From Elaine Caldwell
Sister Virginia has asked me to fill in for her while she is taking a group to Ireland and will be away August 7-16.
Why does our church have a Gathering Space?
As many of the churches built since Vatican II, our church has a Gathering Space that is designed to provide an environment that helps people get to know one another, to grow as community, to grow as church, and to celebrate as a unified body.
According to the Liturgy Documents of Vatican II, churches are to be designed to foster “the full and active participation of the People of God in the work of God.” The Gathering Space can promote such “participation” when it helps people bond with other members of the community.
Such bonding comes through hospitality, the kind of hospitality that is not only expressed by the greeters and shown by ushers but by everyone. Besides the parking lot and the Family Center, the Gathering Space can be used to form such bonds. It is a place where people can greet one another and meet others. It is a place to get acquainted with other members of the parish.
To get to know other people with whom we worship helps one to feel a part of church family, an all-inclusive family, a family that is church, the Mystical Body of Christ.
When we use the Gathering Space as a place to form this kind of family bond with others, we are creating a communal spirit that promotes the oneness of our being and our membership in Christ’s body, the church, the Christ Who is the center for celebration of Mass.
