Thanks to a generous bequest, the parish of St Thomas the Apostle in Claremont has been able to renew its sanctuary including the addition of a new altar.
By Robert Hiini
Hundreds of parishioners turned-out at St Thomas Church Claremont last Sunday morning to witness the dedication of their new Jarrah altar and the completion of work to reorganise the church’s sanctuary.
Archbishop Barry Hickey was the main celebrant at the July 12 event blessing and anointing the altar before consecrating the Eucharist.
The new altar and refashioned sanctuary have been an ongoing project of Parish Priest, Fr Charles Waddell, Parish Pastoral Associate Marg Carman and the parish’s liturgy committee: work that was completed three weeks ago when the new altar was mounted in the middle of the sanctuary.
The previous marble altar has been moved to the back sanctuary wall as a new platform for the tabernacle.
Holy images have been mounted on canvas and placed around the sanctuary’s walls for decorative and educational purposes and a new Jarrah lectern has been added.
Archbishop Hickey began the day’s proceedings by blessing the Mass-goers with Holy Water before proceeding to bless the altar.
After the Liturgy of the Word (the Gospel, psalm and Scripture readings), the Archbishop anointed the altar with the sacred Oil of Chrism, pouring it onto the altar’s five embossed crosses – symbolising the five wounds of Christ – and smearing the oil over the altar with his bare hand.
A new altar cloth made by parishioner Pam Doney was laid after the altar was wiped down by members of the parish. It was then incensed while the gifts of bread and wine were prepared and prayers of consecration said.
Marg Carman, Parish Pastoral Associate, told The Record that the parish was particularly proud of being able to recycle parts of the old sanctuary with the former lectern being relocated to the parish’s memorial garden and two pews being resized for sanctuary seating.
She said that the move to refashion the sanctuary began when the priests or presider’s chair broke and a parishioner made a generous offer to replace it, generosity that eventually extended to the full gambit of changes that the parish has made over the past six months.
Maria Kubik, member of the Parish’s liturgy committee and a parish councillor, said that the changes to the sanctuary were made to make the area more inclusive and more intimate for weekday Masses and Children’s liturgy, enabling easier movement around the altar.
Ms Kubik said that the wood of the Jarrah blended well with the general aesthetic inside the church, particularly the wood of the pews and the ceiling.
After the Mass, parishioners were feted to morning tea by two associates of the local Romily House centre – John Kaloxylox and Shaun Laffar – who are regular contributors to the parish.