Fr. J. Robert C oady

Under Father Bob’s guidance many old traditions were revived: The bless- ing of the boats, the crowning of Mary in May, the Corpus Christi Procession from the church to the cemetery, the parish variety concert and the Upper Room Play. A number of other practices were introduced: The book of Mass Intentions, the candlelight carol service near Christmas, the all-night prayer vigil on Holy Thursday and the communal penitential service, not to mention the lay ministers bringing Holy Communion to the sick and shut—in and the communal celebra— tion of the anointing of the sick and aged.

Many renovations to the church building took place. In 1981 a Family Room and a Vesting Room were added near the entrance to the Church. Book brackets were installed on the backs of all the church pews. In 1982 the sanc- tuary was remodelled. The old altar was taken down and the tabernacle was mov- ed to the left side of the sanctuary. The red runners were replaced by a complete carpeting of the sanctuary, the aisles and the church entrances. New chairs were bought to match the blue carpet. The vestry was set up for weekday masses. A new Reconciliation Room or Confessional Room was built off the vestry so that people could go to confession either behind a screen or more openly and face to face. The church steps were repaired and carpeted. Work was done on the choir loft for the seating of any overflow. This space was now free, since the choir had been downstairs for a number of years. A new entrance from the Parish Centre into the church, was made. Now the Parish Centre and the Church were con- nected so that one did not have to go out into the weather to get from one to the other.

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