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The Design of our New Worship Space

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The design of the major worship space in our new building draws its inspiration from the 11th century. It's style has been identified as monastic, antiphonal or collegiate, each being appropriate. The characteristic of this design that first catches one’s attention is that the two seating areas are arranged on either side of the center aisle facing each other. Between them are placed both the altar and ambo. Aside from liturgical considerations, this design seemed to best meet the challenge of seating 950 people in such a way that no one was lost in a distant corner somewhere.

In addition to the main worship space are the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Holy Family Chapel (for gatherings of 75 or less) and the Reconciliation Chapel (for the celebration of individual Confession! Reconciliation). Completing the 21,000 square-foot building are two gathering areas, a nursery, bride’s and groom’s rooms, rest rooms and sacristies. Long range plans for the parish has an addition above the nursery wing for educational purposes. This will pretty much max out the buildings allowed on our 11.8 acre site.

About $1.4 million of the project’s total funding of $4.2 million has gone into extensive site improvements, including new parking areas, street and sidewalk refinements, landscaping and irrigation, new courtyards for gathering and a storm water retention system with a biofiltration swale, pond and underground storage vault. The Jeff Hitchcock Memorial Playfield was also renovated but with funds separate from the building project.

Over $90,000 was received in memorial gifts. A memorial wall is proposed for the south narthex to show our appreciation. In fact, all donors to the building project will be named on a “Giving Tree” with memorial gifts specially designated.

We received invaluable help from the Office of Administration and Finance of the Archdiocese of Seattle, especially from Daphne Ghan, the Property and Construction Manager. From the beginning of our planning over six years ago until she retired this spring, Daphne’s experience and wisdom were always there to guide and support. Principal architect, Donald Brubeck of The Bumgardner Architects, with David Arnold, worked closely with the general contractor, Shinstine/ Associates Inc., represented by Pat Oda and Brodie Stohr, to create our new building. The spirit of cooperation between them could serve as a model for many.

In a most special way, the Building Committee of the parish carried the weight of this expansion project. Meeting almost weekly for over five years indicates the degree of dedication they had. So, it was many people who made this building rise from the ground, but only because it had risen in their hearts first.

MAIN WORSHIP SPACE
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.”
(Matthew 18.20)

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When we gather to worship in the name of Jesus, he is present in our midst. That was Jesus’ promise. The design of our new worship space emphasizes this truth of our faith. Jesus’ presence is very imminent, that is, among and with us who gather. Since Jesus is present in the assembly, then the importance of the assembly cannot be ignored. Much like a football stadium, our new worship space will always look incomplete when the church, the People of God, is not gathered. However, unlike sport fans, we who gather to worship are an integral part of the action taking place “in our midst.” We are not
mere spectators.
The proclamation of the Sacred Scriptures requires the attention of the assembly. The Spirit of Jesus we share in common is awakened by the power of Jesus’ Word, which enables us to live in the Spirit of Jesus we share together. Growth in our awareness of the abiding presence of Jesus with us enables our love for one another to grow.
When the liturgical action moves to the altar where the Paschal Mystery of Jesus is sacramentally renewed, it is, again, in the midst of the assembly. United with one another in the Spirit of Jesus, we offer ourselves to the Father with Jesus in the Eucharist, The way we are gathered around the altar, in total view of one another, encourages us to enter more deeply into the Holy Sacrifice we are a part of. in our offering and receiving the sacramental Body of Christ in faith, we are more fully transformed into the Body of Christ ourselves, so we, as the Church, will be a clearer sign of Jesus’ presence in the world.
The priest presiding at the liturgy is a part of the assembly. He is not above it in any way. This is why the presider’s chair is set to the side, and not on a pedestal. While he does preside, he offers the Mass with the rest of the assembly, not for it. In no way is the assembly’s importance to be diminished, reduced or lessened. After all, Jesus chooses to be present among us who are gathered in his name!
This is also the reason the assembly is expected to enter into the prayer responses and join in the singing. It is not gathered to be entertained, but to worship God in Jesus’ name. Each person in the assembly has something to contribute to the action of the liturgy. This design of this worship space cannot be confused with a theater with stage and performers. All gathered give voice to the Spirit within that unites us as one body.

THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL
“I am in your midst as one who serves you.”
(Luke 22:27)

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This special space is designed for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a place for reflection and quiet prayer. Unlike the main worship space, which is designed to emphasize the presence of Jesus in the assembly and the assembly’s action in offering the Eucharist, here the emphasis is on private devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
To enter the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, one must pass through either the Holy Family Chapel or the main worship space. The atmosphere of this sacred space is intended to be very transcendent. We should have a sense of awe from being in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It is rightly a place for quiet reflection on the eucharistic presence of Jesus who is “in our midst as one who serves.”
However, it must be said that the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved primarily for devotion, but, rather, for the sake of the sick and infirm. Here the Eucharist is reserved for those of our faith community who cannot gather with us for Mass because of being ill or home bound. Jesus’ sacramental presence in the tabernacle obliges us to remember those who cannot gather with us. From this chapel, the Eucharist is taken as Holy Communion or Viaticum to our people.
Reserved also in this chapel is the sacred oil to be used in the celebration of the Anointing of the Sick. It is blessed by our archbishop at St. James Cathedral on or near Holy Thursday each year. Placing this oil of anointing in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel reinforces the theme of this space: “Jesus is in our midst as one who serves.”
So, as Jesus was present in the world to serve his people, he is present among us to serve us still. It is fitting, however, that we give Jesus our devotion not because he needs it, but because we need to offer it. By reflecting on his presence with us, we pray that we will grow in the spirit of service that he called forth from his disciples. True devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will always call us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs and concerns. Jesus has given us an example of service that we go and do likewise.

CHAPEL OF THE HOLY FAMILY
“May they be one, Father, as you are in me and I am in you.”
(John 17:21)

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St. Vincent de Paul Parish has placed a high value on being family oriented. It is fitting, therefore, that this chapel be dedicated to the Holy Family. In this more intimate worship space, family units will gather to celebrate small weddings and funerals. Also, this is where a representative number of our larger parish family will gather for the celebration of daily Mass.
Pope Paul VI spoke of the family as the little church. Anything we say about the large church can be said about the little church. It is in the family setting that most people first learn the gospel of Jesus and experience it in everyday life. What we emulate in this chapel dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is the relationship of love they had between them. As a family, they also lived their identity as a people of faith. While the Holy Family is beyond us in terms of the degree of love and faith they lived together, they hold out to us the goals we must have as members of a family and as followers of Jesus. It is the coming together of family units, after all, that ultimately composes the larger family we call St. Vincent de Paul Parish.

RECONCILIATION CHAPEL
“And I say seventy times seven times!”
(Matthew 18:22)

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The location of the Reconciliation Chapel is near the baptismal font for good reason. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is like a new baptism in terms of its freeing us from our sins. Since the Reconciliation Chapel opens on to the baptismal font, forgiven sinners cannot help but be reminded that they have been renewed in the divine life they first received in baptism.
This underscores the best tradition of our Catholic Faith. Contrary to popular thought, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is more closely linked to baptism than to the Eucharist. While one should never receive the Body of Christ (the Eucharist) in a state of grievous sin, that is, separated from God and God’s people, sacramental forgiveness celebrates the person’s renewed relationship with the Body of Christ, the Church. It is the restored or deepened unity we have with one another as God’s People that is the goal of Reconciliation. Furthermore, it is this unity we have with one another in Jesus that allow us to enter fully into the celebration of the Eucharist. In other words, Reconciliation is necessary for Holy Communion in the sense that our unity with God’s People is necessary for our fitting celebration of the Eucharist, of which receiving Holy Communion is only a part.
We celebrate Reconciliation, not so much to get ready for Holy Communion, but to become more closely united to the community of faith with whom we will offer the Eucharist. Receiving Holy Communion then expresses more clearly both our unity with Jesus and with one another.
It was not by accident that the first gift Jesus gave the church after his resurrection was the power to forgive sins (cf. John 20:2 1). Forgiving sinners was central to his ministry and must be central to the work of the church. This is one gift the church must never ignore nor be accused of being stingy with, “Seventy times seven times,” Jesus said to Peter, who thought that forgiving a person just seven times would be a more than generous display of mercy. As the sacrament of Jesus in the world, we, the church, must make Jesus real to the world. We must be ready to forgive in Jesus’ name.
It is on behalf of the People of God that the priest-confessor brings God’s forgiving love to bear on the heart of the penitent sinner, seventy times seven times if necessary. It is Jesus’ way of reminding us that whatever wrong we may be guilty of, we have not lost God’s love. The healing of a person’s damaged or broken relationship with God and God’s people is always possible.

