We are blessed to have several sacred spaces here at St Martin de Porres for our community to use and enjoy. It begins as you walk up the steps and encounter a profusion of colours and scents. The garden welcomes you and draws you in, and I think many people feel uplifted simply by walking in the gate. The courtyard has benches that invite people to linger after mass. Beyond the courtyard, behind the Shalom sign, is our garden for the dead. It is a place of wild beauty which would benefit from some uprooting and new plantings. Like life, gardens are never perfect or finished, always leaving something to be done by green fingers. Beyond that still is the garden surrounding the parish house, an indigenous highveld garden which is waterwise though you would never have guessed it by the water bill. It is used by parish and school groups on days of recollection. It is also a garden that is becoming.
Our Church is also a place of quiet beauty. Its tranquility helps one to come to silence, to encounter God not only in word and sacrament but also in our hearts. The ceiling reminds me of the keel of a boat, like one of those that Jesus often took with his disciples. A place from which he quietened the storms, manifested his power, and taught the crowds. Just like our church today. I like its unclutteredness, its spare and understated beauty. The tiled sanctuary softly reflects light, complementing and not stealing the focus from the altar at the centre of the sanctuary. There are still some final touch-ups to be done, as well as moving the sound system from sacristy to gallery together with two new speakers to enhance the audio experience. I sometimes imagine what it would be like if the upper windows, with completely nonfunctional louvers, became stained glass windows. A dream for another day.
The hall also has its moments of grace, with morning light streaming through the big folding doors on the side. We are in the process of renovating a room behind the stage, long used for jumble, into a meeting and prayer space. The painting of St Francis of Assisi which used to be in the church will be installed there. We will have catechism classes there, as well as meetings of various group executives. It may even be completed in time for us to use it for our “Hearts on Fire” course for those who want to experience Ignatian Spirituality at a deeper level. Another sacred place for to pray and to encounter God in our hearts and in one another.
