The Knights of Columbus have provided a proposal for the construction of a statue of Mary located outside the Adult Formation Offices. Please provide comments.
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This blog provides information regarding our Parish Worship Commission Ministry. This blog is our meeting between meetings.
6 comments:
Without a written policy, it is difficult, delicate and arbitrary to deal with non-monetary donations or even monetary donations given for a specific purpose.
Who, for example would be against a statue of Mary? This is a perfectly natural and Catholic icon. Currently the Knights of Columbus desire to donate a statue of Mary to be placed outside the Adult Education door on the south side of the church.
The proposed purpose of the donation is so the Knights would have a place to pray the rosary.
The Parish Council has assigned responsibility for determining the appropriateness of this and other such donations to the Worship Commission. At the March 27, 2008 Worship Commission meeting a decision was made to institute a process for the acceptance and/or rejection of such gifts to the St. Thomas a’Becket parish.
This new policy will serve as the guide for all monetary and non-monetary gifts intended for liturgical, worship or devotional purposes.
If a Worship Commission project is identified that includes a deadline for the use of funds or a schedule of reports to be filed at the receipt of a donation and its expenditure the staff member responsible for parish accounting, the chair and vice-chair of the Worship Commission along with the project leader (if other) should be responsible to assure proper accounting and communication to the donor, the PPC and the parish as a whole, if appropriate. The ultimate intent is to assure funds are used for the intended purpose.
Once adopted the final policy should be publicized to the entire congregation via the Chancellor or other appropriate means.
Parishioners should be encouraged to make donations for specific needs as determined by the Worship Commission. Certain parishioners may have a special interest in funding certain needs. For example if money was being raised to purchase stained glass windows for the church.
Back to the issue at hand. The Knights want an outdoor statue of Mary so they can have a place to pray the rosary. Where do they pray the rosary today? We have a chapel. We have a beautiful statue of Mary by the baptismal fount and we have another statue of Mary in the gathering area. Why do we need a third?
In addition, it is not likely the Knights would pray the rosary outside from November to March. That is five of twelve months. There is a probability that at on at least one other month of the year when they are meeting it will be raining so in all likelihood the statue would not meet the needs of the Knights half of the time.
The architecture of the church is already klutzy looking with vents and air conditioning units and other stuff here and there. I just don’t think another statue along an exterior wall will add beauty to the building and grounds.
If the Knights wanted to build a grotto or proper shrine in a wooded and/or landscaped corner of the property I would be more likely to support the idea. In conclusion I do not support the current proposal as submitted by the Knights of Columbus.
I love the idea of a statue of Mary in a properly landscaped area with park benches or seating around it in a peaceful setting.
Life today is so much go-go-go and the hustle and bustle of shuttling kids around on competing time schedules in noisy traffic frazzles my nerves.
I seek a park like space of tranquility. The proposed K of C site is reminiscent of a door to a vet or dentist office or a workplace. The space lacks harmony with the intent of meditation or prayer.
If we are going to approve an outdoor shrine to Mary we should create a harmonious space of beauty, but how is beauty determined?
The beauty of a flower was determined when God created the flower. Our spontaneous desire to pursue the flower’s beauty and fragrance is in accord with God’s plan because of the emotional stimulation we receive from the flower which brings us joy. At that moment, beauty is determined. So to a shrine to the Blessed Mother of God should be a place where similar stimulation will be experienced by the people of the parish.
If we do not make the space dedicated to Mary beautiful we are doing her and the parish a disservice. Beauty is not something that simply exists; it is something that is felt emotionally. The space and surrounding area proposed by the K of C leaves me emotionally flat.
St. Thomas Aquinas said “The purpose of everything is its operation.”
With that in mind please consider:
Will the proposed statue be responsive to the spiritual needs of the entire parish?
Will the proposed statue move the parish in any way to proclaim the essence of a Christ centered community?
Will the proposed statue affirm the message of the Eucharist into our world and our time?
Will the proposed statue create a prayerful atmosphere?
Will the proposed statue sustain a simple and inviting environment?
Will the proposed statue make us more welcoming and inclusive?
Will the proposed statue improve understanding of the liturgy?
Some answers to the above questions.
1. Responsive to the need of the entire parish? For some yes, for some no. I don't think our parish is very marian.
2. Proclaim the essence of a Christ centered community? Mary is the mother of Christ, the perfect love, she only leads us to Him.
3. Affirming the message of the Eucharist? Understanding that the message of the Eucharist is becoming one with Christ, again, Mary as the mother of Jesus is constantly inviting us to participate and take part in the mystery of love of Her Son.
4. The next 3 questions about the statue creating a prayerful atmosphere, inviting environment and make us more welcoming? The statue just being there won't do anything. It's the people, our behavior, attitude and predisposition that will create the welcoming, prayerful atmosphere.
7. Improve understanding of the liturgy? It could instill more devotion, more interest. When we see something nice, beautiful, it attracts us, we want to get closer, and only "getting closer", coming to church, will lead us to understand the liturgy, eventually.
We come to Mass with little or nothing to offer. We cry out to Jesus for mercy in the Kyrie. We acknowledge that Jesus, the Christ, is with us and the Kyrie sets the tone for the rest of the Mass.
In response we sing ‘Glory to God in the highest, sing, sing, glory to God . . .
Then we come to the Creed where we acknowledge how Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gave our Lord His human body. The sacred humanity, the human flesh, the body and the blood, all these came from Mary without the aid of a human father. This is how we pay tribute to Mary.
Then we prepare for the Jesus who comes to us in the bread and the wine and gives to us his real body and his real blood, not merely emblems or signs of his body and blood, but his real body and his real blood.
We come to Mass to call God ‘Father’ together. We are one body as we receive the one bread and the one body, one Lord of all . . .
My interpretation of being a Christ centered parish is to focus on the Liturgy and acknowledge Mary in Creed and Communion of Saints. This is how we, as a community of ~11,000 brothers and sisters are called by God and his Holy Spirit to be one in Christ Jesus. Not by a statue were a group of ~20 men or 0.18% of the parish can say the rosary outside every other month weather permitting
Rick St. Peter
Thank you all for approving the Mary Statue. It has been a long and educational trip. I still don't understand what the function of the worhship committee is in the placment of the statue. If the committee is going to tell the Knights where to put the statue, when can I expect an answer? I know we are going through this for the first time and are not sure what are rolls are. I guess I will come up with more drawings and details as to what the Knights would like to do around the statue and submit them and wait for an answer. I am not looking for the everyone to jump on board as to what we want to do. I am looking to do this right.
Bless you all for the work you are doing and may God guide your way.
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