The tabernacle in the main Church is designed to represent the Ark of the Covenant, to remind us of how God works in history. The Old Testament prefigured what is fulfilled in the New Testament. The word tabernacle means "place of divine dwelling", "God tenting with us".
The Ark held the two stone tables of the Ten Commandments as a sign of the divine presence in the midst of the People of God (Deut. 10:5). The Ark had two poles on its sides for carrying it through the desert to the Promised Land (Exodus 25:14). When the Temple was built, the Ark was placed in the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies (I Kings 8:6). Two cherubim angels rest on the top facing one another and gazing down with wings spread over the top of the Ark, forming the throne of God. The doors of the tabernacle have the Hebrew symbols for Alpha (beginning) and Omega (end) (Revelations 1:8). In keeping with the Hebrew language, the symbols are read right to left.
Since His Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus "tents with his people" (John 1:14). Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. We reserve the consecrated host, Jesus, in the tabernacle for adoration and for communion brought to the sick.
This tabernacle, donated by a parish family, was dedicated in June, 2006, celebrating our 10th anniversary as a parish. The tabernacle and base were moved from the old church into the new church and placed behind the altar under the crucifix.