St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Although the beauty of a church building is what might initially attract me to walk into the building, what the people stand for who attend that church is what will keep me coming back. 

This is a church I feel I have to visit while in London.  I found this article on their web site.  It is worth checking out and pondering:

In the first project of its kind, St Paul’s Cathedral launches St Paul’s Institute, a think tank that aims to explore the moral themes surrounding business, finance and global economics.


Located within the heart of the City of London, St Paul’s Institute seeks to foster an informed Christian response to the most urgent ethical and spiritual issues of our times: financial integrity, economic theory, and the meaning of the common good.

Visitors to http://www.stpaulsinstitute.org.uk/  can find theological commentary, video interviews, original research and analysis, as well as daily news aggregation. St Paul’s Institute will also host a series of lectures, debates and study days.


Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury said;


"An ethical approach to economics requires us to move away from the illusion that economics can be considered separately from questions of the health and well-being of the society we inhabit. It also involves recognising that we exist in a world of materially limited resource – so that environmental degradation has to be taken into account in any assessment of the cost of projects or transactions. I suspect that getting this right would in itself introduce into the language of economics a sense that it couldn’t be only about the mechanics of generating money and might help keep issues of ethics, justice and trust in perspective. So I welcome the continuing focus the St Paul’s Institute brings to these issues by providing a challenging and well-resourced space for conversation and I wish the Institute every success in this new phase of its work”

This post is obviously before I have visited, and the words posted here come from their web site.  Once I experience it in person, I will give my my personal thoughts and photos.  Can't wait!  London, here I come.

Pat Deere

LINKS:  St. Paul's History Page

What better way to start out Mothers Day!

St. John The Baptist Church,  Ypsilanti, MI

What a great way to start Mothers Day.  I met my son, Travis,  for church this morning and he lives in Ypsilanti.  When I looked up churches that started about 9am, I found this one.  I thought it looked familiar, and sure enough... it is the same one I went to for an uncles funeral.  After church, we went to breakfast in Depot Town.  Breakfast was delicious and the link for them is listed below.

St. John the Baptist is a beautiful brick church filled with stained glass windows.  The roof has clay tiles.  The ceiling is very high and intricately painted.  The mass was very traditional and music was beautiful.  They had quite a large band with guitars, keyboard, horns, a harmonica, and more. Of course there was a prayer for mothers and they offered us carnations as we left the church.  If you live in the area and are looking for a church to attend... you may want to consider this one.

Getting onto their web site when I got home I saw the kind of community service you would hope for in a church.  They reach out to their local people by offering help to people who need their grass cut, painting, cleaning, etc.  They call it the Catholic Urban Project Fix-Up.

They also have their, Slice of Summer Kids Program, that is offered free of charge to children aged 6-12.  You can find more about it on the link below.

Whenever I visit a church or business with stained glass, I like to see if it is listed  with the Michigan Stained Glass Census.  Unfortunately, this one is not.  I'd love to help this church through that process and will offer my time to them if they have a volunteer to help me.  Let me know if this interests anybody.  Basically, we take pictures of the stained glass, measure the windows, answer questions on the provided forms, and give the information to the Census where it is stored in the library at Michigan State University in Lansing.  I found pictures of their stained glass on the web earlier, but can't locate them now.  If I help them with their survey, I can post pictures later.

Enjoy your day!

Pat Deere

LINKS:
St. John The Baptist Church, Ypsilanti
Cafe Luwak, Ypsilanti

Congregation Sherry Zadek, Southfield MI

This is a really interesting synagogue.  I haven't visited it yet, but I will in the future.  I have passed by, and been intrigued by it but have not taken the time to stop.  I found this congregation when searching the Window of the Month on the Michigan Stained Glass Census web site.  One of the most interesting facts I found on that page has to do with the artist of the stained glass, who is French born.  Since I am planning a fall trip to France, I will be researching more about this artist, Robert Pinart, before I go and trying to capture some good photos while there.

You can see this synagogue by going to: 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, MI 48034.  If you have already been there, have pictures, or stories about it... please let me know.  A good history of the building, the stained glass, the congregation, and the artist can be found at the links below.

Pat Deere

LINKS:

Congregation Sherry Zadek
Michigan Stained Glass Census, March/April 2010
Robert Pinart, Wilmark Studios

Canterbury Cathedral, United Kingdom

Another out of the country suggestion from my brother.  The link I added below goes to a page where you can click on "From Dawn To Dusk" and see time lapse photography of the cathedral at different times of the day.  Also, just searching "Canterbury Cathedral" then clicking on "Images" gives you a wonderful selection of photos.  Makes you want to visit doesn't it?

