The WaPo goes into some detail about a pastor’s plan to beautify his modern and somewhat spartan parish church in Alexandria. From what I’ve heard of church renovation projects, though, $425,000 is not a shocking amount to spend, and the substance of the renovation — moving the Eucharist from a “tiny room” to a suitably adorned chapel visible to the faithful — sounds like it’s in conformity with the Church’s directives.
So why is this news? Because some parishioners (cue the violins) are disgruntled about a shift away from the parish’s old-style liberal manner. The Postista says, “Priest’s Vision, Style Deeply Divide Parishioners at Alexandria Church” but the subhead could just have well have run, “Neo-Puritans Oppose Art and Decoration in Worship”. Here’s a motto if they need one (Jn. 12:5): “Why wasn’t the money given to the poor?”