St. Mary Restoration Continues
...with a surprising discovery!
On Sunday, May 15th 2005, at approximately 12:30pm, a crew of devoted parishioners entered St. Mary Church and started unbolting the pews from the floor. Another crew was in the church hall putting away all the chairs and tables, awaiting the arrival of those same pews to form the temporary meeting place of the community for `the duration'. In addition to removal of all the pews, all other church furnishings `not nailed down' were also transferred to the hall to give a sense of familiarity and make way for Ms. Donnel Hill and her crew of restoratioists who would be arriving the next day.
A new old Ambo (Pulpit) And Presider's Chair
The restoration of St. Joseph continues. If you haven't been lately, you need to stop by.
An early Texas gothic chair originally from LaGrange and dating from the 1870's was recently acquired by Fr. Ed from, where else, the Warrington Antique Show. It came from a home in LaGrange, though it's original owner may have been a lodge of some kind. On the back, in small lettering, is the phrase 'for your lodge room'. It is now the Presider's Chair, matching perfectly the altar and new ambo.
The ambo has been recently acquired by Fr. Ed from his previous parish of Mary, Mother of God/Hempstead [now St. Katherine Drexel]. The Hempstead parish, merged from the View, decided to use the Prairie View ambo and didn't have a place for the antique ambo. It was acquired by Fr. Ed in the early 1990's at the [you've guessed], Warrington Antique Show. It dates from the 1880 - 90's. Research is underway to determine its origin. It has been completely redone by Mrs. Donnel Hill in the style of the main altar which also was purchased at the Warrington antique show by Fr. Ed in about 2002-2003.
Both have been donated to the church as memorials: the Presider's Chair by Sam and Sylvia Corolla in memory of Sylvia's aunt; and the ambo by Leland and Barbara Fougeron in memory of their parents.
They are a 'must see' for all Grimes and Montgomery Counties.
And Now A Word From Your Pastor...
And Now A Word From Your Pastor...
A good pastor knows his flock. A very good pastor 'knows' what his flock is thinking. The best of pastors 'hears' the conversations of parishioners even though he may be thousands of miles away.
My having been 'out-of-pocket' for the past two weekends has no doubt provoked the comment: 'Wonder where he's off to now'. Other comments of a 'not-so-charitable' nature were probably also uttered. My mom has a 'sixth sense' of knowing that I'm off somewhere and asks in Czech, 'Sotem delat, tan Eda' [What is that Eddie doing?]. As you might now realize I am one of those pastors who can 'hear' the conversations of parishioners even though he may be thousands of miles away.
|
