Who moved my ambo?

If you haven't visited Mother Knoll in the last six months, you missed the rearrangement of the deck chairs...er...I mean the seats, altar and lecturn in Our Lady Chapel. Not only was furniture moved around, but the daily Mass hour was moved from 7:00 a.m. (since neither God nor I are fully awake at that hour) to a more user-friendly 11:30. After some initial grumblings, attendance went up and stabilized at around 35, so the men seem to have adjusted well; less so but still accepting towards the rather unorthodox yet, upon reflection, more prayerful arrangement of the furniture.

The altar is in the center, as befits the focal point of worship, with the people sitting around three sides in a "U" formation. Just inside the entrance in the middle of the center aisle, the presider's chair faces the altar. On the opposite side of the altar, the lecturn, flanked by the candles on floor stands, faces the people from in front of the Pietá.

This arrangement combines intimacy and transcendence, with prominence given to the Word yet with all eyes on the altar...and beyond.

Still can't shake echoes of new wine into old winekins. If we could only rejuvenate the presiders and people...