A
Ana_v
Guest
This week (Mon-Fri) my parish held Vacation Bible School, which I volunteered for. It was held at the reception hall/auditiorium (which was all decorated up, according to the Serengeti theme). Today (Friday), being the last day of VBS, we had a Mass for the children mid-morning. However, the Mass was held in the reception hall. Is this permissible?
Also, some of the VBS songs were incorporated into the Mass (in fact, I think some of the standard Mass songs were substituted by the VBS songs). I very much like the songs, and they are worship songs … nevertheless, I’m unsure as to whether it was appropriate that they were used in that context (they are of the dancy move-your-body sort).
Here’s another thing. Last Friday, there was a volunteer meeting, and the VBS coordinator had told us at that meeting, that our pastor had said no to the idea of having Mass in the reception hall, since we have the church. ( Today’s children’s Mass was not performed by our pastor – he was out today – but by one of our associate pastors). In my mind I agreed with my pastor’s decision.
At that same volunteer meeting, I learned something that I found to be disturbing. The coordinator mentioned that in past years, for VBS, animals like chickens, guinea pigs, turtles, were kept in the reception hall (in cages) for more entertainment for the children, and that it was permitted by the parish’s former pastor, but that our new pastor (who has been at the parish for about a year now) didn’t want that to happen this time around.
That’s not the disturbing part ( I was somewhat indifferent as to whether animals are allowed or not at VBS, but I could sympathize with them not being allowed, as that is just more responsibility and mess).
The disturbing part is when, in giving us the anecdote about past use of animals, our coodinator mentioned that at the VBS Mass in the past, the animals were brought forward to the altar, since animals were sacrificed in the Old Testament. I don’t remember if she specified during which part of the Mass this was done, and she didn’t mention whether the animals were kept on the ground, or placed on or near the altar, or what. Simply, the way she described it made it clear that *some kind *of procession/ illustration took place during the Mass, involving the animals in relation to the altar.
I don’t know what others in the room thought when they heard that, and the coordinator didn’t appear troubled at all, but I was pretty shocked.
Also, some of the VBS songs were incorporated into the Mass (in fact, I think some of the standard Mass songs were substituted by the VBS songs). I very much like the songs, and they are worship songs … nevertheless, I’m unsure as to whether it was appropriate that they were used in that context (they are of the dancy move-your-body sort).
Here’s another thing. Last Friday, there was a volunteer meeting, and the VBS coordinator had told us at that meeting, that our pastor had said no to the idea of having Mass in the reception hall, since we have the church. ( Today’s children’s Mass was not performed by our pastor – he was out today – but by one of our associate pastors). In my mind I agreed with my pastor’s decision.
At that same volunteer meeting, I learned something that I found to be disturbing. The coordinator mentioned that in past years, for VBS, animals like chickens, guinea pigs, turtles, were kept in the reception hall (in cages) for more entertainment for the children, and that it was permitted by the parish’s former pastor, but that our new pastor (who has been at the parish for about a year now) didn’t want that to happen this time around.
That’s not the disturbing part ( I was somewhat indifferent as to whether animals are allowed or not at VBS, but I could sympathize with them not being allowed, as that is just more responsibility and mess).
The disturbing part is when, in giving us the anecdote about past use of animals, our coodinator mentioned that at the VBS Mass in the past, the animals were brought forward to the altar, since animals were sacrificed in the Old Testament. I don’t remember if she specified during which part of the Mass this was done, and she didn’t mention whether the animals were kept on the ground, or placed on or near the altar, or what. Simply, the way she described it made it clear that *some kind *of procession/ illustration took place during the Mass, involving the animals in relation to the altar.
I don’t know what others in the room thought when they heard that, and the coordinator didn’t appear troubled at all, but I was pretty shocked.
it’s the Mass! 
I’m assuming that the animals were placed there for the Mass… if they were in the hall the whole time, and happened to be there when the Mass was there, - that is different, although I think they should still have been moved somewhere.
)