The story of St Teresa's
Smith, Karen Sue
THE STORY OF ST. TERESA'S RENOVATING THE CHURCH FROM THE INSIDE OUT KAREN SUE SMITH When Msgr. Joseph Finnerty of the Brooklyn diocese flung open the doors to St. Teresa's Church last Passion...
...People became more aware of the ways worship space expresses various theologies of church...
...The original altar, flush against the curved apse, has been retained as a chapel for the Blessed Sacrament, where parishioners can pray privately...
...Others felt some apprehension...
...Teresa's won a Long Island prize for church architecture, giving some parishioners the mistaken impression that the prominent mural of the Assumption of Mary on the apse was an art treasure...
...The answer lies in at least three components: (1) trust and openness between pastor and congregation...
...The renovation was nearly complete and the people were worshiping in their new space for the first time...
...People are more involved than ever before," said Hugh Cunningham, a semi-retired parishioner, church trustee, and head of the fund-raising drive...
...or that at the first Masses people gathered around a table...
...Teresa's who had never seen the former interior would probably not realize the extent of the changes-except for the obvious addition of a large new pool beside the traditional baptismal font...
...The pews, ambo, and rose granite work remain...
...The artist's sketch was made public...
...Why do some renovations wreak havoc in a parish while a few, like St...
...Many of the parishioners rent apartments and do not pay for repairs and improvements...
...The doors are opened before Mass, so the tabernacle is visible to all, and shut as Mass begins, when the action shifts to the communal celebration of liturgy...
...Over a hundred members turned out for each session...
...Since many parishioners are Hispanic, the selection of a Colombian artist to paint the icon has particular significance...
...Subtle suggestions were expressed about what was troubling in the present design and why...
...I got a lot out of them," she said...
...stained glass windows were obstructed by hanging chandeliers...
...Or could the assembly itself be present in a more communal, active way...
...It was important to me to learn what crept in...
...Initially, the five weeks of Lent 1987 were devoted to parish theological reflection led by veteran church architect and liturgical designer Robert Rambusch...
...During several months of reconstruction, the church celebrated Mass in the auditorium...
...Should the priest be central and the people spectators...
...People have photos of their children being married at the old altar under the old mural," Mucha said, "I made my First Communion at that altar rail...
...3) direct involvement of a large core of the congregation...
...everything would be utilized...
...But the trust between pastor and people ultimately laid a solid foundation for architectural change...
...He still talks about that Holy Week with the enthusiasm of a man who loves surprises...
...I found out that baptism by immersion seemed new, but was old...
...Parishioners could see these problems...
...Mary Ann Aneiros, a twenty-four-year-old accountant, born in Spain, but confirmed and graduated at St...
...But the project, overall, was devoid of surprises, one key to its success...
...It's a tough job'' to make changes...
...Synopses of what was happening and why were placed in the bulletin, in English and Spanish...
...They officially celebrated their new space when St...
...So Finnerty suggested an overhaul...
...Parishioners have been informed and involved in planning, evaluating, and raising funds for the last two years...
...Throughout the sessions which dealt with such themes as baptism, Eucharist, reconciliation, and community, parishioners saw hundreds of slides of church architecture, in Europe and the U.S., and learned the basics of ecclesiology and the developments suggested by Vatican II...
...KAREN SUE SMITH is an associate editor of Commonweal and the director of the lona Center for Pastoral Liturgy at Iona College, N. Y. In the forties, St...
...Once you sign yourself in a bold, daring, exciting way," Msgr...
...In the end, the parish decided to order a new granite altar- with a base containing portions of the marble altar rail, now removed...
...Teresa's, called the Lenten series "very informative...
...The chandeliers have been removed and lights sunk into the vaulted ceiling, making the interior much brighter, showing off the windows...
...It was so gradual, a subtle thing," Mucha said...
...Eight teams of parishioners visited each registered family, door-to-door, explaining the project and asking for pledges...
...Meanwhile, the pledging process created excitement in the neighborhood and allowed parishioners to meet one another, to discuss their aspirations and doubts, to ask questions...
...2) a process of parish input and education--complete, lengthy, conducted in a spirit of mutual respect and atten-tiveness...
...The worship space was dark...
...or thought that things were good enough as they were, I don't think there's anyone now who doesn't like the renovation...
...They asked themselves what theology their own space was expressing...
...The font is equipped with a pump to make water flow-audibly-into a pool large enough for immersion...
...Teresa, holding a model of the renovated church building...
...Cunningham divided the parish into block sections...
...Some are from countries where the government pays for the churches, so they aren't used to contributing at all...
...It is separated from the new altar area by a large wooden iconosta-sis...
...Still, $650,000 of the million-dollar-plus project was pledged before Easter, 1988 by parishioners the pastor describes as ' 'fairly conservative, middle-class, the United Nations...
...Teresa's was rededicated and the new altar consecrated in October...
...Building trust, sponsoring an in-depth educational program with give and take, and enlisting the involvement of the parish members require the time and work of many people...
...Finnerty remarked, "...you have to live that way...
...In the nave itself, all small symbols have been kept and highlighted, because the people did not want them removed, and the strong shapes of the arches and pillars have been augmented with paint: ochre, gray, and terra cotta rose...
...However, a visitor to St...
...Teresa's Church last Passion Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week, parishioners let out audible and visible signs of amazement, pleasure, and satisfaction...
...Diane Mucha, a real estate banker in Manhattan, said that when the pastor brought up the idea of renovation, she felt positive because she had "seen Father Finnerty in operation for three years in the parish...
...They dug down so deep into their financial resources...
...While a few people resented the fact that the mural was removed...
...Moreover, any successful renovation carries its own injunctions...
...But the rewards are shared by an even greater number...
...There, the altar and pews were arranged in the new design, giving members time to adjust to the new experience of being close to the action...
...When you hear the water running, you know someone is going to be baptized," said Diane Mucha...
...Which is to say that the renovation is finely tuned to the size, shape, and style of the original building...
...One maxim faithfully followed was: nothing of worth or beauty would be destroyed...
...But not without a lot of parish organizing...
...Over the years the lighting fell in need of repair, then the plumbing and the leaky roof...
...Above all this, where the old mural used to be, hangs a huge icon of a swarthy, strong Christ seated on a throne with a book of the Gospels in one hand, the other raised in blessing...
...in the T-shaped church, the altar was too far from the people, who were physically cut off by an altar rail that overemphasized clerical importance...
...The baptistry, previously in a tiny room of its own, has been brought into the sanctuary for communal celebrations, placed near one transept entrance...
...it was the medieval church that brought in the rail...
...Flanking him are two large, dark women, his mother Mary, and St...
...In a few minor changes- stripping the paint from the doors and finishing the wood, keeping up the gardens-she had seen his "good taste...
...Worship space has a way of renovating those who worship in it...
...The entire parish complex of buildings needed work...
...What kind of celebration and involvement did the altar rail suggest...
...The pastor saw an opportunity for full-scale renovation of the entire parish complex, not just repairs...
...Teresa's, seem to strengthen the community's faith and foster its growth...
...The altar has been brought forward some twenty-five feet on a raised platform with pews on three sides which are regularly filled with worshipers...
...the apse mural placed Mary at the center of attention rather than Christ...
...The space is intimate...
...The focal point of the renovated church is the table...
...They are out of touch with how much these things cost," said Diane Mucha...
...Was it right that Mary, emerging from a tomb, should be the largest figure visible...
...It's a home run," Finnerty said of the project...
Vol. 115 • November 1988 • No. 20
