One place I have constantly been involved in for the majority of my life is my church. My family and I have attended mass consistently at St. Joseph Catholic Church for roughly 12 years. Very little has changed in those 12 years, surrounding the arrangement of the church. Of course, some decorations might go up to celebrate the different religious seasons or celebrations, but no major visible renovations have occurred.
A few years ago our former priest Father Cook had announced his retirement, and our church was informed that we were finally going to receive a permanent Spanish speaking priest. For a brief time before Father Cook had retired we had a Spanish speaking priest, but he moved to Pasco, WA due to health complications. Our current priest Padre Jose, in contrast to our former priests did not take a backseat approach to running the church. Historically, our church’s council and Sister Irene were the people in charge of organizing and setting up events. But, to everyone’s surprise Padre Jose quickly assumed his position as a leader of the church. In the summer of 2011 Padre Jose had arrived to his new parish here in Spokane. This was one of the hottest summers we have ever experienced, plus being a church built about 100 years ago, the church lacked a sophisticated ventilation system. Upon Padre Jose’s immediate arrival, he successfully rallied the parish’s support to raise money for a new air conditioning system. This attempt would have been significantly much more difficult if another individual would have had the same idea, but because of Padre Jose’s authority, as a leader of the church, the community trusted his decision.
One very subtle visible change to the church was the moving of the priest’s chair. This chair used to sit in the middle of the Alter behind the table. Now the chair is located off to the side of the Alter on the west wing of the Alter. Of course this could have been an attempt to accommodate for Padre Jose’s short stature, but I believe this change had a larger meaning. One Hispanic tradition my parents always reminded me of as a child was “not to turn your back towards the Alter.” This tradition, or cultural belief, has formed out of the idea that a church is the house of God and that He is present in that church. The simple action of moving the chair emphasized that there is a greater power in the church that we might not see, but is still present.
-Jesus A. Lopez
A few years ago our former priest Father Cook had announced his retirement, and our church was informed that we were finally going to receive a permanent Spanish speaking priest. For a brief time before Father Cook had retired we had a Spanish speaking priest, but he moved to Pasco, WA due to health complications. Our current priest Padre Jose, in contrast to our former priests did not take a backseat approach to running the church. Historically, our church’s council and Sister Irene were the people in charge of organizing and setting up events. But, to everyone’s surprise Padre Jose quickly assumed his position as a leader of the church. In the summer of 2011 Padre Jose had arrived to his new parish here in Spokane. This was one of the hottest summers we have ever experienced, plus being a church built about 100 years ago, the church lacked a sophisticated ventilation system. Upon Padre Jose’s immediate arrival, he successfully rallied the parish’s support to raise money for a new air conditioning system. This attempt would have been significantly much more difficult if another individual would have had the same idea, but because of Padre Jose’s authority, as a leader of the church, the community trusted his decision.
One very subtle visible change to the church was the moving of the priest’s chair. This chair used to sit in the middle of the Alter behind the table. Now the chair is located off to the side of the Alter on the west wing of the Alter. Of course this could have been an attempt to accommodate for Padre Jose’s short stature, but I believe this change had a larger meaning. One Hispanic tradition my parents always reminded me of as a child was “not to turn your back towards the Alter.” This tradition, or cultural belief, has formed out of the idea that a church is the house of God and that He is present in that church. The simple action of moving the chair emphasized that there is a greater power in the church that we might not see, but is still present.
-Jesus A. Lopez