Chapel: The pews are back

Most of the work is done in the Chapel. The pews are back. The paint in the little sacristy is dry. We should be able to have Mass very soon.

There are a few details that deserve attention. The pews have been a great addition to the Chapel. They are beautiful and make the Chapel look more "high Church" than the previous worn out chairs did. The priest who built Holy Family probably chose those pews for a parish church he built in Plunketville. When that parish closed recently, we brought the pews to the Chapel. [See this previous blog post for details.]

Our Chapel is a little larger than the church where the pews used to be. We had to reuse a dozen old chairs. To make matters worse, those chairs had to be placed directly in front of the altar.

Why? The two pillars in the Chapel would prevent the kneelers from the pews from lowering if they were placed there. If we placed the pews inside the pillars (like the chairs in the photo on the right), there would not be enough space for communicants to walk down the center aisle.

Here's the solution: we are looking into building a number of custom pews that will match the shape and color of the current pews. The new pews will be built in such a way to allow parishioners to use the kneelers despite the pillars.

For the present, I am not sure what the decision will be. Perhaps we will move some of the chairs back in. Perhaps we will ask a few more Mass-goers to kneel on the floor. Either way, we are working on it and I will post any news to this blog.