Church decorations can enhance season

Would celebrations at Easter or Christmas be the same without fresh flowers, colorful fabrics and art around the altar?

If Catholics attended Easter Mass this year and saw a bare altar, would anyone care?

Would the liturgy be less meaningful if lilies, fresh plants or banners were not used?

Questions like those are on the mind of Toni LaFond of St. Paul the Apostle parish in Schenectady, who is a member of the often overlooked ministry of church and altar decoration.

Hard work

"This is a true ministry," said Mrs. LaFond, who is on two decoration committees in Schenectady, one at St. Paul's and the other at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, where she is the secretary/bookkeeper. "There are many volunteers that put hours of hard work into preparing, organizing and decorating the altars in our churches."

The ministry challenges her creative skills while drawing on her artistic talents.

"I really love being involved in decorating the churches," she explained, "particularly in placing things in certain places, allowing them to become a part of the particular liturgy or season we're celebrating."

Lenten purple

Every year, she does something different because "people don't want to see the same thing over and over." However, she's learned to "make subtle changes" because people expect some decorations to stay the same.

For Lent, for example, Mrs. LaFond always uses purple drapes in some way, often wrapping them around the large pillars at St. Paul's.

They "suggest the season of Lent to people when they enter the church," she noted, "letting them know that it's a different time, that we aren't in Ordinary Time anymore."

Closer to God

Mrs. Lafond describes her goal as bringing "people closer to Our Lord, and I'll use whatever is most effective in accomplishing this.

"It's almost like a song. When you sing a phrase of some hymn, it might touch someone in a special way and stay with that person forever, while it may not faze someone else at all. Visually, it's the same thing: An arrangement of flowers or a grouping of tree branches might touch someone's heart, give them peace of mind, bring them a bit closer to Jesus.

"Everyone has gifts. We're all called as Christians to bring people to relationship with Jesus. I love to do this."

("The two big decorating jobs are Christmas and Easter, of course," Mrs. LaFond said, adding that Advent and the six weeks of Lent require major efforts. "I start thinking about Lent, Holy Week and Easter as soon as we put away our Christmas decorations." She began her ministry nine years ago, when her pastor, Rev. George Brucker, asked her to help him decorate the altar for a one-day parish-wide retreat.)

(3/9/06) [[In-content Ad]]