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by Dan Veaner
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
The new All Saints Catholic church was filled Sunday afternoon for a special mass to dedicate the church. A combined chorus led by Doreen Kelly Alsen was made up of All Saints singers along with those from neighboring Catholic parishes and Lansing United Methodist Church filled the sanctuary with joyous music as the Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark, Bishop of Rochester, led the consecration. The $1.7 million church was completed this summer, with the first service filling the 400 seat church. But now it is officially consecrated to God's service as a place of worship.
The Mass lasted about two hours, and was divided into six distinct sections. The fourth part was set aside for the dedication and anointings. Bishop Clark explained that while Catholics believe that God is everywhere, the faith does not exclude reserving special places where worshipers can hold communion with God. Rituals included sprinkling of water from a new baptismal font made by local artist Linda Blossom, Annointing the walls and alter, and the lighting of incense and candles.
The mass evoked a kind of majesty that blended, rather than contrasted the high style of past centuries with the visually simpler version today. Parishoners streamed in several lines in the center and side aisles to take communion. The line to receive communion from the Bishop was somewhat longer than the others. Sunlight streamed through the enormous window, silhouetting an original carved statue of the Risen Christ by local artisan Robert Nagel, and haloing the Bishop, Priests, and worshipers on the dais.
Reverend Scott Kubinski set out to thank everyone who made the church and the dedication possible, saying that he feared he might inadvertently leave someone out. God may have heard that prayer, because a moment after he began, the voluminous incense set off the smoke alarm, a blaring siren and flashing lights that drowned him out. So nobody felt left out as Bishop Clark signalled the blessing and recessional. A reception in the parish center followed.
Doreen Kelly Alsen leads a mixed choir
The new church is actually the third church that All Saints has built since erecting the first in 1913 at a cost of $2,000. That church was used until 1933 when a new church was built on the corner of Myers and Ridge roads at a cost of $10,000. Around 1990 All Saints acquired an additional 9 acres, and a few years later raised $340,000 to build the parish center, which houses offices, classrooms, and a large reception room and kitchen. But the congregation was also outgrowing the 249 seat church, and with a scarcity of available priests adding a second mass was not a practical option.
The capital committee led by Dan Brown raised pledges of around $700,000, and with bridge loans and a mortgage construction began almost exactly one year before the church opened this June. In the future plans call for the back of the old church to be converted into offices to make more room in the parish center for classrooms, and to connect the parish center to the new church. The front of the old church will be maintained to be used for weddings and smaller ceremonies.
For today the congregation is happy with what is has, a church they can grow with. After the anointing a cloth and candlesticks were assembled over the Holy Table, clearly illustrating that what was formerly just a room was now anointed for worship. And if pride is a sin, All Saints members will certainly be forgiven for having a little pride in their new church, and the memorable celebration that made it a special place to commune with God.
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