Sun of God roasting Catholics, as parishes adjust to hot summer

By PAUL QUIRINI- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

It was so hot inside St. Anne's Church in Waterford a few weekends ago that an elderly parishioner handed his collection envelope to an usher outside, asked if he'd put it in the basket for him and left without even attending Mass.

Such behavior doesn't surprise Rev. Daniel Menihane, OSA, pastor, whose parish consists of many older folks who just can't stand the heat.

"We have no air conditioning in our church, and that has affected the number of people coming to Mass the last couple of Sundays. We have a large retired population, and the elderly are most affected by the heat," he said. "We have a couple of fans in front, but most of the people sit toward the rear."

Effects of heat

Smaller crowds, shorter Masses and sweatier celebrants are just some of the effects that warmer temperatures have on parishes, according to several priests who spoke with The Evangelist during the recent heat wave.

Rev. John Facci, SAC, pastor of St. Rita/Sacred Heart parish in Cohoes, said the hot weather has made weekend Masses uncomfortable for everybody who comes to church.

"It's so hot it's almost unbearable," he said. "Everybody's fanning themselves with the bulletin, and I have all the vestments on. It's been this way for four or five weekends."

Fans of fans

Attendance at weekend Masses also has dropped off this summer, he pointed out. There's no air conditioning at either church, and the alternatives aren't that cool, either.

"We have fans that do a little bit, but they don't help much," Father Facci said.

He tries to speed up Masses by keeping his homilies short enough so that his parishioners don't roast for too long. "You say just a few words to give an idea of what the Scripture readings are about because people just don't want to stay in there," he said.

Cool place

Rev. John Cairns, pastor of St. Edward's Church in Clifton Park, said the installation of air conditioning at his parish during renovation in 1996 has made a big difference in the quality of worship on weekends.

"It's more conducive to worship. You're not sweating, everybody doesn't seem in a rush and thinking, 'How long is this going to be?' You can worship in a style that is appropriate for a Sunday rather than trying to cut corners and leaving out things," he said.

Before St. Edward's had air conditioning, "we used to use big circulating fans on the floor just to move the air around and the exhaust fans on the roof to suck out the hot air, but they were just too noisy," he said. "You had to turn them off for the readings and the homily, so air conditioning has definitely made a more comfortable environment, there's no question."

Blessing of air

Rev. James Mackey, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Troy, has seen more people for weekend Masses in the parish hall this summer because it's so cool inside. The church is air-conditioned.

"People aren't sweltering to death, and it's much more conducive to worship," he said. "Everybody loves the air conditioning, and we get some people from neighboring parishes because of that."

He has celebrated Masses in churches that don't have air conditioning, which makes a difference for both priest and congregation.

"You get through it, but it's not comfortable and I sweat a lot," he said. "You're constantly wiping your forehead, and you get through it as quick as you can. Most priests try to make their homilies shorter and move things along. People are fanning themselves and wiping their brow."

Sun of God

Father Menihane knows firsthand how steamy St. Anne's Church gets during the summer, and a recent celebration there was more than enough to make him "hot under the collar," so to speak.

"I put a vestment on for the St. Anne's Novena, and it was heavy," he said. "I could feel my shirt and undershirt were sopping wet. But it doesn't bother me as far as my health is concerned. I don't get woozy or anything like that, but I feel very uncomfortable."

The way the church is situated, the sun heats the place mostly in the afternoon, so the 4 p.m. vigil Masses are less crowded during the summer than the 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday Masses. Even when the weather's hot, parishioners can expect a brief homily from Father Menihane, who doesn't consider warm temperatures a valid excuse for skipping the sermon.

"We should make some application of the Gospel and readings," he said. "Everybody's hot and suffers a bit, but you want to make sure people get something from the readings."

Coping with heat

Rev. Donald Kelly, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Green Island, keeps an eye on his watch when the thermometer climbs during the summer.

"I try to make the Mass as reverential and as quick as possible. Get them in and get them out. I use the short form of the Canon, and we only sing the hymns," he said, adding with a laugh: "The only thing I don't skip is the collection."

Two big fans in the sanctuary help to cool parishioners, and Father Kelly also tries to keep his homily brief. "Mine is short, as it is, but it's even a little bit shorter under the circumstances," he said.

Shifting Masses

Attendance doesn't seem to fluctuate much when the mercury rises, he said, but parishioners might attend a Sunday morning Mass to avoid the afternoon heat on Saturday.

"We get our usual crowd. One Saturday was kind of low, but they all made up for it Sunday because it's cooler in the morning," he said. "There's not much of a drop-off."

Sometimes, a priest finds ways to stay cooler when it's hot, even with all the clothing he wears for Mass. "I had summer vestments that were very light, but I haven't been able to find them around here. It gets a little sticky; but if that's all that bothers me, I'm lucky," he said.

(08-05-99) [[In-content Ad]]