Bishop Dedicates St. Isidore the Farmer Church

By Irene Lagan
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 11/7/02)

ORANGE — In a church filled to overflowing, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde consecrated St. Isidore the Farmer Church in Orange last Sunday. The bishop welcomed parishioners, formerly of St. John in Orange and St. Mark in Gordonsville, to their new "home" where they will be "nourished and strengthened not only by spiritual food and drink, but also by forgiveness and patience, by sacrificial love."

At the beginning of the dedication ceremony, Bishop Loverde stood before the entrance of the church and proclaimed, "Go within his gates, giving thanks, enter his courts with songs of praise." The door, he said, is the symbol of Christ, who refers to himself as the door in St. John’s Gospel. The rite of dedication begins when the bishop hands the keys to the pastor, symbolizing the handing over of the parish to his care.

In his homily, the bishop explained the dominant aspects of the church. The baptismal font, placed prominently at the entrance of the church, reminds us that we are members of Christ’s body, born again to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and to lead all people to Christ. The altar is both a table of sacrifice and of the paschal banquet, a "unique altar on which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated in mystery throughout the ages until Christ comes again." The altar is always placed at the center of the church to symbolize the thanksgiving perfected in the Eucharist. Similarly, the Tabernacle, crucifix and pulpit are signs of "the home whereby we are born into God’s Family, formed and strengthened as His children and then sent forth in his name to evangelize."

Following the homily and prayers of the faithful, the choir sang the litany of the saints as the bishop anointed the altar with chrism. Father Martin incensed the altar and blessed the people. Incense is a symbol of prayers that rise up like smoke to God.

Bishop Loverde thanked Father Martin for his leadership in unifying the two parishes and overseeing the building of the new church. Father Martin, Father Paul deLadarante and Brother David Eddy were the Masters of Ceremony. Father James Gould, pastor of St. Raymond of Penafort Parish in Fairfax Station, also assisted in the celebration.

Bishop Loverde announced the suppression of St. Mark and St. John Parishes, effective July 1, 2002. Father Martin was appointed pastor of the two parishes in 1995 by Bishop John R. Keating. St. Isidore, the patron saint of farmers and rural communities, was chosen as the patron because Orange County is a farming community.

The stained glass window behind the altar depicts the story of St. Isidore and his wife, Maria de la Cabeza, also a canonized saint. The window portrays the legend that St. Isidore often had an angel helper with mysterious white oxen that enabled him to do more than his share of work in less time than others.

John Deeds, a St. Isidore parishioner, and Jason Worthington of Lynch Woodworking in Madison handcrafted the altar, pulpit and baptismal font. The tabernacle and crucifix are from former St. John Church in Orange, and the statues of Joseph and Mary are from the former St. Mark Church in Gordonsville.

St. Isidore parishioners enjoyed a banquet with the bishop in the parish hall after the ceremony.

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