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Health & Fitness

An Outdoor Mass, and the "Theology of the Block Party"

Marking a yearlong celebration of the 135th anniversary of the founding of St. Agnes Parish and the 175th anniversary of the construction of St. Paul's Church, the Catholic "parish of two churches" hosted a neighborhood barbecue and block party on Sackett Street between Hoyt and Bond streets on Saturday afternoon. 

In place of its usual Saturday evening Masses, parishioners concluded the block party by celebrating a 4:30 p.m. vigil Mass in the street in front of St. Agnes. Parish Administrator Father Robert Powers began the Mass by saying he wasn't quite sure why we were gathered outside for Mass, but that he would attempt to explain the "Theology of the Block Party" in his homily.

The idea to celebrate Mass outside, he said, came from a member of the parish's fund-raising and social events committee. No one on the committee, not even the person who suggested the idea, could articulate exactly why the parish should hold Mass outdoors, except that it would be good to do something different, Father Powers said. 

Indeed, it was. Blessed with gorgeous weather Saturday, it was good to enjoy the mild summer evening outdoors, shaded by the row houses on the south side of Sackett Street. Father Powers and Deacon Leroy Branch weren't as fortunate. Robed in layers of vestments, they were in the direct sun. 

During a normal Sunday Mass, I admire the interior architecture of the church, designed by Thomas Houghton. (Houghton also designed St. Francis Xavier Parish in Park Slope and was the son-in-law of the prolific Patrick C. Keely, architect of St. Charles Borromeo in Brooklyn Heights, Sacred Heart-St. Stephen's and St. Mary Star of the Sea in Carroll Gardens, St. Boniface in downtown Brooklyn and 500 others across the United States). The tall vaulted ceilings, stained-glass windows from Munich and ubiquitous Gothic arches inside St. Agnes are all awe inspiring.

And while I admire the beauty of the exterior of the church every Sunday morning as I walk down Hoyt Street toward Sackett, the outdoor Mass Saturday gave me a better opportunity to appreciate the gargoyles and other intricate carvings, the pattern of the stones and even more Gothic archesall set into place more than a century ago, without the aid of modern technology. 

Gazing at the exterior of St. Agnes, however, did not distract me from the Mass or Father Powers' homily. In attempting to explain the "Theology of the Block Party," our reason for being outside, Father Powers noted that the universal church is in the middle of observing a Year of Faith, called for by former Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

When Pope John XXIII called for the council, he said the church needed an "aggiornamento," a bringing up to date. 

"I want to open up the windows of the church, so that we can see out and the people can see in," John XXIII said in announcing the council.

Bringing Mass into the street, Father Powers said, was a way of opening up those windows. 

Father Powers added that he's come to love the word "attitude" since he moved to Brooklyn in 1994. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council, he said, had an attitude of openness, a willingness to move forward. We, too, as Christians, should embrace that same attitude of openness in our daily lives, he said. 

The anniversary celebrations will continue with several events between now and a closing Mass on June 14, 2014. Next on the schedule is an Oct. 19 dinner and dance at Baron DeKalb Caterers in Sheepshead Bay. For more information about these celebrations or the Parish of St. Paul and St. Agnes, call 718-624-3425 (St. Paul) or 718-625-1717 (St. Agnes). 

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