Thecladome move over

Brian's recent posting....reminded me of a "grand" building in the south of Miami. (that's meeeeeeee-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh-meeeeeee to those not from Cuba)..... here's the link for you. You just gotta see it.

Inside, the building is deceptive, the seating area is huge but it still appears small. The organ is an 18-23 rank Moller, and it's loud because of the huge space it must fill.....but that's the price to be paid for putting it in a far corner of a space shi I mean unusual room.

http://www.stlouismiami.org/

This post brought to you by Christus Spohn Hospital, Corpus Christi, TX, current temporary home of SteveO.......seems the heat and terrible humidity really messes up things for people with congestive heart failure issues......and I was doing so well for 18months!!!!

SteveO

BMP adds on: Here it is...the LOUIEDOME!

DOMED STADIUMS: NOT JUST FOR BASEBALL ANYMORE!

From Houston, TX, the original home of the Astros, the Astrodome.


From Seattle, WA, the original home of the Mariners, the Kingdome.


From Minneapolis, MN, still home to the Minnesota Twins, the Metrodome.


Finally, from Pembroke, MA, home to St. Thecla Roman Catholic Parish, the Thecladome.


Peace,
BMP

WHAT'S GOING ON UP IN THE ARCTIC?

I have to admit when I first saw this picture, I thought it was a new church and I was thinking "What the hell is Dick Vosko doing in Alaska?" Ya know, with all the nice churches he's wreckovated and the hideous new churches he's built, something like this wouldn't surprise me.

Fr. Finigan explains what's really going on:
Above is the arctic cyberpod from which Fr Z and myself, the NLM, the Curt Jester and a few other secret bloggers send out death rays to modernist computers round the world, post inaccurate texts, compose viruses that will make computers used to compose clown liturgies give off incense through the air vents, and generally by such means bring the free world to its knees.

(I told him in his combox to count me in!)

Our latest planned jape was to devise a fiendishly inaccurate version of the ICEL texts and pepper the internet with this inaccurate, unfinished, unapproved and unduly altered text that was so totally lacking in integrity that it would cause general mayhem and confusion.

(I just got it, matter of fact... What's this? Father now closes the collect with "We ask this through Christ our Lord, and buddy"???)

Sadly when we heard of the need to write to the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship, 3211 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017, our plans just collapsed into dust and ashes - we were completely foiled. None of us has written out a postal address for several months and we are out of those square pocket thingies with the gummed flap you have to lick and fold down, and those little coloured squares you have to stick on. So we had a nice cup of tea instead.

(DAMN! I got a whole boxful of those square pocket thingies with the gummed flap you have to lick and fold down. Can't help you on the little colored squares you have to stick on, though. Sorry.)

Peace,
BMP

FIRST CHURCH OF THE LEGO

Obviously the church built here out of Lego blocks is by no means Catholic. There is no altar of sacrifice, no Stations of the Cross. There is a pipe organ in the rear gallery and a nice high pulpit (albeit on the wrong side). And let's not forget the Jacuzzi-sized baptismal font, where you could get baptized and get a nice massage from those side jets. Overall, not a bad effort for a Lego builder. Definitely no Duncan Stroik, but there might be a chance he could compete with Dick Vosko. What say ye?

Peace,
BMP
PS: Pictures courtesy of my wife Ann.

OUT HERE IN THE EAST, THEY WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE

Out there in the west, they want to buy your ugly church.

And guess what: Cathedrals are apparently no exception.



They may turn it into a subsidized housing project and really make some dough!

RSCT to the Crescat.

Peace,
BMP

THE VOSKO STORY

Robert Kumpel has caught the infamous Dick Vosko in the building of a new airport terminal, er, church. Let's look at this project - Blessed Sacrament in Warren, Ohio...

First, here's the latest of airport terminal designs. The only difference is the lack of security checkpoints in the narthex (or the bastardized PC term, "gathering space").


Now, here is the new interior (the bastardized PC term, "worship space"). Check out especially the large open window in the background. It tempts me big time to run outside and make funny faces through the window, point to some random people that are inside and laugh, then RUN!


