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Immaculate Conception Church

This Catholic Church is located on the bank of the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.  Constructed in 1904,  it was the first Roman Catholic Church in the interior of Alaska.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April of 1976.

 

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Church Steeple

Presbyterian Church steeple seen against a cloudy white sky.

I'm grateful that:

We have freedom of religion in this country

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Church Steeple in Ohio

While visiting in Ada, Ohio for a couple of days I saw this beautiful church steeple and had to make an image of it.  I love when the trees are bare and you can see things through the branches.

My heart is grateful for:

the trip I was able to take to photograph a friend's wedding

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First Baptist Church

I love the architecture of old churches.  Usually the columns are separate from the building, but these columns seem to be part of the building.  Still beautiful.  

I was using my wide-angle lens and was only about 2 feet away from the building while taking this shot.  So fun.

My heart is grateful for:

getting the good news that my baby-boy (now 35) and his wife are expecting their first child in early December

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The Staircase

In Santa Fe, NM there's a chapel that was built in the 1870s. (Loretto Chapel)  After it was completed, the nuns realized there was no way to get from the ground floor to the choir loft.  

They prayed a 9-day novena and on the 9th day a carpenter wandered in from the dessert.  He contracted with the nuns to build a spiral staircase and it took him 5 months to complete it.  His only tools were a carpenter's square, a saw and a hammer.  (he must have had the wood with him)

When the carpenter was finished, he left without payment.  There is no known record of the man and the subspecies of wood he used can't be traced.  They never heard from/about him again.

There is no center column and no side supports.  The only support for the staircase is the bottom step on the floor of the chapel.  He didn't put a railing on the staircase so for the first two years the nuns used the steps without railings or anything to hold on to when ascending & descending.  

The railing was added after two years of use.  

The Chapel was in use until a short while ago, but it's now a beautiful museum. The Chapel and especially the Staircase are strikingly beautiful.

My heart is grateful today for:

God's gifts to mankind for making beauty