Mass in the round (Renovation manipulation continues under Fr. Vosko's lead )

Post Star ^ | June 11, 2007 | MADELINE FARBMAN

[NYer]

WARRENSBURG -- After a long winter of services in a nearby funeral parlor and the local Presbyterian church, parishioners found something both ancient and modern when they walked into the newly renovated and reopened chapel of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church for an evening prayer service in late May.

The widened building retained its lofty, high-ceiling feel, and the familiar stained-glass windows let in softening evening light.

But instead of two tidy rows of long wooden pews facing the front of the church, rings of cushioned chairs circle a gleaming wooden altar set right in the center of the chapel.

No matter where they sat, parishioners could look ahead past the altar, into the faces of their friends, neighbors or fellow churchgoing strangers.

For some parishioners, and for Sister Linda Hogan, the church's parish life director, the change in seating represents a changed mentality, a forward-looking shift in the way parishioners relate to each other and to the Catholic Church.

The new arrangement also prepares the church to deal with a priest shortage that is not expected to improve anytime soon.

The Rev. Richard Vosko, a tall man in black slacks and a black polo shirt buttoned up at the neck, explained the new floor plan to the congregation with wit and optimism, though he touched on somber issues.

Since the Vatican II ecumenical council in the 1960s, the church has struggled to make Mass more accessible and struggled with scandal and widespread priest shortages, he said.

"As you transform this building into a new church, you see yourselves gradually transformed into a new 'Church,' " said Vosko, a representative from the Albany Diocese's Architecture and Building Commission.

The changes at St. Cecilia's will benefit these parishioners' children and their children's children, who will have a very different concept of what "Church" means, he said.

"It's not Father giving us something from a high altar. It's something that looks like we're doing something together," Vosko said.

At the evening prayer service, there were few young faces in the audience and plenty of white hair among the congregation.

People entered with an excited murmur, enthusiastic and relieved to be back home after months of shuttling back and forth between Alexander's Funeral Home and the First Presbyterian Church.

They took their seats in the rings of chairs -- none more than a few rows away from the altar -- and the choir's singing poured forth from the apse.

As Vosko has traveled around the country introducing similar changes in other churches, some priests struggle to understand the new dynamic, he said.

Parishioners, too, are taken aback, unsure where to sit, confused how they will proceed toward the altar to receive communion.

Churchgoers wonder, "How am I going to pray if I'm looking across the way to see this person I don't even like?" Vosko said, drawing loud laughter in response.

Rita Ferraro, co-chair of the planning team for the renovations, said the initial idea to have a circular arrangement of chairs at St. Cecilia's "was met with a lot of reluctance."

But then, at the weekly Mass at the funeral parlor, Hogan started arranging the chairs there into a circular arrangement, Ferraro said.

And lo and behold, people seemed to enjoy it.

The only reactions Hogan said she received were either positive or "we'll see," she wrote in an e-mail. "I am sure there were and are negative reactions, but I didn't receive them."

The new design emphasizes that "church" is a people, not a place, Hogan wrote. The arrangement emphasizes community.

"WE are the church. The building is the home of our church," she wrote.

Sue Gallagher, a resident of Ossining who spends summers in Bolton, said she was of the pre-Vatican II generation but thrilled by what she saw.

"Having a church in the round is so exciting," she said. "You're looking at each other, you know, instead of having everybody look at a back."

"I think it's a sign that the church is trying to reach out and connect to members and visitors," said Ed Tucker,

another part-time resident of Bolton.

This kind of circular design dates back to ancient times, Vosko said, and is more recently increasing in popularity. A number of local churches have semicircular arrangements, with seating on three sides of the altar.

The $600,000 renovation project also included new siding, a new sound system, a bathroom for the building and making the church more wheelchair-accessible.

The next step is landscaping, said Hogan.

The expansion of the building and the new seating arrangement also increases seating capacity from 180 to 225, making the church better able to accomodate an influx of tourists and second home owners in summer, Hogan said.

And it has allowed the church to hold only one Mass on Saturday and one on Sunday, instead of one on Saturday and two on Sunday, placing less of a demand on the retired priest who travels to the church for Mass.

"The day's coming when we'll have one (Mass)," Hogan said. "So we're preparing for that day."

IF YOU GO:

St. Cecilia's Catholic Church is located at 3802 Main St., Warrensburg.

Mass is celebrated at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

[Aquinasfan]

I read the link. Bleah!

Bishop Robert Rose of Grand Rapids, Mich., was quoted in his diocesan paper speaking of Fr. Vosko as "nationally respected" and "an extremely talented consultant." The bishop stated that his diocese is "fortunate to be partnering with him on [the cathedral renovation] project."