Catholic Culture has a story on the serpent that is known as Fr. Dick Vosko.

Simon Peter, thou art Rock. And on this rock, Christ has built his church. The gates of hell (er, Vosko) shall not hold out against it!

Also, there is a book out, called The Renovation Manipulation, which exposes Vosko and similar ilk and how to defeat it. It's the antidote to wreckovators everywhere!

Peace,
BMP

MEANWHILE, AT OUR LADY OF THE QUARRY...

Seriously, I'm guessing that altar and pulpit (er, ambo) came from Bedrock. In fact, it's possible that Fred Flintstone might have designed these himself under Mr. Slate's supervision. The chapel pictured here is in Italy.

RSCT to Robert Kumpel.

Peace,
BMP

CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The Good, the Bad, and the WTF???

First, welcome to the CV Definitve Blogroll the St. John's Valdosta Blog. Robert Kumpel, the blog's owner does a considerable amount of posting on church architecture. Here's a sampling of buildings he has recently featured from Robert's own home diocese. Soon enough I could feature some from my own diocese as well. We have some really nice looking Catholic churches in Rhode Island, but we have some hideous ones as well. (RSCT to Gerald, snarky remarks mine):


This one, to me, looks like one of those little Pentecostal chapels, perhaps in the midst of a rich snooty neighborhood, an industrial park, or adjacent to a Holiday Inn somewhere (nothing negative intended towards the Holiday Inn).


This church is just drop-dead gorgeous! Definitely built in an age where church architechts knew what they were doing!


WTF??? I'd hate to imagine where in this thing they call a church the altar is located, let alone the Tabernacle!


Here, Robert rightfully comments, "This church points upward, but no further upward than Snoopy's A-framed doghouse." Yeah - maybe towards the Red Baron, wherever he may be (hehehe!)


Robert states here, "Built in the early to mid 60's, it looks Catholic, but is a bit bland." Truthfully, I don't think it's totally hideous. It's better than most structures I've seen post 1960. I give this builder credit for a fairly decent belltower for that era. I don't know what the inside is like, however. One could be disappointed.


Another WTF??? Maybe a modern convent building of sorts, perhaps combined with a greenhouse to the left and a carport to the right? Or the cafeteria to a shrine? But a church???


This one is gorgeous as well. If I remember correctly, this church, Most Holy Trinity, has a remarkable music program as well.


Finally, this church, Robert rightfully compares this church to the one below:


I'll have to try a similar series for my diocese. :)
Peace,
BMP

ANOTHER STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

I was scratching my head for three days thinking "that cathedral looks like a sports trophy", but I couldn't remember which one. My daughter Brittany kept telling me it looked like a ball park of some sort.

Peace,
BMP

QUITE THE RESEMBLENCE, EH?

Any chance the same architect for all three of these?

RSCT to Gerald and Fr. Erik

Peace,
BMP

Brace Yourselves......

Gerald posted THIS.

He properly titled his post, "My Eyes! My Eyes!"

A tabernacle that looks like a Go'a'uld attack vessel from Stargate SG-1, and a traffic light for a sanctuary lamp.

~nb

ST. JOAN OF ARC CHURCH HAS COMPANY

The Midwest has St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis. Out here in the Northeast, there's St. Andrew in Syracuse, NY. Syracuse was the childhood stomping grounds of my dad (1933-1981). My dad was a Methodist, converting two years after marrying my mom. I doubt he ever touched St. Andrew's, even when it was normal. Of course, upon marriage, my parents made Rhode Island home. Even still, the only two churches we've stepped foot in within the Syracuse Diocese are Sacred Heart (now a minor basilica - my cousin Kathy was married there) and Immaculate Heart of Mary in nearby Liverpool. Note that I haven't been in Syracuse since 1982 - almost a year after my father's death.

Anyhoo - Gerald has the goods on St. Andrew's. It started ok, but its evolution isn't pretty. Dig this...

