Being lazy today ~ something from the e-mail bag

There was a whole bunch of church signs in the e-mail, but this was my favorite.

Sepia scenes

No, this time it's not Paris ~
I photographed this stone church in Rockville, Ct. last August. I had never been there before and was quite impressed with the dramatic exterior. We were there for our niece's daughter's christening.

I think it looks pretty good in sepia.

To see more sepia-fied photos, visit Mary T, The Teach.

Lantern tours are a fun way to learn local history

Last Friday evening daughter Allegra and I learned some local history as we walked, punched-tin lanterns in hand, around downtown Derby, Ct.
It was a nice evening, quite moderate temperatures for late November. The Derby Historical Society sponsored the Churches by Lantern tour. All of the churches were built in the 19th century.

Our first stop was a Catholic church, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, which is beautifully ornate, full of artwork and stained glass.

These lanterns at left stood at the ready on the steps of the church for us to use as we walked about a block to the next location. There were about 30 of us in the group. I wasn't working, so I didn't bring my notebook. Now I'm sorry I didn't.


I was trying to keep the flash off, so as not to disrupt the speakers. I just discovered 'auto-level' so I was able to lighten the sanctuary photo. The architecture and decor were beautiful.
This back-lit statue (below) stands to the right of the altar.

Next stop , Second Congregational Church:

This is in the sanctuary at Second Congregational as seen from the pew we chose. The beautiful pipe organ is a focal point.
These banners add color to the interior, which is painted a pale green.

I think the walls may look more attractive in the daytime, when natural light is filtering through the stained glass windows.
















Next up was Derby United Methodist Church. I used the auto-level on the second picture. The lighting was quite dim in that sanctuary.

Below is the interior of our final stop, Immanuel-St. James Episcopal Church.
In the second photo you can see the shadows that make it seem like there are three crosses on the wall. The rector said the shadows symbolize the three crosses of Calvary.

I am including a photo I took of the beautiful stone church on Veterans' Day, since it is across from the Green where the veterans' services were being held.

This post is about local history. The only problem I see with it is there is no history mentioned. But since I didn't take any notes that evening, that would require research (shudder). Sounds like work. Hope you liked the tour.

Steeplechasing - this time in another Connecticut town

In August we attended a dedication for our niece's adorable baby daughter.
It was held at a Congregational Church 55 miles from our house.


While we were there I did a bit of 'steeplechasing,' just for fun. I found the exterior of the stone church we visited to be quite beautiful.

I thought the design of the entranceway was cool. I brightened the photo a bit, because there were some shadows when I snapped the picture.

The street scene below shows off the New England town's old-style architecture and stone buildings that have so much interesting detail. Certainly nothing like today's glass and concrete edifices and the ubiquitous strip shopping centers that litter the landscape.

Blecch. No character.

I really got on my soapbox today. Regular readers will wonder what happened, I imagine. :-)

Steeplechase - Part III

Here's another installment in my Steeplechase series. Please don't leave yet. Only three photos today ;-)

This is another beautiful Catholic church in our town.
I love the light-colored stone work (as opposed to the dark gray stone of the 'cathedral' I posted the other day).









This white church is the original
First Baptist Church, built into a hill right near Main Street.
















And this is the cross atop the current First Baptist Church on the Hilltop, about two miles from downtown. --->


Even though we're not Baptists, it's the church where Ralph and I tied the knot. I knew the pastor there at the time, and asked him if he would perform our ceremony. And lucky for us, he did!

Little did we know in 1986 that we would be living less than a mile from where we got married.


It's a dark picture, because it was taken at 6:53 p.m. But I do like the effect of the clouds.
Someday I'll go back and take a better shot.

That's it for today, and Steeplechase 3.

^ Steeplechase ^^^ ^ ^

I have been busy with work this week, and haven't posted since Ruby Tuesday. Eek. It just doesn't feel right to skip a few days.


Yesterday when I was driving to pick up daughter at her job, I passed by a recently painted church --->

It's an African Methodist Episcopal church, and it looks much better than I ever remember it looking, since it used to be a rather unattractive mustard-yellow color.

And so I was inspired to start taking photos of churches, especially steeples, in our fair city.

This is Part One of Steeplechase, as Ralph dubbed it.

I am wondering what kind of bushes these are in front of the church. Rose of Sharon is my guess...




The next one I passed on my route was this Baptist Church. I snapped the picture from the driver's seat, waiting for a red light.

It was overcast yesterday afternoon, which sometimes has its advantages when taking photographs.

This is a Ukrainian Catholic church, just down the block from where Allegra works.


And just a block further down, on the same side of the street, is this Russian Orthodox church.

Across from the public library is this "castle" of sorts. It's an Episcopal church.



And here we see its next-door neighbor, a Congregational church. -->

This shot is rather dark, but that was the lighting I had to work with yesterday afternoon, and I'm too lazy to go take another one. ;-)









These are but a few of the churches in our city that I plan to photograph in the coming days. I hope you liked the tour...


If not, well, I tried.