... and the new church is open - Alleluia!
Here we see the spacious entrance hall and the open doors leading to the main nave and sanctuary. The walls of the hallway are painted in 'Episcopal Purple', and give a very warm feel. The wonderfully comfortable chairs in the nave are in the same colour.
10 comments:
Lovely colour! And wooden floor - great stuff.
Are the rows really that close together? - it looks as though it will be very uncomfortable to kneel - Ryanair kneel-room - though it might just be the angle of the shot.
There is more space between the rows of chairs than this photo suggests - but kneeling is very uncomfortable on the bare wooden floor. I think some of the older members of the congregation must have a real problem.
Who made the decision not to have kneelers?
Sharon - it was certainly not me! I only joined the parish 4 weeks after the Dedication. We have a Parish Council meeting on Thursday evening and I shall raise the matter then.
Sharon, you also asked whether there is anything on the outside of the building to show that it is a Catholic church? The answer is basically 'no'! We have a couple of simple plain crosses which show that it is a Christian building - but nothing obviously Catholic. Of course the perimeter notice boards give all the relevant details - name of Parish Priest (and address) and time of Sunday Mass and confessions.
Catholics are in a minority in this part of Scotland (around 10% of the population) and the building of a new Catholic church in Culloden (the place of the last battle on mainland Britain) will have come as a surprise to many of the local residents. We do not want our building to be unwelcome - and have gone to pains to let it blend in with area.
Opposite our church there is a building belonging to the 'Wee Frees'. I think they appreciate our thoughtfulness and hopefully before long we will have fellowship with some of the other Christian communities in the area.
Ecumenical ties are not as strong in the Scottish Highlands as they were where I lived before in London, and I am convinced that we got things right with the look of the new church! I am delighted that quite a few non-Catholics have come to have a look at our new building. This would probably not have happened if it had shouted out - this is a Catholic church'!
Good good, the main thing is to have space, hassocks can always be added if one has elderly knees! (the worst thing are those slanty kneelers where you can only do the bum-perch kneel, as if on one of those ergonomic kneeling chairs - round here they put them in in ultra-solid wood, of the kind that will last longer than the church)
I have a shiny new Wee Free friend :-)
I forgot to say: have you read the doings of Priest Gordon?
The answer to the last question is 'no'!
Here is Priest Gordon. (Scroll down a wee bit).
Thank you for the link - I shall study it more carefully tomorrow.
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