First, let's look at their "mission statement" - nothing beats a good self-definition now:
- To proclaim and Celebrate the Good News of Jesus and share his teachings. (Good)
- To love, support and strengthen each other. (Good)
- To develop our liturgical celebrations in the spirit of Vatican II. (Ruh Roh! This don't sound pretty!)
- To meet the human and spiritual needs of this community and beyond through active ministry and service. (Good, within limits)
- To commit to just peacemaking. (Here's the so-called "social justice" at work!)

Now for a little history...

Time as a traditional parish (You mean "normal", don't you? This, btw, was from the parish's founding in 1952, up to 1963.)
The parish bulletins of those early years were filled with the announcements from the Holy Name Society, Altar and Rosary Society, Legion of Mary, and an adult and children’s choirs. Sunday 9 o’clock Mass was the children’s Mass where Fr. Harrison came down from the altar, stepped outside the altar railing and spoke directly to the children sitting as a group in the front of the church. (They got away with that kind of stuff back then? I'm shocked!) Special religious observances like 40 Hours Devotion, Novena to the Sacred Heart, Stations of the Cross, Benediction, Spiritual Bouquets, and Plenary Indulgences were also part of the parish vocabulary. Social activities included dances, spaghetti suppers, card parties, and a Bowling League of eight teams that met at the Southside Bowling Alley.

With the exception of the priest giving the kiddie homily from outside of the rails, that seems pretty normal to me - at least for then. But now, buckle up because the ride is chocked full of turbulence!

Vatican II changes St. Andrew’s
In the fall of 1963, as the new pastor, Msgr. Daniel Lawler, took his post, revolutionary events were taking place in the wider world. The dramatic decisions of the Second Vatican Council were coming out; Catholics were stunned. They couldn’t believe the changes that were now predicted. Some found it traumatic that the Catholic Church they knew -- with the Latin liturgy, priest facing the altar, and bells rung at consecration -- was going away. Others, equally stunned, found joy in the realization that indeed as Pope John XXIII had predicted, a window into the church was opened and the cobwebs were being swept away.

Little did they know that Vatican II never canned Latin, ad orientem, or Sanctus bells. And as for the cobwebs (those who really knew better), they weren't "swept away", they were "driven away", lock, stock, and barrel. Read on...

A time of firsts
Changes to the Mass came quickly. After a vote of the parish, the first Mass facing the people was offered on January 1, 1965; the first sung Mass in English took place November 7, 1965, followed by the use of English, at first only outside of the Canon of the Mass. Lectors became a regular part the Mass. (I have no problem with lay lectors, provided they read the approved texts of the first two readings and leave the Gospel to the priest or deacon.)
The first homily ever given by a layperson at St. Andrew’s occurred on September 25, 1966 when Robert Landers spoke about the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), a religious education program in the American Church. Landers’s assignment fit with Vatican II’s call for the laity to enter into “partnership with the priest in the sacred things of God.” (Yeah, but V2 never called for twisting things around, nor watering them down.)
...
At a time of dramatic change in the church and also in the understanding of human psychology and education, there was a desire for new information which the books provided. During this time, the parish added the National Catholic (Distorter, er,) Reporter to its newspaper handouts of The Catholic Sun and The Sunday Visitor.
Prayer of the Faithful was added to the Mass in 1967 as were folk Masses and neighborhood Masses in the home. (Prayer of the Faithful, good; Folk Masses, bad!)
...
Monthly children’s liturgies were held downstairs in the parish hall simultaneously with “adult” liturgies upstairs. Many creative approaches to worship were tried in the downstairs setting that were later adapted to full parish liturgies upstairs. (Sure! Screw up the kids, then try to get their parents to think it's ok to screw them up too!)
Numerous magnificent liturgical banners designed and produced by Mary Spadaro enhanced the liturgies. She set a standard that others followed for many years. (Isn't that defacing property?)
...
The number of the children in the parish declined during the 1970’s (Gee, I wonder why!!!)

