What will parish of new millennium be like?

Welcome to the Church of the 21st century! As we begin your tour of a typical Catholic parish of the new millennium, please note a few distinguishing characteristics of the church building:

* the outdoor plaza or courtyard that allows parishioners to gather and greet each other before Mass;

* the single door into the church, a portal symbolizing Jesus Christ, who welcomes everyone;

* the accessibility of the church, not just to those with physical disabilities, but the hearing- and sight-impaired and all others;

* the altar placed in the midst of the community, with seating gathered around it to create a Christ-centered atmosphere.

Faith and form

According to Rev. Richard Vosko, an award-winning designer and consultant for worship environments and a priest of the Albany Diocese, those are just a few of the changes you'll be seeing in parishes of the next century.

Since our understanding of the word "church" has broadened to include more than just the building itself, he explained, designers now look at creating an entire "worship environment" conducive to gathering the people of God.

"If you go back to Scripture, we were never instructed to build churches," Father Vosko told The Evangelist. "We were instructed to feed the hungry, visit the sick and so on."

Boxes and museums

Over time, he said, places of worship gradually turned into temples, theaters, museums -- dark, quiet places filled with statues rather than spaces where the "enactment of the sacraments will be continuously revived."

Father Vosko called today's churches "boxes filled with furniture."

"It's logical to try to develop a new understanding," he said, quoting Scripture. "Not to would be to 'pour new wine into old skins.'"

Shifting needs

In the Albany Diocese, many towns' needs in terms of worship spaces have shifted along with their cultures. Agriculture is still a part of the economy in upstate New York, but many "factory towns" have seen their industries close and their young people move on.

Still, said Father Vosko, "I would suspect in the Albany Diocese, there will be the requirement for a new church here and there over the next 15 to 20 years."

As an example, he pointed to parishes like St. Catherine's in Albany, where a new church is being built.

In creating our new "sacred spaces," he said, we must be sensitive to the needs of parish communities. "A place doesn't become sacred because it has the name `church,' but because sacred things happen there. It's all about housing the life stories of the people of God. Churches are very important to people -- try closing one! People are saying, `You can't do this.' That's the place where they were baptized, where they fell in love, where they married, where their spouse is buried."

Passing fads

Some experts claim that "Generation X," the next generation of Catholics, is more interested in "warehouse churches" than in statues and bells, but Father Vosko sees that as a passing fad.

"`Mega-churches,' by their own admission, are temporary," he noted. "They will not stand the test of time."

Instead, the designer sees "a return to more beautiful worship environments. In the 1970s, there was the phenomenon of the `multi-purpose church,' where you had more than one activity in the same room. Catholic people don't want multi-purpose churches today. They want a beautiful place that is set aside. When they show up on Sunday, they want that building to be there."

Inside the future

The worship environments of the next millennium will include several other important features, he said, including:

* a gathering space just inside the door, larger than most churches' present vestibules, where parishioners can offer hospitality;

* a font where new members of the parish community can be baptized by immersion;

* seating that is gathered around the altar;

* decorations that "do not distract during the liturgy;" and

* a tabernacle kept in its own chapel, separate from the main body of the church.

Getting there

Obviously, not all parishes can afford to rebuild their churches, or even to perform major renovations to create more contemporary worship spaces. But Father Vosko reassured them that "the Church is usually behind on what has become customary. It's a catch-up sort of thing -- if the official Church feels the need to catch up. Buildings are always going to be a step behind."

However, he said, there are a few simple steps most parishes can take toward better worship environments -- starting with cleaning.

"Change the light bulbs!" Father Vosko declared. "The lighting in most churches is absolutely horrendous. And give it a good coat of paint. Seriously consider rearranging the furnishings."

He also suggested uncluttering overdecorated churches by "sitting down in the back row and saying, `What's absolutely required for the worship that goes on here? What's not required, but essential to your customs?'"

The designer had one caution: "Housecleaning without addressing the bigger question of `Is this an appropriate environment for worship' is not spending money in a good way."

(10-30-97) [[In-content Ad]]