A little hand-waving will go a long way when people are unable or unwilling to think for themselves. The emperor has no clothes.

________________________________________________________

When we went on vacation in Williamsburg, we attended mass at St. Bede. It's a round, modern church, with a side chapel for the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel isn't easy to find.

When the priest delivers the homily, he usually meanders around the aisles, ironically enough, with his back to half of the congregation. I saw one priest deliver the homily by slowly rotating. He did it so well, I imagined that he was standing on a turntable.

The machinations for the Eucharist are something to behold. It requires the precision of a marching band, with altar servers and ministers entering and exiting from all directions. It reminded me of those marching band formations where one line crosses another at an angle.

The whole thing is just ridiculous.

________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, we're building a new parish. So far, so good. From the renderings of the exterior, the church looks traditional. But we haven't seen the interior yet.

The prayer composed for the building project has me concerned. It's written in spirit-of-Vatican-II blather. "Let us pray that we will value new ideas, and be open to the beauty of possibility." Nauseating stuff.

[livius]

The damage done over the past 30 years will take decades to undo, if ever.

As you say, Vosko and his ilk are dying off. But they've done a tremendous amount of damage, not only to the physical church buildings, but to people's entire concept of the Church and the Faith. It's going to take genuine missionary work to reconvert these people, and it could take a long, long time.

[siunevada]

"As you transform this building into a new church, you see yourselves gradually transformed into a new 'Church,' "
The changes at St. Cecilia's will benefit these parishioners' children and their children's children, who will have a very different concept of what "Church" means

I wonder if he would be willing to bet some serious money on that? I wouldn't take a flyer no matter how long the odds were, it sounds like a sure loser.

Two generations of changing the externals and expecting that to force the internal disposition to change and they won't give it up. That's mentally disturbed.

[caseinpoint]

“So much for “the sense of the sacred” and the sacrifice of the Mass... “

I am not a Catholic but our faith uses chapels which have forward-facing pews. I always thought one of the purposes of this was to allow parishioners to be as “alone” with the Lord as possible so each could engage in serious introspection about the state of their souls during this portion of the worship, not about the state of their hair or hem. Real cathedrals inbue one with a sense of sacredness, eternity and grandeur, not a tupperware party. I hope this doesn’t catch on.

[samiam1972]

I did notice how uncomfortable everyone looks in the picture. It’s so awkward. I went to a church once that had the kids come up around the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. I wouldn’t let my kids go up there. And is that the choir sitting where the altar should be?

When I first saw the article, Warrensburg, I was so upset. I thought this was in Missouri! I wish the Pope were able to shut some of this down. I know it will take years to clean all this up and it won’t happen without a battle. I just hope that this does not become the norm.

[NYer]

It's going to take genuine missionary work to reconvert these people ..

You just hit the nail on the head! Missionary work! These Catholics are so confused about their faith and totally trust that the 'innovations' introduced over the past 30 years, represent authentic Catholicism. With the increasing number of Lay Ecclesial Minister run parishes, the situation will only grow worse. Once lay people take charge, it is very difficult for a priest to 'pastor' the parish. (This happened at the Maronite parish I attend. Father has been there for 6 years and there are former parishioners waiting for him to be re-assigned, so they can return to run the parish. He has already taken steps to prevent this from occuring.) The point is, give an inch - they'll take a mile and never give it up.

[NYer]

Nothing, absolutely nothing, from Vatican II called for the wrecking ball inside these beautiful old churches.

Read the link I posted in the original comment!

[trisham]

With the increasing number of Lay Ecclesial Minister run parishes, the situation will only grow worse. Once lay people take charge, it is very difficult for a priest to 'pastor' the parish. (This happened at the Maronite parish I attend. Father has been there for 6 years and there are former parishioners waiting for him to be re-assigned, so they can return to run the parish. He has already taken steps to prevent this from occuring.) The point is, give an inch - they'll take a mile and never give it up.

*************

Unfortunately, I believe you are quite right.

[B-Chan]

But instead of two tidy rows of long wooden pews facing the front of the church...

Uh, where the altar should be...

...rings of cushioned chairs circle a gleaming wooden altar set right in the center of the chapel...No matter where they sat, parishioners could look ahead past the altar, into the faces of their friends, neighbors or fellow churchgoing strangers...

But I thought we were there to look at Christ Crucified, Risen, and Coming Again, not at each other!

And looking past the altar? Helloooo! The Altar is what the whole thing is about!

People seemed to enjoy...