More than a neighborhood parish
As early as 1968 the parish began its shift from a neighborhood parish. Today more than 70% of the parishioners live outside the parish boundaries. The impetus that started the trend was the fact that people who moved outside the parish continued to come back to St. Andrew’s.
Fr. (Joe) Kane was presiding over significant changes. He has described himself as “neither liberal or conservative, but open.” He was open to new ideas, to leadership from the laity and was willing to institute new practices about which many of his fellow priests teased and criticized him. (He was probably criticized and teased because his brother priests knew better, that some of these practices were not good for the church, nor for the Church.)
...
But Joe’s openness got him in trouble with some of his parishioners too. The enthusiastic adoption of reforms from (the so-called Spirit of) Vatican II was difficult for many. A pastor who was sharing power with the parish and letting the congregation know from the pulpit that he didn’t have all the answers was too much for some. Slowly, parishioners began to leave for other parishes. Over the next 30 years there was a steady stream of people who left in protest for one reason or another. (Sounds to me like too many righteous got pissed off.)
A dual collection for the wounded in South and North Vietnam was one of the first political controversies that caused people to leave. But at the same time, the parish started to attract new members from all over the county because of these very controversial issues, its commitment of the reforms of (the Spirit of) Vatican II and leadership by the laity. (Out goes the good air, in goes the bad!) Today the parish has members from Homer to North Syracuse and from Cazenovia to Westvale. St. Andrew’s started with about 200 families, rose in the 1960’s to 400 families and gradually dropped back to 200 families by the 1980. Today, there are 175 households on the parish registry, 72% of whom are from outside the parish boundaries.
An elected Parish Council in 1976 strengthened the role of the laity in decisions of the parish. Four committees on education, finance, liturgy and community/social action were formed. (Ah yes, a committee of clueless people telling the pastor what to do! Now I wonder who wears the pants in that "parish family"!)
Communion in the hand began on the Feast of Christ the King in November 1977. By 1978 with one priest and the need to depend on frequent visiting priests, Sunday Masses went from three to two, at 8:45 and 10:45 a.m. (Lower attendance rates were the factor, I suppose - more people pissed off.)
That same year a Human Development Committee was formed and grew into today’s Justice and Peace Committee. (And their job is?)
...
In January 1981 the parish began a serious discussion on whether to remodel the church. Parishioners, in a series of lively meetings, considered a plan to put the altar on the side of the church and change the orientation of the pews. By 1983, a compromise solution allowed the altar table moved forward toward the congregation and the removal of the altar railing. (Another move in the misconceived "Spirit of V2" - and what the sam hell is it with altars being moved on top of the people? Why don't you just put the freakin' altar halfway up the aisle and do table dances? Better still, let's not give them ideas.)
By the 1980’s the parish went through another demographical change. Children from the dozens of large families in the parish had grown up and moved away and were not replaced in equal numbers. (Smart. They didn't miss much.)
...
Change in the liturgy was another issue on which parishioners disagreed. Folk Masses, the move of the organ from the choir loft to the sanctuary, and inclusive language all sparked controversy. (Yup - sparked controversy. Vatican II never called for these things, which explains the controversy.)
...

Now for the biggest bomb of all...

Gay/Lesbian Mass initiated
Another new ministry, one Fr. Kane says he is most proud of, was opening the parish to the Catholic Gay and Lesbian community for Sunday Mass twice a month starting in 1994. (My big question is this: is this "ministry" leaning more toward Courage, which is good, or more toward Dignity, which is bad?)
...
Fr. Kane donated the stained glass window above the altar. The center point that draws in different lines is symbolic of how the diverse people of the parish meet at this place of worship and also someday perhaps in what Teilhard De Chardin called the “omega point.” (Oh puh-freakin'-leese with this so-called diversity crap!)
...
Finally, a loyal band of parishioners has, during these past 50 years, gathered around the altar for daily Mass. Today a new band gathers for weekly contemplative meditation instead of daily Mass. (What next? No Sunday Mass?)