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THE BAPTISMAL FONT
“Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 6:11)

One of the challenges in designing a new worship space is the placement of the baptismal font. The first value is having it near the entrance of the church so it will serve as a reminder to all who enter that it was through the waters of baptism that we became members of the Body of Christ, the Church. As a reminder of this, we sign ourselves with water as we enter the worship space. The second, though more of a popular value, is having the font in a place that is visible to the assembly.
The design of our new worship space honors both of these values. The large font cannot go without notice when one enters the worship area by the main doors. It reminds us that we were born again to eternal life through water and the Holy Spirit; we died to sin and rose to new life in Jesus. At the same time, the font is visible from throughout the entire worship area.
The proximity of the assembly to the font also serves to reinforce the important value that baptisms are parish family events not private family events. The design of our worship space helps emphasize the reality that the newly baptized become members of a larger community of faith. In fact, parents and godparents of infants should realize that they are being called to raise their children in the faith on behalf of the faithful gathered with them to celebrate their child’s new birth into Christ.
The design of the font speaks to its function as a place of dying and rising. Immersion will be the standard manner for the baptism for adults. Kneeling in the font, the saving waters flow in abundance over them. Variations of this may be used for small children and infants, but, most often, the smaller bowl/font will be used as water is poured over their foreheads only. The baptismal bowl was executed by the renowned glass artist Lino Tagliapietra.
The Oil of Catechumens and Holy Chrism are reserved in an ambry near the font because of their significant role in the baptismal ceremony. Chrism is also used for the Sacrament of Confirmation, which confirms a person’s baptism. Above and behind the baptismal font is the sculpture of the risen Christ. This placement enhances the atmosphere of joy and resurrection to new life that should surround the font. It speaks to the victory of life over death, the central theme of baptism itself.

THE ALTAR

Entering the worship space by its main doors, one cannot help but see the altar table which stands beyond the baptismal font and the ambo. These three furnishings are intimately related. The new life in Christ bestowed upon the newly baptized is nourished by the power of God’s Word proclaimed from the ambo. But it is around the altar table that the followers of Jesus unite themselves to Jesus in offering their lives to the Father. Furthermore, they are inexorably united to one another when they receive the Eucharistic Jesus in Holy Communion. To better appreciate the significance of the altar table, we quote from Father Jan Larson, a consultant in liturgy for the Archdiocese of Seattle, and our liturgical consultant on this project.
“The altar is the most important furnishing in any church. It obviously has a functional role - to hold the few items that are necessary for the celebration of the Eucharist. But its richest purpose is symbolic. Unlike a dining room table, the altar table reminds us of things that we cannot see, and draws us to the divine realities that lie beyond our limited human senses.
Like any of the symbols that make the liturgy alive, the altar table has many layers of meaning, rich in biblical and theological imagery. Thus, the altar is at the same time the table of sacrifice and the table of the paschal meal. When we gather around it for the celebration of Mass, we see represented before us the table of the Last Supper as well as the eternal banquet table of the heavenly kingdom.
Perhaps, even more significantly in our history and in our tradition, the altar represents Christ himself. The church’s rite of dedication of an altar reminds us how ancient authors regard the altar, “Because it is at the altar that the memorial of the Lord is celebrated and his body and blood given to the people, the church’s writers see in the altar a sign of Christ himself, - for this reason it is often said, ‘the altar is Christ.”
For this reason, the altar table is treated very much like a person. It is anointed at its dedication with that same oil used at the baptism of a person. It is dressed in worthy and attractive raiment, it is greeted with a kiss, bowed to out of respect and honored with incenses as is the Blessed Sacrament or other persons present in the liturgical assembly. This vital symbolism of the altar table is maintained with these simple marks of respect. Without them, the table of the Lord becomes mostly a functional piece of furniture, not unlike the dining room table. . ."
It is appropriate, therefore, that, upon entering the church, or upon going into one’s pew, that the faithful would reverence the altar with a graceful bow of the upper body toward it. (Since the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved in the main worship space1the usual genuflection is not called for.) We will want to be careful not to hide the altar table with unnecessary coverings and flowers, or use it as a stand for candles or other items. However, since the altar represents Christ, the Book of the Gospels containing the words of Jesus may be placed on the altar for the first part of the liturgy.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
“Unless you take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
(Luke 14:27)

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The Stations of the Cross are a reminder to all of us of the cost of discipleship. They also speak to us of the unconditional love of God for all people on earth, past, present and future. As Jesus carried his cross step by step, we are reminded by these stations that we must do the same in the context of our journey through life, day by day.
To emphasize the walk of our journeys, the fourteen Stations of the Cross are placed in the floor around the worship space rather than on the wall. It must be noted that the actual Stations are the small crosses representing the 14 “steps” of Jesus’ journey on Good Friday. The carved illustrations on the wall are portrayals of what happened at each station to assist the person making the stations reflect on their meaning.
To emphasize the universality of Jesus’ love, we have made the crosses inlaid in the floor from wood imported from countries around the world. As much as was possible, we have tried to get wood from those areas of the world from where our parishioners have their roots.

