Russia's Wooden Churches - A century after celebrated Russian illustrator
Ivan Bilibin called for preservation of Russia's decaying wooden churches, architectural photographer Richard Davies revisits the churches to document and raise awareness of these gorgeous historic architectural treasures.
[more inside]
posted by madamjujujive
on Mar 14, 2010 -
29 comments
Church Locking: shattering the myth that "all churches are locked". With the aim of visiting every church in England and recording whether it is kept locked or unlocked, this ten-year-old 'side project' now has statistics by county and diocese, county maps, and a
map of the country showing their progress.
posted by chrismear
on May 16, 2007 -
29 comments
Bourbonnais. No, not
Bourbonnais, IL, but
Bourbonnais, a historic province in France that flourished during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In this area there are hundreds of churches built in the
Romanesque style.
In 2004
Stephen Murray, an art history professor, and his students recieved a $500,000
grant to
document, process, and archive data from the churches into a digital database, all available
online.
posted by provolot
on Dec 5, 2006 -
13 comments
Joel Osteen's new Lakewood Church in Texas recently became the first in the U.S. to average more than 30K worshippers a week. This is the kind of news that gives many lefties with a fear the god-fearing the heebie-jeebies. But then,
on closer inspection, the brand of Christianity Osteen is offering, if shallow, also seems rather mild: a kind of dim-witted boosterism simply designed to get you through the week. He has been called "prosperity gospel's coverboy," and been viciously attacked for it on
Larry King. What to make of this new capitalist mutatation in Christianity?
posted by Hobbacocka
on Jul 20, 2005 -
40 comments
Staffordshire Past Track. History and images of an English Midlands county :
old photographs and
online
exhibitions on
historic churches,
celebrations,
birth,
death,
serial killers and
mining (and
the 1984-85 strike).
Related sites :-
the
Museums of the Potteries, the area around Stoke-on-Trent which played a major role in the Industrial Revolution;
thepotteries.org, including
postcards and
photographs;
In
Search of Agenoria, black and white photographs of the post-industrial Black Country landscape;
A Miner's Son- more mining history in the Midlands (with more on the 1984-85 strike, possibly the most divisive political event in recent British history);
save Bethesda Chapel, a historic Methodist chapel in Stoke; panoramic views and history of
Lichfield Cathedral and
other
Staffordshire places.
posted by plep
on Aug 25, 2003 -
4 comments
Sheela Na Gigs are stone grotesques found decorating old churches in Europe. They are characterized by "[a] huge head, staring eyes and hands reaching down between [her] wide open legs to spread [her] swollen and oversized womanhood." While the posture implies prostitution, the
Sheelas are said to be representations of the
Great Mother, and they are said to keep
evil away. There are even some male Sheelas, like
this one at Lower Swell.
posted by jessamyn
on Mar 30, 2003 -
24 comments
DC church approves same sex union. From the article:
The unanimous decision on Saturday by its board of elders places the 159-year-old congregation, where U.S. presidents James A. Garfield and Lyndon B. Johnson once worshiped, among a small number of D.C. area churches that permit such services, often called "covenant ceremonies."
No leading questions this time, (see saturday's "gun post") just curious if this is happening elsewhere in the U.S.
posted by buz46
on Dec 10, 2002 -
9 comments
City of London Churches 'The ‘Square Mile’ that constitutes The City of London is a world financial centre where 300,000 people work and nearly 500 foreign banks have an office. Less well known is that amongst the largely uninspired office blocks are hidden around 50 current or former churches and other places of worship, either complete, converted into offices, or in ruins. Once there were nearly 100 parish churches within the City boundaries but the Great Fire of London, the migration of residents to the suburbs, and Hitler’s bombs have done most to reduce that figure. Many of the surviving churches are, famously, Wren churches. After the Great Fire he had the unique opportunity of designing over 50 churches, and he gave full rein to his imagination ... '
A guide to 55 churches in London's financial district; best seen on a weekend, when the City is virtually deserted. Whilst the majority are Wren churches, there are some exceptions -
St Bartholomew the Great, which dates back to Norman times;
the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue in Great Britain; and
the Dutch Church, which was drawn by
van Gogh and important to the Huguenot community. Particularly worth a visit is
St. Bride's, the journalists' church; the design of the wedding cake is based on the shape of its spire.
posted by plep
on Oct 30, 2002 -
28 comments
Balm in Gilead is an organization that hopes to mobilize Black churches into becoming community centers and resources for HIV/AIDS in African-American communities. While I applaud their efforts (especially considering how long Black churches remained silent on the impact of AIDS/HIV on our communities), their
choice of hymn leaves a bit to be desired.
posted by likorish
on Dec 1, 2001 -
4 comments
Sectarian politicians often claim that the First amendment doesn't mandate separation of church and state, but history differs with them. Maybe voters should stop listening to self righteous politicos praying on street corners.
posted by norm
on Sep 12, 2000 -
3 comments
Just what the church needs... More excellent publicity. Two churches using the quarters that Catholic schoolchildren put in the collection plate to have a legal pissing contest over who has the right to use the name of a woman who spent her entire life trying to feed poor people one cup of rice at a time. I wonder how much rice each of those quarters would buy?
posted by Skylark
on Aug 19, 2000 -
4 comments
