The sign over it reads: "Please do not put crumbs in the piscina. Please consume them or take them outside. Thank you." You can see there's a sieve over the bowl, too - crumbs clog up the drain, which goes through the wall and outside, straight down into the dirt.
A piscina is a sink that you use to dispose of consecrated wine. After wine has been blessed during the Eucharist, you can't just pour it out any old place. It's pretty ancient Christian practice that you must pour it directly into the ground. Consecrated bread, too, can't be just thrown away. You have to eat it or put it out on the ground for birds, animals, or bugs to eat.
I like this - that holy things are sent back to the ground.
And yet, perhaps it is a little precious that we Episcopalians have special sinks for this purpose. God forbid we go outside in person to pour out the wine... or toss it out the window! Although there is a line between preciousness and respect, I suppose.
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