Green Screen Chapel

[Jguerra]

Ours is a busy parish. Confessions are heard right after the 3pm wedding/quincenera. The bride and groom come back in the church with the invitees for a photo shoot in front of the sanctuary. Noisy, raucous and a good number of the attendees dressed inappropriately for a church. Kids run around, gum chewing the norm. Cell phones come out for catch up calls and texts. The same scenario plays out after a Sunday Mass in which Baptism is celebrated. In either case, I come in to pray, get ready for Mass or Confession. Goodness, it's hard to be spiritually inclined with all the racket. I'm waiting for the day when we get a pastor who will put the gospel hammer down and make it clear that the church is a temple of worship, where Jesus is sacramentally, truly present and ban such post-wedding misconduct.
Here, then, is a challenge to all devout photographers: set up a temporary green-screen studio in the parish hall or a CCD class room. Right after the nuptial Mass, get the wedding party in for the pictures in said studio. Superimpose a still image of the vacant sanctuary behind the wedding participants on the photos. Result: the church is vacated right after the ceremonies, the pictures are taken without disrespecting the Blessed Sacrament and parishioners can come into the church without hindrance for Mass or Confession in peace.

Sigh!

Joe

[misspriss]

Well, the second time I ever went to confession, there was a wedding that afternoon and I didn't know it, and I got there and there were so many people around I panicked and left (I'm prone to anxiety). Thankfully I drove across town and went to confession at another parish, with a later confession time. But anyway, I know what you are talking about, even though I've only experienced it once.

[Cristiano]

I haven't seen any post yet about groomsmen going around the nave holding open bottles of beer. I have seen that happening too. Luckily the priest was nice enough to give a warning instead of throwing everybody out immediately.