I attended a meeting today to hear a presentation on our parish's upcoming renovations. The good, bad and ugly:
Ugly:
- The new altar follows the latest fad: square table look with 4 legs. (Boo!)
Bad:
- The tabernacle will stay on the right side, rather than the center, where it belongs.
- Still no sign of Mary or Joseph in the Sanctuary.
- The Priest's chair is at the back wall, instead of the side, where it belongs.
Good:
- Goodbye carpeting! Hello tile/marble floors!!
- Goodbye electric organ! Hello antique pipe organ!!
- Goodbye Risen Christ sculpture on center back wall of Sanctuary! Hello CRUCIFIX! (Yeah!)
- Risen Christ sculpture sent to the side wall of the Transept, which is now blank. New sculpture will be added to other side wall.
- Stations of the Cross will be put on new backing and spread around the Church, rather than on one spot on 1 side wall.
- Addition built on the entrance of Church will mean a large narthex for chatty people to chat. Also, handicapped accessible bathroom added so people won't have to go to the basement, to go.
- Old marble altar will be used to create a new Marian Shrine, where currently there is simply a statue of Mary.
- Baldachino will be built over the tabernacle, making it more prominent.
I am overall very happy about this renovation. Although by the time this is all finished I will be married and living elsewhere, this is the parish I was baptized and confirmed in so it is important to me. I wish there had been a little more attention to the traditional look of the parish, but this renovation will still correct some of the mistakes of the huge expansion/renovation done in 1982. The Church then was made plain and bare and this renovation will add artwork that will correct this problem. The pipe organ and tile floor with marble should make it feel and sound more like a Church. The Crucifix is the best aspect of this project. The word Wreckovation was coined because of the changes done to parish Churches in the 70's and 80's but I think it is time to coin the word Correctovation to describe the latest changes being done.
While typing this post on such an upbeat note, I happen to turn on Drudge and Peggy Noonan is now talking about her new book John Paul the Great. This has been a good night.