The oldest window:  The oldest window at Canterbury shows Adam delving. It dates to about 1176 AD and is the first in a series of ancestors of Christ that used to fill the clerestory of the quire. In the 18th century these early windows were moved to the West Window and to the South-West Window. Adam delving now lives in the centre of the bottom tier of the West Window. The panels that can be seen in the quire clerestory today are 19th century copies of the originals.  (This paragraph and photo were taken directly from the cathedrals web site where more information about the stained glass and restoration can be found.)


Canterbury Cathedral, Cathedral House, 11 The Precincts, Canterbury, CT1 2EH United Kingdom

Pat Deere

LINKS:  Canterbury Cathedral History Page

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Paris

Unfortunately, this is not a place I have visited... yet.  Maybe I will get the chance when my son is in France for his senior year in college.  This suggestion came from my brother Jeff who has been here.  He has travelled outside of the country more than I and was nice enough to make some suggestions we might want to include.    I have included the link to the Wikipedia page that gives a lot of information about it.  The first paragraph from Wikipedia reads: The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.  Way too much infomation for me to include here, so go to the link and check it out.  Feel free to add anything, send pictures you have taken etc.  I'd like to see more about it. 

The second link is one that goes to the website for this Basilica.  You can chose to read it in English or in French.

Pat Deere

LINKS:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_Sacr%C3%A9-Coeur
 http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Chicago Illinois

What a wonderful surprise!  While visiting my glass supplier in Chicago with a friend/customer, she suggested we don't just go home but take a sidetrip into the downtown area.  My supplier is actually in Warrenville, about an hour away.

So many times churches are closed due to fear of vandalism and you can't get in.  We saw people going in and out, scaffolding all around the church, and it was very intriguing.  So we walked in.  This church has beautifully painted murals on the ceilings.  Intricate iron grids over some of the window openings.  Very traditional stained glass throughout the church that is beautifully painted as well.

This is a very active church and while there a prayer vigil was going on.  Pam and I stopped for a while, kneeled down and prayed the rosary in English and Spanish - although the Spanish was not something either one of us could join in on.  The whole time we were taking in the beauty of the building and the vibrancy of the church.  I was impressed that during this depressed economic time, the church was able to fund a huge renovation effort including work to their bricks, roof, paint, etc.

A bit of info from the History page of their website includes:  W E L C O M E - B I E N V E N I D O

...to Our Lady of Lourdes - a wonderfully, diversified parish!  We are considered the "Mother Church" of this region, because of our original boundaries which included English speaking Catholics in the area bounded by Devon Avenue to the north, Belmont Avenue to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, and the Chicago River to the west - an area which now encompasses ten parishes.  In 1916, the Spanish Renaissance-style church with its distinctive red-tiled domes replaced the original frame church.

It is well worth a visit to their church, their website, and I would love to get pictures of the interior that can be shared if anybody has them.

Pat Deere

LINKS:  Our Lady Of Lourdes Church website.

National Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak, MI

National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI is kind of one of those hidden treasures.  I heard about it many times, passed by it on several occasions, and finally go the opportunity to stop by last year. 

The story of St. Theres can be read by clicking on the link below.  In part, it reads:  Thérèse was a spiritual prodigy. At age three, she began to "refuse nothing of what God asks of me." Recalling an ocean sunset observed at age five, Thérèse wrote in her autobiography, "In the evening, at that moment when the sun seems to bathe itself in the immensity of the waves, leaving a luminous trail behind, I went and sat on a huge rock with Pauline. I contemplated this luminous trail for a long time. It was, to me, the image of God's grace shedding its light across the path the little white-sailed vessel [Thérèse herself] had to travel ... I made the resolution never to wander far away from the path of Jesus in order to travel peacefully toward the eternal shore."

The history of the church can be read in full on the link below, but it starts out as:  In early May 1925, Michael J. Gallagher, the Bishop of the Diocese of Detroit, traveled to Rome to witness the canonization of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Determined to establish the first parish in her honor in the United States, he telephoned from Rome with instructions to name the new church after her. The Bishop chose Royal Oak for the new parish, although only 28 Catholic families resided there at the time because he foresaw that the booming auto industry would attract many Catholics to the area. The new pastor was to be a young priest who already had earned a reputation for stimulating Mass attendance: Father Charles E. Coughlin.

We would love to hear your feedback about this church, post photos you have taken, etc.

Pat Deere

LINKS: 
The Story of  St. Therese
National Shrine of the Little Flower Home Page