That's WorshipTainment!™

[vox_freedom]

Read the link I posted in the original comment!

I did, and thanks.
When one ponders to think of the personal and financial sacrifices of those who originally built these churches -- decades or a hundred years ago -- it makes this wreckovation tragedy all the more devastating. Many of these churches were built by first generation ethnic communities who had little in the way of extra cash but through their tithes and beliefs they scraped together and got these beautiful churches constructed -- sometimes with their own physical labor. Now a Voscko comes along and uses the techniques as described in your link and within six months, and endless revenues, these sacristies are ruined forever.

Trading out a marble or ornate high altar with a small altar table, with no tabernacle evident, accompanied by soft cushion chairs absent kneelers so congregants gaze at each other rather than contemplating how Jesus died for us and our sins on the Cross is deplorable and abhorrent to any faithful and true Catholic.

Another reason to support the return of the tradition as embodied in the Traditional Latin Mass, Missal of 1962 and the immutable truths from 2,000 years of continuity -- until post Vatican II transgressions and scandals opened the doors to innumerable travesties, Church renovations included.

[vox_freedom]

oops, sanctuaries = sacristies

[RobbyS]

This guy’s spirtual Father is Zwingli, the original wreckovator. Zwingli, unlike Luther and Calvin, was a pure rationalist, and like all such he did not hestitate to destroy all the traditional forms and erect in their place his own inventions.

[kosta50]

This is the insidious work of Fr. Richard Vosko, a priest of the Diocese of Albany

But you do realize that a priest has no power without a bishop...what does his bishop say? Who is his bishop, and why is no one talking to him?

[redhead]

where’s the link to that German “church” that turned up on Sunday? The one with the clear chairs...

[redhead]

""As you transform this building into a new church, you see yourselves gradually transformed into a new 'Church,' " The changes at St. Cecilia's will benefit these parishioners' children and their children's children, who will have a very different concept of what "Church" means..."

And, I'll bet you none of them will be Catholic. The plan to destroy the Church from the inside by destroying the sights, sounds, and teachings in subtle (and not so subtle) ways was diabolical. This is Satan's work, surely.

[NYer]

But you do realize that a priest has no power without a bishop...what does his bishop say? Who is his bishop, and why is no one talking to him?

ROFL!!! I'm not laughing at you but with your great sense of humor. His bishop unleashed him on the world to pursue the wreckovation of Churches and Cathedrals. You can check out some of his other works here. And all of this has been done with the blessing of his bishop ... in fact, he is now 'renovating' the bishop's Cathedral.

[NYer]

Amongst the works of Vosko ...

Sacred Heart Cathedral
Rochester, NY
(former chair of Bishop Fulton J Sheen)

Before

After

In May 2005, Rich Leondi after hearing so many controversial commentaries about the renovation of Sacred Heart, returned there to make his own judgment. Here is a part of what he wrote:

The first thing you notice are the chairs. That's right -- chairs. There are no pews in Clark's self-described "Mother Church". Instead there are padded, movable, light brown chairs accompanied by flimsy retractable kneelers. Don't bump one of them, because you're likely to shift noisily the entire row.

Then your eyes are drawn to the plain, box-like structure in the middle of the church. Elevated on a slate and marble riser, it looks like one of those kitchen islands that people place in their homes after a remodeling project. You wouldn't be surprised to find a cast iron range or indoor grill underneath the linen. If you haven't figured it out, this is what the good bishop thinks an altar, the place where heaven and earth meet, should look like. Where the old altar was are rows of even more chairs, presumably there for the choir to entertain the assembly.

You then notice the bishop's chair -- the "cathedra" of the cathedral. It looks like they borrowed it from one of the JetBlue planes that shuttle passengers to and from NYC. Like the chairs mentioned above, it too is padded and, like everything else in the place, desacralized. As I explained to my son, the chair represents the seat of a bishop's authority in his diocese. That Clark's chair is padded, cheap-looking and easily replaceable is fitting.

The cathedral project was overseen by Richard Vosko, a man one observer called a "cathedral rapist". He and Clark claim the renovation was to bring Sacred Heart into conformity with "the current norms of the Roman Catholic Church".

My trip to Sacred Heart Cathedral

[trisham]

The cathedral project was overseen by Richard Vosko, a man one observer called a "cathedral rapist". He and Clark claim the renovation was to bring Sacred Heart into conformity with "the current norms of the Roman Catholic Church".

*************

Wow. Scathing.

[vox_freedom]

And another of Vosko's "triumphs"//sarcasm off:

Before

After

Found on his website here: Vosko example

[trisham]

Here's another example of his work: