ARTICLES

I Want to Destroy Vestibules

Renovator Nun Wants Part of Story Told

By Allyson Smith

The renovation fever that has gripped the diocese of San Diego for several years shows no signs of abating. Completed and planned renovations and new church constructions since 1996 include at least 15 parishes; no churches are exempt from "updating" their "worship space."

Construction projects range from remodeling traditional interiors such as St. Mary's in Escondido to the already-barren St. Kieran's in El Cajon, and from the jacuzzi-style baptistery recently installed at Our Lady of Grace in El Cajon to full-scale church building plans for St. Jerome in Otay Mesa and Queen of Angels in Alpine.

All church construction projects share one thing: they must adhere to "Building and Renovation Guidelines for Worship Space in the Diocese of San Diego," subject to approval by Bishop Brom and the office for liturgy and spirituality. This document can be found at www.diocese-sdiego.org/WRKSPA.htm.

One of the newest members of the renovations club is Our Mother of Confidence in University City. In February, the parish kicked off plans to remodel the church's interior with the first workshop designed "to educate us on the Vatican II requirements for Liturgical Celebrations and the environment of our worship space," according to the February 18 church bulletin.

The invitation continued, "Please join us Friday, Feb. 23 from 7-8:30 p.m. to learn about 'Sacred Space' and Sat. Feb. 24, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for a discussion centered around 'Gathering' and 'Hospitality.' They will be facilitated by Sister Marilyn Morgan, Liturgical Consultant. This is an opportunity for growth and renewal in our faith and better understanding of our worship space. This process will be a wonderful opportunity for spiritual renewal and development for the entire parish community."

The announcement echoed the opening paragraphs of the "Building and Renovation Guidelines" document, which states "One of the most important tasks a parish or institution can undertake is to build or renovate a church. It offers the promise of real growth in the spiritual life of the community, in its understanding of liturgical prayer, and its appreciation of its identity as Church."

The document outlines the necessary tasks: the parish must "select a liturgical consultant" and "design a comprehensive education program on the principles governing worship spaces."

"The liturgical consultant will assist the parish in developing a comprehensive education program and in designing a worship space that will suit the needs of the liturgy and the personality of the local community. The expertise of such a consultant is invaluable in dealing with architects, artists, and other professionals. This consultant remains with the project from inception to conclusion. The Office for Liturgy and Spirituality maintains a list of approved liturgical consultants.

"With the help of the Liturgical Consultant, a comprehensive education program should be developed in order to make the building or renovation of a church a time of renewal in terms of the assembly's spiritual growth and appreciation of themselves as Church. This program must address concretely: -- the needs of the contemporary liturgy; -- the impact of the environment on worship; -- the design and placement of the major furnishings of the building (e.g. altar, ambo, presidential chair, baptismal font, choir space, organ/piano, cantor stand, benches/chairs/pews, tabernacle/Eucharistic chapel, daily Mass chapel, reconciliation chapel, etc.); -- the devotional needs of the community, especially in respect to racial and ethnic preferences; -- the need for a suitable gathering space within and outside the church building; -- the importance of quality art; -- the special needs of the physically challenged."

I happened to find out about the education workshops in early February from the parish website, which listed the workshops to be given by Sister Morgan, two per month from February through June. Discussion topics: Friday, February 23: "Let Me Tell You A Story" Saturday, February 24: "Gathering" Friday, March 30: "Seating of the Assembly" Saturday, March 31: "Liturgy of the Eucharist/Blessed Sacrament Chapel" Friday, April 27: "Baptistry" Saturday, April 28: "Visioning" Friday, May 11: "Day Chapel and Reconciliation Chapel" Saturday, May 12: "A Space for Music and Shrines and Images" Friday, June 1: "Art and the Environment" Saturday, June 2: "Brainstorming a Preliminary Architectural Program Statement"

When I discovered Our Mother of Confidence's renovation plans, no workshops had yet taken place, nor had I visited the church. I decided to attend Mass and the "Gathering" workshop on Saturday morning, February 24, to see what the church looks like and to hear what Sister Morgan had to say. Sister Morgan is a liturgical consultant for the diocese of Oakland, California. According to a bulletin announcement from Resurrection parish in Monterey, California, her "professional experience includes an MA in liturgy from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago." She has conducted presentations for the directors and coordinators of religious education and the priests of the archdiocese of Portland, Oregon. A 1999 announcement I found for a "Worship Space and Environment Series" presented by Sister Morgan at Star of the Sea Parish in Santa Cruz reads like the announcement for Our Mother of Confidence: "These workshops will educate us about the various stages of the liturgy, the environmental attributes of worship space, and how they interact to enhance and affect the worship experience." Topics discussed included "Our Worship Space: A Reflection of Who We Are," "How We Sit Affects How We Pray," "The Eucharist: Actions and Space," "Baptism: The Call to Belong," "Creating a Space for Music; plus the Symbols of Holy Week," and "Art in Worship Space."

The moment I stepped inside Our Mother of Confidence on February 24, I could see why the diocese wants a renovation. The current church structure was built in 1978 -- and it shows. A single set of entrance doors opens to a vestibule containing a traditional standing baptistery which is not separated from the nave. The nave is cavernous and is furnished with burnt orange carpeting, dark wood paneling, and modernist stained-glass windows. The pews in the main seating area face front, and there is a separate section of pews to the right of the altar.

The altar sits on a raised platform. Above and behind it, instead of a crucifix, hangs a wire sculpture of the Shroud of Turin. The choir and organ loft are located to the front and left of the altar; to the right is an odd structure housing the tabernacle and a statue of the Blessed Mother wearing a dress that clearly outlines her figure as she holds the infant Jesus aloft. An occasional potted plant dots the bare sacrificial landscape.

After Mass I spoke with a parishioner who said that other problems with the current church structure include one restroom for 1400 people and lack of access to the sanctuary for disabled who want to be Eucharistic ministers.

Our Mother of Confidence is an example of what Henry Hardinge Menzies, in the December, 1997 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, terms a "salvaging renovation." In contrast to "denuding renovations where old, mostly eclectic churches are being stripped bare and denuded of all ornamentation and art," "salvaging renovations" entail the transformation of "so-called 'modern' churches usually built in the sixties and seventies and easily mistaken for lecture halls or gymnasiums ... into sacred spaces that look more like churches and attempt to implement the liturgical indications following Vatican II."

The workshop was held in the parish hall below the church. Approximately 75 parishioners, the pastor, Monsignor Donal Sheahan, and associate pastor, Father Brian Hayes, attended. I observed from the back of the room as Sister Morgan gave a slide presentation showing "gathering spaces."

Sister stressed that the slide show was intended only to generate ideas and asked that audience members refrain from making comments such as "we can't afford that."

She recapped the previous evening's session where the topic was "Let Me Tell You A Story." She said, "A church building tells a story. It holds treasures of the people who've been there, married, buried there. Your child should be able to walk into a church and tell the history of faith." She reminded participants, "You're renovating this church for your children and grandchildren. If you make a beautiful building but it doesn't work liturgically, you have a beautiful building that doesn't work liturgically."

To create a building that works liturgically, Sister Morgan advised parishioners to "[look] at being in harmony with the earth" and to "reverence the earth." Look for designs "in earth, air, fire and water, and how those elements [are] reflected [in the liturgy]." For example, water recalls baptism; the paschal candle and clay pots connote fire; and light "always plays a big part."

"We don't create sacred spaces," she said. "The places are already created and we need to uncover them."

Sister talked about the need for "transition space" as people move from their cars into the church. "Liturgy starts in the parking lot," she said, suggesting that clay planters be placed there to help make people welcome, as well as outdoor banners to announce different seasons. From the parking lot, she recommended having pathways to lead people to worship: "Pathways show you're on a journey."

