ALTERATIONS TO CHURCH

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29850, 16 June 1962, Page 5

ALTERATIONS TO CHURCH

Position Of Altar To Be Changed

To allow more active participation by the congregation in services conducted at St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Addington, alterations are to be made in the arrangement of the sanctuary and chancel. Tenders for the work will be called next month. The altar will be moved from against the east wall to a free-standing position nearer the congregation. This will allow the celebrant to conduct the service facing the people if he wishes. The services of the early church were celebrated in this way, and the mehod was becoming popular in England and on the Continent, said the church architect (Mr D. E. Donnithome >. He said the usual method of placing the altar against the eastern wall and having the choir in the chancel originated in Victorian times. This suited the liturgical thought of the time, but was no longer satisfactory in an age when the acknowledgement of the importance of the laity in the structure of the church was finding expression in the more active participation of the people in the religious services. Mr Donnithome said. Other changes to be made at St. Mary’s in accordance with the new system will be the moving of the choir stalls from the chancel to the south side of the nave, leaving a clear space between the nave and the sanctuary. The organ will be moved close to the choir, allowing space for a vestry. A cross will be suspended above the altar.