Blog #6: Resurrection Church
Resurrection Church, Dubuque, Iowa — I feel it would be wrong to write about any other church. Growing up in Dubuque, Resurrection is the church I have always gone to. I received my baptism, my first communion, and my confirmation there. It was attached to my elementary school, so it was a part of my education. I became a server, so 11:00am Sunday became like a regular gig. Resurrection was integral to my education and was essentially my entire introduction to religion. No matter how hard I try, I’m not sure I’d ever be able to forget the image of that church.
As a regular server, I spent a lot of my masses not as part of the congregation, but on “stage” holding the readings for the priest, lighting candles, or bringing bowls of hosts to the altar. I say stage because at Resurrection, the entire area for mass is raised two steps, containing the priest and deacon’s chairs, the altar, and the podium for readings. A large crucifix hung from the ceiling, directly above the altar. Resurrection didn’t have the funds for an ornate altar, and the altar was rather modest — just a wooden table with a white sheet. Built in the 1980s, Resurrection is much more modern and minimalist than older churches. The walls are plain and the behind the altar is not decorated by beautiful paintings, but a simple tapestry changed based on the liturgical season. However, this arrangement succeeded in bringing the focus to the alter. As Kieckhefer says, “the sacrality and significance of the altar should be marked by its prominent position, its clear presence as the heart and center of the church”. It’s not ornate decoration that brings the altar to focus, but careful placement.
I feel Resurrection does not suit Hahn’s ideal of sacramental style that include “rich marbles, mosaics, columns, paintings, and plasterwork”, forming “rooms both grand and intimate, inviting the worshipper to feel completely at home in a highly ornamented room which is nonetheless human-scaled and welcoming” (p.74–75). There are no columns, no paintings, and the only gold piece is the small tabernacle. But, through the careful attention of its priest parishioners, Resurrection carries the same presence of Christ as the most beautiful basilicas. I would agree with Hahn that churches are worthy of ornateness and glory, and somewhere like Notre Dame’s beautiful Basilica of the Sacred Heart definitely seems more reverent in comparison to Resurrection. But, I would disagree with his critique of simpler churches. Resurrection was simple, but it gathered some the most faithful people I have ever met. Outside the congregation space, Resurrection had a large lobby area, often used for banquets, religious education classes and club meetings. A traditional church does not have this set-up. Hahn might argue this space reduces the sacredness of the church. For me, this extracurricular space of the church was essential to the sense of community I felt at mass. It was here parishioners conversed, where children would play, where you could talk with the priest one-on-one. Though ornate decoration increase the sacred aura of the church, a simple church like Resurrection is still able to bring focus to the altar and the Eucharist that is truly important. In the end, a church is nothing without its people, and Resurrection thrived with the kind and faithful. My church is far from the grandest churches in the world, but it offered all the presence of Christ and community I needed.
