Ambo

"He went up a mountain--and opening his mouth he taught them." 
-Matthew 

At the ambo, or reading table, the words of Sacred Scripture are proclaimed in the Epistles and Gospels during the celebration of the Eucharist. The word is of Greek origin, supposed to signify a mountain or elevation.
 
The ambo is believed to have taken its origin from the raised platform from which the Jewish rabbis read the Scripture to the people. They were first introduced into churches during the 4th century and, as time passed, became elaborately constructed and decorated pulpits carved from precious woods or marble.

Jefferson Tortorelli was inspired in his design of the ambo by the account in the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus walked to the top of a mountain, turned and immediately began to teach the people. There was no barrier, no elevated desk, no protection between Jesus and His listeners.

Tortorelli decided on the same barrier free effect for the ambo, nothing between the person proclaiming God's Word and the assembly. The reading table is adjustable so that it is accessible to all people, to a child, a person in a wheelchair, or a taller adult.

The main body of the approximately 1500 pound ambo is constructed from jarrah wood specially ordered from Australia. The exterior is accented with deep red bloodwood, sometimes called cardinal wood or satine.

The steel internal working mechanism of the ambo is fully mechanical, not electrical, so that it can last five hundred years with minimal maintenance. The initial mechanical design was based on Tortorelli's thought that if he were able to build something similar to the scales of justice, he would be able to raise or lower the tables with little effort.

The first mechanical design drawings were done by Voytek Siwiec. After the initial prototype was constructed, Tortorelli realized that with the weight of the reading table, major modifications to the initial design were required. He then designed and built the final design mechanism.

"It is as if you picture in your mind the scales of justice with a pivot point and two plates," Tortorelli explains. "When they are in perfect balance, you can raise or lower each dish with minimal effort."

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