Horrid. And Bishop Moynihan puts up with this kind of crap?
Peace,
BMP

HOME IMPROVEMENT: THE TAJ MAHONY

Matthew at NLM has a counter-proposal of how the LA Cathedral (Our Lady of the Angels) would have looked like under his watch, had he been commissioned to build it. Yes, it would have stuck out from US Route 101 as the current "edifice" does, only it wouldn't have been such a dang eyesore as it is now.

Compare this...

to this...


I choose Matthew's.
Peace,
BMP

LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL

What Should Have Been...

...was this!


This is a model of what the original Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool, UK, was to look like. It is now preserved in a conservation studio. The inside would have looked like this:

and this:


These and other pics of what should have been will soon be on display at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. I'm sure people will be scratching their heads saying, "We could have had this lovely cathedral in our city, but instead they built a power plant to worship in! Why?!" Instead, they got this:


Bright spot: the music there is very good!

Hat tip to Matthew at NLM. (BTW, Kudos on your blog's new look, Shawn!)
Peace,
BMP

CAPTAIN'S LOG - STAR DATE 12262006

I really thought this was an asteroid.
Brittany thought it was a crate found at the bottom of the sea (hint: she's a big fan of Pirates of the Carribean).

BUT

It's really a Tabernacle.


I thought this was home to one of those "ride simulator" thingies.
Brittany thought it was a giant tent.

BUT

It's really St. Malachy Church in Burlington, Massachusetts, the church that houses the above Tabernacle.

Hat tip to Gerald, who passed their Tabernacle for a Borg ship.

Peace,
BMP

UGLY CHURCH CONTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go HERE to a photo contest of ugly churches, being run by the group at Totus Pius. (I love their tagline: "Because when a Pope takes the name 'Pius', you know PLAYTIME'S OVER")

(Another H/T to the newly-discovered Kristin's Ramblings. Both her and Totus Pius are being added to the definitive blogosphere shortly.)

~nb

CHATEAU DE VOSKEAU DINNER CHAPEL

Hat tip to Gerald

This is a church??? What do they have? Extraordinary waiters of Holy Communion bringing Jesus from his table to yours???

Pathetic. Typical Vosko, but Pathetic.

Peace,
BMP


PS: Please do not leave monetary tip.

The Space Mountain Church, Part II

Argent tells us that this design on the top was passed up in favor of what's below.











Gerald reports that this is Bishop Vigneron's doing, and that this Cathedral is inspired by the Liverpool Cathedral (what Brian has below as the Space Mountain Church.)

Pax Domini,
~nb

SURVEY: IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS A CHURCH...

...what would you have thought this is?

(Hat tip to Gerald)

Real answer: the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool, England, birthplace of the Beatles (and I am a big fan of the Beatles, don't get me wrong).






Gerald and some others via comments on his post say spaceship. I was thinking some big time factory or nuclear power plant (or for the phonetically challenged: nucular power plant). The first time I saw this picture I looked really quick at confused those banners-on-poles with smokestacks. The top of this cathedral reminds me of a grease factory (cooking grease, etc.) not far from me. So, generically, one could say "industrial cathedral", perhaps?

What say ye?

Peace,
BMP

CATHOLIC HAIKU CONTEST

The Ironic Catholic announced an Ironic Catholic Haiku Contest. For anyone who doesn't know what a "haiku" is, it's a short verse, three lines, poetic meter 5-7-5 - that is five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. Doesn't have to rhyme. Rythym needs not be consistant either.

"Trapped in Brooklyn", via comment to Ironic Catholic wrote this one that I thought was funny:
Haugen Joncas Haas
When I think of their music
I always pass gas

Here are three of my own:
1. Trautman can't endure
an "authentic liturgy",
Mahony neither.

2. LA Cathedral:
In my eyes it passes for
Subsidized housing.

3. Hootenanny Mass:
I will walk out of this church
if I see guitars.

Those are my submissions to the Ironic Catholic, via comment. ;)

Someone who really can write a killer haiku is Jack Bennett at Idle Mendacity. Check his blog out!

Peace,
BMP