This morning was the second of our visits to renovated churches as part of our own renovation process. Today’s visit was to All Hallows Parish, Five Dock.
A diagram of a typical radial seating arrangement
We continue our exploration of seating arrangements this week by looking at an arrangement that has become more common in the last fifty years, the Radial arrangement.
This seating arrangement has become more popular since the Second Vatican Council. The main motivation for its development has been a desire to increase the sense of the assembly being gathered around the altar. As such, the radial arrangement sees rows of pews or chairs arranged around the front and sides of the sanctuary in a fan shape, with the sanctuary remaining along a wall, or perhaps positioned so it extends from a corner of the space.
In some ways, this seating arrangement is somewhat of a compromise. It provides people with a greater sense of being a part of a gathered community united in worship, but without deviating too much from a typical processional arrangement. We can see a bit more than the backs of people’s heads, and the attention of the assembly is still very much directed towards the sanctuary.
One key limitation of the radial arrangement, however, comes from its similarity to the processional arrangement. Its fan shape, or theatre style, can still give some people the sense that they are an audience; spectators observing a liturgy celebrated by the priest. This perception is not in keeping with our belief that the liturgy of the work of Christ and his Church – the entire Church – priest and lay people gathered together in Jesus’ name.
In order to continue to learn more about other renovated churches, to gain more feedback from parishioners, and learn what would work best in our parish, we would like to invite all parishioners to join us on visiting other renovated churches. Our second and final visit for this year is on this weekend at:
All Hallows Catholic Church
2 Halley Street, Five Dock
10:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday 29 November
If you wish to join us, please collect the “Visitor’s Sheet” from the display in the parish centre today, or download it here in two parts:
- Information about All Hallows Church, Five Dock
- Church Visit Feedback Form – for completion after the visit
Need help finding All Hallows? Take a look at the map below:
A diagram of a typical processional seating arrangement
We begin our exploration of seating arrangements this week by looking at an arrangement well known to Wentworthville parishioners, the Processional arrangement.
This seating arrangement is the one we see in our own church, and has existed for many years. The seats are all placed in rows facing the sanctuary at one end of the space. This seating arrangement particularly suited the celebration of Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council. The priest celebrated ad orientum, that is, all were of the same orientation – focused on the altar against the end wall of the church.
The processional seating arrangement’s advantages are that all attention is directed towards the sanctuary and its focal points of the altar, ambo and presidential chair. Seating capacity within the space is maximised. It is also a seating arrangement very well suited to personal prayer. It can provide for clear lines of sight, and impressive processions through the church.
On the other hand, it can be argued that this arrangement suggests that the liturgy is the work of the priest which the assembly observes. Nowadays, we understand that the liturgy is the work of Christ and his Church; all of us united in faith and gathered to worship. It can also mean that people are a long distance from the sanctuary; again potentially limiting the sense of being an active participant in the liturgical celebration. Distance also affects the assembly’s ability to see and hear what is happening.
The feedback we have received from parishioners regarding our renovation process has been very helpful. Some of the comments that have been made by parishioners have reflected concerns around the way seating could be arranged in a renovated space.
At this point, we have not made any decisions about the way the seating will be arranged. Our consultation with parishioners has led to our desire to consider the seating arrangement with these two broad goals in mind:
- Improving the sense of parishioners being gathered around the table of the Word (ambo) and the table of the Eucharist (altar)
- Bringing the assembly into closer proximity with the ambo and altar, placing them closer to the centre of the Eucharistic action.
To help people understand more about seating arrangements, the upcoming Liturgy Links articles will explain four common seating arrangements that have been used in Catholic churches:
- The Processional arrangement
- The Antiphonal arrangement
- The Radial arrangement, and
- The Central arrangement
Remember that you can ask questions, make suggestions or comments about the renovation process at any time. To help with this, you can make a written submission and place it in the “Renovation Mailbox” at the display in the parish centre.
From the website of the British Province of Carmelite Friars comes news of the completion of the renovation of the Marian Shrine at St Peter-Chains-Church in Doncaster, UK.
The work looks quite impressive, with new stained glass windows installed, and older windows preserved.
You can read more about it, and see pictures, on their website.
The Doncaster Parish website currently has on its home page what appears to be a picture of the shrine prior to renovation. They also have a full story and images of the completed work.