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Stations of the Cross:

     - Bob Greisbach: Woodworker; Parishioner
                 * Made the 14 crosses for the floor
                

- Ted Gimlin, Parishioner
       * Refinished the bas-relief pictures                from old church

 

 

THE NURSERY WING
“Let the little children come to me.”
(Mark 10:14)

The main feature of the new wing that extends to the south of the new worship space is the nursery. It is a primary goal of St. Vincent de Paul Parish to be as family friendly as possible. Providing a safe place for parents to leave their children during Mass is a major step to achieve this goal. This frees parents to enter into the celebration of the liturgy without having to fear for their children. We have taken seriously the necessity for providing quality childcare in quality facilities. If you will, this nursery is as close as we will come to a “cry room” for the new church.
Parents of infants are always welcome in the church. In fact, it will be a sad day when we no longer hear children in church. But it is understood that when a child becomes overly fussy, it’s parent will take it from the church as a courtesy to other people present. There is no need for embarrassment as all parents can relate to the young parent’s feelings. They’ve been there and have done that. But there comes an age when children will welcome the nursery as a place to go to during Mass. We hope parents will take advantage of it. For most of the year, there is preschool for the three to five year olds during the 9:30 Sunday Mass. This will help, too.
This nursery will compliment the nursery in the basement of the Youth Center which has become inadequate to meet the demands of our growing families. The Mothers and Others Groups, working closely with the Family Ministry Office, helped develop the layout, safety and furnishing needs of the new nursery. They also work to organize, clean and decorate it. The annual golf tournament each year goes primarily to fund these efforts. Almost all of the appointments in the nursery, like the shelving, fixtures, tables, chairs and toys were made possible by special donations from parishioners. Others have donated a television set, a refrigerator, sofa and love seat, as well as many books, toys and puzzles.
Adding this to our outdoor toddler playground, we believe we have a facility that will make life easier, if not safer, for the little ones of our parish family. With much work built on many dreams, “Family Friendly” is becoming more than a good idea.
This wing also has both a Bride’s Room and a Groom’s Room. It is the Parish Wedding Committee that has taken the furnishing and decorating of these spaces under their wing.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

 Ambo and Cantor’s Stand
   - Gary Holloman, Woodworker; Mt. Vernon, Wa.
   - Materials: Cherry, Ebony and Mahogany

Altar Cloth
   Silk and hand-spun wool, by Alana Ryles.
   - Hand-woven by Bobbie Bronson, parishioner.

                           Baptismal Font
   - The Pool: The marble for the pool is from St. James Cathedral. The shape of the pool is the same as the main altar, thus emphasizing the relationship between death-life dimension of the Sacrament of Baptism with the Paschal Mystery celebrated in the Eucharist.
   - The Bowl: The glass bowl was blown by the renowned glass artist Lino Tagliapietra. A native of the Island of Murano near Venice, he came to the Pilchuck Glass School in 1979 bringing nearly 1000 years of Italian glassblowing tradition. A master artist, by some considered the best glass blower in the world, Tagliapietra works closely with Dale Chihuly. He may be the only living artist who has mastered the technique that created this Baptismal Bowl, which has gold leaf spread throughout.

                             Cornerstone
   The cornerstone was blessed by Pope John Paul II when on pilgrimage to Anchorage, Alaska in 1981. The granite stone was personally carried in an attaché’ case for blessing by Father Hervey Vanasse, then stationed at St. Vincent de Paul Parish. The heavy case was cause of concern to security guards whom Father Hervey noticed were watching him closely wherever he went. When he took it to the altar for blessing before the Mass, the suspicious guards moved in. Opening the case just enough to shine a flashlight inside, they discovered it was as the priest had claimed.
   - Inscription and gold lettering is a gift of Gethsemene Cemetery,

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