Catholic Sensibility

New church in my area Dragged the family out to Evening Prayer at the "new" Visitation Parish in Kansas City. They dedicated this past Thursday night. A choir member told me at the reception tonight they've been singing and feeding off reception food for four days straight. Time for a rest, well earned, I'm sure. The pictures don't really do it justice. But look 'em over anyway. I think I could spend a month on retreat in the building and not plumb the depths. I like the centrally located altar and seating on three sides. I like the ambulatory. This place also has three separate chapels, and a gallery encircling above the main level, not just a shelf of a choir loft. The octagonal font is substantial and not burdened with a "separate but equal" infant birdbath. Brittany easily figured the three interior "steps," infants two inches deep on the periphery, adults in the deep middle, and children on the shelf in-between. That's my kid! Anita elicited a laugh from the design consultant when she said it was a great place for playing hide-and-seek. This afternoon the parish hosted prayer and a party for church staffs and chancery. Nice organ, children's and adult choirs, good cantors. Acoustics are outstanding, but of course you'd expect that in a thoughtfully designed church without a stitch of carpet. One of the cantors told me at the reception he didn't think songleaders needed mics. I concurred. I'm not sure I like the choir in the gallery above and behind the altar and reredo, but the overall sound is undeniably outstanding. To be sure, it was a test against the sin of envy, one of my very weakest points. I confessed as such to my friend Peg who is on staff at Visitation. I could easily have needed a napkin during prayer instead of at the reception, especially their organist's Magnificat setting. Tomorrow morning I have to call our piano tuner again to get our stubbly studio piano ready for another two or three months of liturgy. Thankfully, I found the cord connection for hearing assistance that was knocked askew in the sacristy last month -- saved a service call. Water leaks in the parish office have given us a lovely mildew smell, and the humidity futzes up the duplex unit on the copier. Nothing like taking three hours to run Eucharistic Ministry schedules copy by copy when the normal job can be dusted off in 30 minutes. As Fr Bill Amann, my first employer once said, it is most important to build the Church with people first; the building will come later, in its own good time. I remember fondly my times at St Edward Parish in Waterloo, Iowa and our 1996 effort to renovate and renew. It was a golden time for me personally (the first year of my marriage) and in ministry (with a wise pastor and a welcoming parish who trusted me). The sweeter memory there were the changes we allowed God to work in our parish, though the renovation itself wasn't too shabby. On second thought, perhaps I have precious little to be envious about. After all, my spiritual director would remind me of my sense of dissatisfaction, and that we are all on pilgrimage. The final earthly result is not the end, and even beauty is merely a means to achieve the Gospel of Christ. And if for today, this year, and the next few or several years beyond, I will try and trust in the imperfect tools at hand and hope the Master can make something of them and his imperfect worker. If that means out-of-tune toy pianos and loose wires hanging from the ceiling, so be it.