Wednesday, September 8, 2010

DAYTON DEANERY — To celebrate the faith that remains the foundation at Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr was the celebrant as the Alter community witnessed the blessing of its renovated chapel and new altar on Aug. 22.

Archbishop Schnurr celebrates the dedication of Alter High School’s renovated chapel at a ceremony at the school’s campus in Kettering on Aug. 22. (Courtesy photo)

As part of the school’s “Answering the Call” capital campaign that began in March 2009, the $300,000 project entailed a complete overhaul of Alter’s campus ministry and worship space to more effectively host weekly Masses for students, faculty, staff and guests, along with religion classes, penance and other special services, closing services for retreats, athletic team gatherings for prayer and personal time for peaceful reflection.

The Alter chapel has become more prominent in the building by its move forward of campus ministry, with a wood and glass entry directly off the first floor hallway. Its renovated features include replacement of the pews with flexible chair seating, stained glass windows and reorientation of the space around a new altar to create a greater sense of communion. The newly designed chapel will accommodate 200 students, the school’s optimal class size.

At the first all-school Mass of the year, held at St. Charles Borremeo Church, Alter’s president, Father James Manning, told the students that “although we have the privilege of a new chapel and the opportunity to learn of our faith in theology classes, the proof of our faith is in our actions and how we care for one another and how we care for what has been given to us.”

Archbishop Schnurr poses with student and faculty servers, lectors and choir members from Alter High School moments after the completion of the dedication ceremony of the school’s renovated chapel on Aug. 22 on the Alter campus in Kettering.