MISSION STATEMENT

Holy Rosary is a welcoming parish community of the Roman Catholic faith that celebrates and deepens our relationship with Jesus Christ and with our brothers and sisters through sacraments, liturgy, prayer, ecumenism and commitment to the proclamation of the Good News.

To this end, the purpose of the architectural renewal of our parish is to modernize our space in accordance with our parish mission statement and the spirit of Vatican II.

This brochure is intended to point out the deficiencies of our current space that limit us from achieving the above. After reflecting on the contents of these pages and making your own observations of our current space, we welcome your feedback. You can write your thoughts in an email to any of the Spiritual Architecture Committee members listed at the bottom of this page or by noting them on a sheet of paper and dropping it in the collection basket or at the parish office. Click to drop down to the Committee Members list.

In addition to reading the information below, you may want to read the minutes of the meetings of the Spiritual Architecture Committee. Click here to see them These were last updated on December 2, 2010.

March 28, 2010 - A pdf document showing some of the problems with the existing church interior and a proposed new interior layout was posted in the church on Sunday, March 28. It is a very large document. After clicking on the information button, set the zoom level of Adobe Reader at 15% to view the whole sheet, then zoom to 50% to see sections of the document and read the annotations. Scroll down and from side to side to go to the various parts.

 

ARCHITECTURE RENEWAL

Town Hall presentations were made in Nov./Dec., 2007. The visual aids are presented here. This is a PowerPoint presentation. It is a very large file that will take some time to download if you do not have a DSL ("High Speed") connection.

Click the MS logo to download PowerPoint Viewer 2007.

 

INITIAL MEETING TO OUTLINE NEEDS.

Entrance & Gathering Area
Challenges:

	1) Four entrances/exits from the church Inhibits the congregation’s ability to socialize before and after mass. One common entrance and gathering area could serve as a space for promoting the various activities that are the life of the parish.
	2) Entrance gathering space is too small The Emma St. foyer is too small to accommodate a large gathering of people for funerals, weddings, baptism celebrations, the Palm Sunday procession, Easter Vigil, Confirmation and graduation ceremonies. These celebrations begin from this entrance and often result in people overflowing to outside the main doors.

	3) Community room entrance This entrance area is also too small for all the activity and traffic that takes place there each weekend.
	4) Step hazards Outside the Emma entrance. This entrance is also not wheel chair accessible.
	5) Canopy protection Lack of protection from the weather elements outside the doors. A canopy would be more conducive to mingling before and after mass.
	6) Very little over flow seating available during highly attended liturgies such as during Easter week, Christmas, Graduations and Confirmations. The main entrance gathering area serves this purpose in newly designed churches.
	7) Coat rack A coat rack near the Emma street entrance would invite people “to stay a while”. Coats take up pew space, which is highly valued space at times.
	8) Lack of wheel chair accessible washrooms & baby change areas. The only wheel chair accessible washroom is locked during mass.
	9) Baby nursing room. There is currently no accommodation for young nursing mothers. This facility would help them feel comfortable and part of a community that welcomes young families and children.

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Reconciliation Room
Challenges:

1) Not sound proof & not enough rooms
The Library and Reconciliation room are currently a shared space and not sound proof.

2) Confessionals are outdated
The 3 current confessional are too small and are not in keeping with the spirit of Vatican II. i.e. face to face dialogue.

Church Proper & Sanctuary
Challenges:

1) Altar too far from the back of the church. It is difficult to be involved in the liturgy if a person is seated 24 pews back from the sanctuary. By lessening the physical distance between the presider and the worshiping community, the liturgy becomes more intimate, as with a gathering of family around the supper table.

2) Steps to the altar & tabernacle
Steps are not easy to negotiate. The “high” altar is a pre-Vatican II concept that distances the people from the priest and makes it difficult to fully participate in the mass.

3) Not enough room for people to move around the sanctuary. The lectern, musical instruments, presider’s chair, seating for the altar servers and choir are too close to the altar. This distracts from the celebration. Although there is a need for the choir to lead the congregation from the front, as well as for the music director to have eye contact with the priest, the choir should be located outside of the sanctuary area.

4) Current space does not lend itself to presentations The annual financial report presentation, parent meetings for confirmation and first communion, youth presentations or even songs during mass that are not in the CBW III are difficult to communicate because the current space is not equipped. Acoustical needs, electrical outlets, a hide-a-way screen and microphone jacks must be of sufficient quantity and quality. Having microphones within the church proper could lend itself to two way dialogue with speakers located in the sanctuary during a presentation.

5) Baptismal font too small.
In keeping with the spirit of Vatican II, this should be large enough for adult baptism by immersion.

6) Current location of sacristy is not convenient.
Ideally the priest will vest near where he begins the Sunday mass procession. This is where the vestments should also be stored. Stairs going up to the current sacristy are inconvenient. This is also a heavy traffic area before and after mass.

7) Lack of insulation, air conditioning and proper ventilation. Providing a comfortable environment for everyone encourages participation in the liturgy and in any other parish activities that are held in the church.

8) Direct sunlight obstructs view at times The lighting of the church should be a combination of natural and
artificial lighting with the position of the sun at key times during the day/season kept in mind if redesign were to take place.

9) Poorly equipped for emergencies
Quick access to a first aid station or emergency telephone is necessary.

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Storage
Challenge:

Materials, canned goods and furniture for various ministries are scattered in many unorganized and inadequate locations throughout the building.

Office Space – Pastor & Staff Offices
Challenges:

1) Only two offices
One office is for the pastor and another is for the Lay Pastoral Assistant, even though there are 2 other staff that require work space

2) No private meeting space
A welcoming, comfortable, soundproof, private meeting room for people to meet with the pastor or staff is lacking.

Office Space – General Office & Reception Area
Challenges:

1) Uninviting to visitors
The locked office door and door bell are not inviting. There is no waiting area with comfortable seating and lighting while waiting for appointments with the pastor.

2) Limited work space
The square footage area of the general office is not large enough to accommodate the traffic of up to 5 permanent staff members, a temporary helper and many ministry leaders needing use of the office equipment.

Meeting Rooms
Challenges:

1) Privacy infringement
Sometimes the rectory (priest’s residence) is used as a supplemental meeting space and infringes on the privacy of our priests.

2) An active parish needs room to meet. Not enough meeting rooms for the 35 or so ministries in our parish
that meet regularly both daytime and evening.

3) Community Room is used for many activities
This space doubles on Sunday morning as a coffee serving/sales area as well as a Children’s Liturgy space. The Children’s Liturgy is squeezed into one end and must be set up between masses amongst the coffee tables.

4) Community Room kitchen is not adequate for large groups
This room also serves as a guest reception area when we have a guest speaker, as well as a group function area for groups too small for the parish hall.

5) Inadequate space for Children’s programs
Four classes of children’s programs run weekly with up to 45 children in attendance. Children need to be in a visible location on a main floor, not meeting in a basement or sharing a space with Sunday coffee happening around them.

6) Conference room in basement
Previous experiences here at Holy Rosary as well as in other parishes show that participation in activities held in basement locations decrease substantially compared to at-grade facilities.

 

We welcome your comments:

Spiritual Architecture Committee Members Click on a name to send that person an e-mail.
	Rodney Bell	Ralph Gorgi
	Bill Dubuc	Martin Gray
	Sean Farrelly	Ralph Tersigni
	Catherine Feren	Vicki Veri
	Marie Gazzola	Therese Wright