faithful.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[mammallama]

You did the right thing to leave, there are some parishes where the faith is barely recognizable and people seem to hate anything Catholic.

I now belong to the local Cathedral which is modeled after a church in Rome,so I’m quite happy.

And after thinking about the other church,it’s located on a street along with a Methodist C and a Christian C.It seems like they are pretty much the same from the outside.Huge multi-use buildings attached to a small chapel.What are they using those gigantic spaces for???Did the Catholic church people build like the neighbors for a reason??

 

[Brenda_V]

I now belong to the local Cathedral which is modeled after a church in Rome,so I’m quite happy.

And after thinking about the other church,it’s located on a street along with a Methodist C and a Christian C.It seems like they are pretty much the same from the outside.Huge multi-use buildings attached to a small chapel.What are they using those gigantic spaces for???Did the Catholic church people build like the neighbors for a reason??

Mammallama - if it wasn’t for the fact that you say you live in “boondocks usa” i would say it sounds like the Parish I belonged to when i lived in Phoenix! When I first went I asked where the Tabernacle was (behind that wall there in the Chapel - which was beautiful and used for daily Mass), I was told that the space we had Sunday Mass in was a multi-purpose room and used for other events (never in the 18 months or so we lived there) and that it was only temporary, we would be building a bigger Church later. Well, about 10 years later I went to visit friends in Phoenix, went to the same parish for Mass because we were there on a Sunday and now, they had a big “baptismal font” water fall pool thing and it didn’t look anything like they were going to move soon!

Brenda V.

 

[EasterJoy]

Here’s a slant on it I thought I’d never hear:

We went to St. Francis in Bend, Oregon, last week, which is a really lovely church, as you can see by scrolling down the Una Voce web page:
unavoceco.org/

My son is used to our parish, which has modern architecture. The tabernacle is slightly off to one side of the altar, but very prominent.

He thought St. Francis was a very beautiful church, but asked me where the tabernacle was. I said it was in the center of the high altar. He still didn’t recognize it. I told him it was behind the little white curtain. “Well”, said he, “That is a sneaky place to put it!”

 

[SFD]

Please check it out before making a judgement.

Yes, that is true. It is also wise not to engage in all sorts of mental gymnastics to try to explain it away if it is a correct judgment.

Our parish met in a gymnasium for years until their sanctuary was finished.

Or perhaps the parish building was destroyed in a flood (see Iowa last spring) or fire, and the people are waiting for a new building. Of course they would be very proud that their people are still meeting for Mass, even if it’s in a less-than-beautiful meetin’ hall.

There are some parishes that are very poor, and something like this is the best they can afford.

Just check it out first, OK?

This may very well be true. It may also just be a modernist church building and the modernists are proud of it.

SFD

 

[Extempore]

I ended up in a church like you described this evening. It reminded me a lot of some of the protestant churches I had attended when I was younger and the music could have been straight out of the “Cosby Show.”

Anyhow, what I’m curious to know from people who defend the minimalistic, modern structures is the level of importance that they place on a visual, Catholic identity. For without statues, a crucifix, stations, a visible tabernacle, holy water font, etc, the church ceases to be visibly “Catholic”. Is this part of collegiality, or is there something else going on, and is anyone willing to defend it?

 

[Lhhs]

People were milling around and yacking loudly,sitting in their seats backwards and having a good old time.

You could be in my neighborhood
I’ve been in a Catholic church with no crucifix though . .