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After two attempts to extract the right size lump of coal, the
mining company successfully mined a lump of coal that was large
enough to be transported and fabricated into an altar. The
George Barnette Mining and Construction Co. of Wise, VA sent
driver Jesse Bullock to transport the chunk of coal from
Pennsylvania to the Candora Marble Company of Knoxville, TN.
For the final touches, the fabricators at the Candora Marble
Co., chiseled, shaped, cleaned, and polished the 7000-pound
chunk of coal and created a 3000-pound altar. To protect the
priest’s vestments the backside of the altar was shaved,
cleaned, and polished. Then to prepare the altar surface, the
top of the coal was shaved and polished. The final product was
the creation of the existing 3000-pound altar. The altar was
then transported to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.
While retaining the rough, raw natural resource of the coal, for
the presentation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the altar
has a very smooth surface. The altar is symbolic in many ways.
It represents the spirit of the community and the heart of its
hard working people. It is a natural resource of God’s creation.
Like the church and God's people it evolves over many years. It
represents the hard work of all those that have lived,
worshiped, and labored in this mountainous, mining, community.
Fr. Robert Bond, the last Glenmary Mission Priest to serve St.
Anthony’s parish, the dedication of the miners, haulers,
fabricators, the Glenmary Brothers and especially the head of
the building committee, Anthony Trigiani, made this precious
earthly resource the sacred altar it is today! Father Bond
considered the altar symbolic because in his words, "Coal is the
material and spiritual prosperity of this area”.
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