Thanks to Amy Welborn for noting this interesting piece: The Yeoman Farmer: Palm Sunday In Piper City
Here we have a parish that underwent some restoration work after a fire and they chose to not put back in place the second altar which went in front of the old high altar:
"Earlier this year, the church reopened after extensive repairs from a fire caused by a lightning strike. The damage was mostly contained in the rear of the building; this church has among the most beautiful stained glass windows we've ever seen, and fortunately they all survived. A couple of them are visible in the photo to the right; someday I'll post pictures of the other windows. Note that there is only one altar: the old high altar, with the tabernacle still in place. When they reopened the church, they decided not to put the freestanding altar back in; the priest now says Mass "facing east," with the congregation. He'd been using that posture out of necessity for the many months when Mass was celebrated in the social hall (while repairs were being undertaken). Everyone grew to like and appreciate it, so they've kept it that way back in the church building."
Take a look at the rest of the story.
