Re-Ordering of the Church

Please look out for the Appeal Form and Gift Aid Envelopes in the entrances to the Church.

Our target is £80,000 by the end of November, 2005.
Regular updates will appear in the Parish Newsletter, on the noticeboard in the entrance to the Church and here.

In May this year, we celebrated the anniversary of the Consecration of our Church. It took place on the 31st May 1963, just five years after the Church was opened.

The consecration of a Church is not undertaken until the church was free of debt. Twelve Crosses were attached to the wall with a candle bracket attached beneath them. They mark the spot where the walls were anointed with Chrism.

Now 42 years later, after two years of consultation and preparation, our scheme for re-ordering the sanctuary that was on the notice board during at Easter time 2003 has been approved by the Art and Architecture committee of the diocese.

There have been changes to the designs of Altar, Ambo, Font and Tabernacle Plinth. Theodore Gillick, a sculptor, has submitted designs for these pieces that have the approval of the Diocese. We have put the work out to tender and we are awaiting the replies. Once the cost is known then I will be talking to you all about how we raise the money.

This is the year of the Eucharist. It is a time when we are able to reflect on the great gift that Christ had given us of himself in the Mass. It is fitting that we are doing this necessary work in the Church at this time because the symbols that we use for the celebration of Mass should express the importance and dignity of what we celebrate. The Mass is the source and summit of our lives. As it says in there General Instruction of the Roman Missal

"the Altar should be built apart from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk round it easily and that mass can be celebrated at it facing the person, which is desirable where ever possible. The altar moreover should be in the place where it is truly the centre towards which the attention of the whole congregation of the faith naturally turns".(299)

The Altar we hope to have will be from a stone quarried in Portugal with a caving on the front depicting the death and resurrection of Jesus. In talking about the place where the Word of God is proclaimed, the ambo, the General Instruction says.

"The dignity of the Word of God requires that the church have a place that is suitable for the proclamation of the word of God and towards which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns during the liturgy of the Word. It is appropriate that this place be ordinarily a stationary ambo and not simply a moveable lectern" (309).

The Ambo will be made from the same stone and on the front will be depicted a scene from the story of Jesus' visit to Martha and Mary. Mary is listening attentively to Jesus in the attitude of a disciple. The general Instruction says of the place for the reservation of the most blessed Eucharist,

"in accordance with the structure of each church and legitimate local customs, the Most Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the Church that is truly noble, prominent, readily visible, beautifully decorated and suitable for prayer".(314).

The plinth that we will have in the place of the old High Altar will depict angles giving praise to God. They are the heavenly host. Theodore the sculptor says of it,

"I based this on the understanding that at Mass we temporarily participate in and merge with the continual praise of Christ offered by the entire Communion of Angels and Saints for His continuing and perpetual redeeming sacrifice being made to the father on our behalf"

A font has also been designed and is to be placed in an area near the sanctuary as part of a baptismal area. and a new crucifix is being made to stand near the Altar.

In Pope John Paul's letter on the Eucharist

"Ecclesia de Eucharistia"

he speaks about the dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration in chapter 5.

"The church has felt the need down the centuries and in her encounters with different cultures to celebrate the Eucharist in a setting worthy of so great a mystery. He talked abut the outward forms evoking and emphasising the grandeur of the event being celebrated".

In the changes that we are about to undertake we are creating a more beautiful place for the celebration of a great mystery. We have been careful not the needlessly change things. We are enhancing what we already have and these outward signs will mean nothing if we don't allow our inner self to change through the celebration of Mass.

"May the Year of the Eucharist be for everyone a precious opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church. May it encourage a more lively and fervent celebration of the Eucharist, leading to a Christian life transformed by love." (Abide in the Lord (29))

If you have any comments regarding the Re-Ordering, you can email them to the parish office by clicking here.

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