Morgan emphasized "welcoming" and "hospitality" at length. "There is a known principle in liturgy that people who feel welcomed sing better, pray louder," she said. "In hospitality, we are reverencing [God in each other]. We need to recognize each person as a God-bearer. It's your job to be the welcomers and make people feel invited. Hospitality involves learning each other's stories, not just names."

Of traditional vestibules, Sister said, "I would like to destroy them." She continued, "A lot of vestibules -- the old word -- are crowded and dark and cluttered and have all kinds of 'stuff'. Are there 'room for rent' signs in there? What do you have in this space? How welcoming does it look?"

Showing a slide of entrance doors with fish-shaped handles from a church located across the street from the ocean, she said, "Doors are important; they are portals that you are going to pass through." She added that Our Mother of Confidence's doors are "wonderful" because there is only one set that everyone has to pass through. She contrasted this to a church she doesn't like because it has nine sets of doors, allowing people to slip in for Mass and leave without reverencing the "God-bearer" in one another. "If you just come in the door, you're on your own mission, by yourself."

At the conclusion of her presentation, Sister Morgan took questions from the audience. Several people expressed enthusiasm for her ideas; others, however, were skeptical. A 30-ish man who attended with his wife and toddler daughter told Sister that he was concerned that she seemed to place greater value on the earth than on God. He asked if there were other documents she could recommend besides the one she had recommended the previous evening -- presumably "Environment and Art in Church Worship," used by liturgical consultants as the authority for making changes. Another woman who sat near me wrote down the publishing information for Michael Rose's The Renovation Manipulation that I had on my lap.

In March, as I prepared to write this story, I went to the church's website to try to find a picture of Sister Morgan to include with it. Not finding one, I e-mailed the following message to the parish webmaster, Marlese Pinney, from my workplace: "I was looking at the Remodel section of the OMOC Web site and wondering if you have any photos of the nun who is guiding your renovation, Sister Marilyn Morgan. I did not see any photos of her there. If so, would you please e-mail them to me or tell me how to access them on the Web site."

I signed the message with my name and the title "Senior Technical Writer," my regular occupation.

On March 30, Pinney e-mailed the following reply, along with a photo of Sister Morgan: "Sister Marilyn sent me this photo of her in a tiff file. I have a photo of her with Msgr. Shean [sic] but am not sure you want that one. Are you writing an article on her? What paper are you with? Let me know if this works for you, otherwise I'll see what I can do to get you another picture."

The same day, I sent Pinney the following reply from one of my two personal e-mail accounts: "Yes, I am writing an article about Sister Marilyn & the OMOC remodel for two lay Catholic newspapers, San Diego News Notes and the San Francisco Faith ... the papers try to keep abreast of church renovation projects in their regions.

"Church renovations have been -- and continue to be -- a source of bitter disputes in other dioceses throughout the nation as pastors, bishops, and liturgical design consultants conspire to "update" beautiful, traditional churches against parishioners' wills and to the detriment of Catholic practice and piety.

"While the diocese of San Diego does not have the extensive inventory of traditional churches found in many Midwestern and eastern dioceses, that is no reason to undertake costly and usually needless remodels. Yet, more and more of these are occurring in this diocese, and therefore we investigate and report on them."

On April 2, Pinney e-mailed the following message to one of my personal accounts: "After further discussion with Sister Marilyn, she is withdrawing her permission to use her photo and does not give permission to use her name in any articles."

I received the same message on my other personal e-mail account and my work e-mail account. And, just to make sure I understood Sister Morgan's wishes, someone from Our Mother of Confidence sent a printed copy of the message, postmarked April 3, via registered mail to my workplace. Another person in my department signed for the letter and I did not discover it until about two weeks later. When I found it, I marveled at the lengths to which someone -- apparently Pinney -- had gone to prevent me from writing about Morgan and could only wonder, "What is she trying to hide?"

To read summaries of Morgan's presentations to date, visit the Remodel section of Our Mother of Confidence's website at http://www.omoc.com/view_page.asp?pg=87.

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