By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
At the end of a Sunday mass, just before the congregation was dismissed, there was an announcement that there would be a meeting of the members of the board (of directors or trustees) of the church in about 10 minutes.
During the meeting, a non-member of the board went inside to join the group. He was immediately accosted by a senior member, “This is only for the members of the board. You are not a member.”
Came the snappy answer. “Yes, I am. I am a member of the BORED. I was so BORED during the whole mass, especially during the sermon. So I am a member of the BORED.”
So priests and church officials, be warned. Rather, do something about the problem.
Last Wednesday was the mass for our departed relative. Her body was brought all the way from Canada. She passed on due to the big C. It was at the Holy Innocents Church at the Easter College compound. Walking over from our office, I arrived exactly as the mass started. Too late the hero. Social distancing and other health protocols were strictly being observed. At one seat apart, all the parts of the pews allowed to be occupied were taken.
There were plastic chairs that were brought out for those who could not be accommodated inside. There were a lot of us who had to seat outside. It could have been OK but we could not clearly make out what were being said at the altar.
At the end of the service I sought out a church officer to place loud speakers outside so those who could not be accommodated inside would not be left out. The suggestion was well taken, I guess.
Another observation I made was the need for churches to invest in very good sound systems. In most buildings of worship where I had to hear mass every now and then, across the board or all denominations, the sound systems are almost always bad. What was being articulated by speakers are often not so clear to the members of the congregation.
It is that or that the acoustic properties of such churches are bad. Whatever the cause, it should be remedied, otherwise going to church would always be just a matter of duty, not something you would love to do or look forward to.
Such improvements might improve also the effect of the singing that is always done during church services—which should achieve their intention for the members of the congregation to feel spiritual upliftment, if not spiritual trance where one feels the presence of his maker.
There are also the usual readings in the process. In case of a mass for the dead, a specials portion should be devoted to what should be learned from the life of the departed. There are always good deeds that can be recalled and imparted. In a solemn scene like a mass, such life lessons can go really deep.
This should be done by one who has personal knowledge of the good deeds. In all cases, personal knowledge makes the delivery of the message stronger. Family members who are tasked to do these often would become emotional such that the message gets lost because of poor delivery. So somebody not so emotional should be given the task. For best results, good practice should even be done before the actual event.
Hopefully some of these will be implemented in some churches. So at the tail end of my life I would like to be going to church, Because ever since, I was always looking forward to the end of the church service, or that I was always a member of the BORED.
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