Because a Church is not simply a gathering space, but truly a sign of the visible reality of God‟s people, living, active, and present in the house of God whereby the Father reconciles us and unites in Christ by the Holy Spirit, the baptismal font „speaks‟ immediately to all who enter here. The baptismal font‟s placement demonstrates the importance of Baptism, which is the doorway or entrance to our life in Christ Jesus. Through our baptism, we participate in a life of grace: a sacramental life, full of signs and wonders that point us to eternity with God in heaven. The constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from Vatican II (1963) states that, “The Church has been particularly careful to see that sacred furnishings should worthily and beautifully serve the dignity of worship.” At our current and unfortunate juncture, we have an empty sign and obviously a broken sign in the house of God. In the proximate future, we will have no choice but to find an appropriate solution.

The baptismal font has had a number of issues in the past, not the least of which was once flooding the Church. Last year when I arrived in July 2009, the font had a great deal of mold that had to be cleaned. The pebble tec was repaired within the last 6 months on the Narthex side, due to cracking and now the font has leaked through the front (Sanctuary side) wall in a lower section, which creates a possible structural problem/issue.

I have asked for parishioner‟s input and solicit that from you today. Few have urged that the font be fixed. Many have urged we remove the font and go with something simple and noble. Do not fear the future! Whatever decision is made, it will be made with much consultation and with your input! Yet, whatever direction we go, I regret to inform you that it will be expensive. Here is the process that is in motion:

First I will have a structural engineer here to look it over and also have an expert pebble tec installer give us an opinion. My guess is that we‟ll have to remove the pebble tec and re-do it if we keep the font as is. The font will have to remain empty until we can gather sufficient information on the current issue. A significant consideration is that unlike the stucco for our buildings, this problem with the font was not foreseen and not budgeted for in this fiscal year. Also, since the water has found a way under the pebble tec, we need to also make sure that there is no damage underneath the font or around the floor area. We‟ll need to check for mold and or structural damage.

options are weighed, we will need to decide what direction would be best for the future of the font. An important consideration is that the outside of the church building is a “neo-mission” style. Inside, there isn‟t much “mission” going on save the amount of wood that has been used for pews and altar appointments. Does the baptismal font communicate to you a “mission style”? Considering the architecture of the Church, should the area where the font is, be configured to reflect the building‟s style or does it already do that?

There are beautiful aspects of the font and there are some aspects of the font that make it clumsy and somewhat impractical. By that I mean, it is not easily accessed as an immersion font, thus making immersion baptisms difficult or even dangerous. Immersion fonts should have an access point; we obviously are lacking this aspect of the font. Ordinarily for baptisms in the Church, Fr. Herb and I baptize children in front of the sanctuary (by infusion: pouring water over the head) so that those present can see without undue neck pain and strain. In reality, the baptismal font isn‟t often used for baptisms unless the group for baptism is very small. Baptizing five or six children on a Saturday morning with all the family and guests present does not lend itself well to have everyone standing around the font for forty minutes.

Rest assured, a font will be there in the space behind the stained glass of the dove over the waters. This beautiful art that calls our attention to when God‟s Holy Spirit breathed over the waters in the creation story from the book of Genesis is an appropriate backdrop for a baptismal font. More information needs to be gathered before any final decisions are made. When you come into Church, please remember that Holy Water is available in the small fonts near the inner doors, toward the outer walls.

Beside the font, we have many needs on the parish grounds. Please be generous in designating tithes and donations toward the building/maintenance fund. I will continue to make personal sacrifices and commit from my own means toward this fund so that our buildings and grounds are tended to and speak of the glory that awaits us in heaven. Let‟s do something beautiful together for God. I hope you will prayerfully consider joining me in this mission!

I look forward to hearing your input and aspirations regarding the future of our baptismal font. I hope to have a full sign up and „speaking‟ again soon about the power and grace we have been given in and through our baptism in Christ Jesus! In Christ,

Fr. Patrick Farley

Parochial Administrator