InSPIREd Sunday - Historic Methodist

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This is the former Middletown Methodist Church, which is my neighborhood.  The church was built in the late 1800s in the gothic architectural style.  The spire and windows are especially distinctive.  The church is listed on the national historic register and is now a community center.  (I took these photos yesterday in the afternoon sun, as you can see!)

Here are a few more views:

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday .

Friday Fences & InSPIREd Sunday - Small Town Charm

 

 

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This is the First Presbyterian Church right on main street in the small historic town of Shelbyville.  The church is small and cleanly designed.  I haven't been in the sanctuary, but would think that the light would be fantastic through that front window.  The fence surrounding the church is wrought iron in keeping with the church's simple architecture.

Beside the church there's a small garden where the ornamental grass and peeling bark of the river birch trees take center stage in the fall:

Linking to Friday Fences and InSPIREd Sunday .

InSPIREd Sunday & Mosaic Monday in Moscow

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Candy cane colored onion domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia - sits on the famous Red Square and is one of the most recognized landmarks of Moscow.  Saint Basil's was ordered built by Ivan the Terrible in the mid-1500s to celebrate a major victory over the Mongols.  Ivan was said to have blinded the cathedral architects so that they could never repeat this design.  Most scholars agree that this is a folklore myth.  Still makes a great story. (photos taken September 2012)

I just finished reading Daniel Silva's newest spy novel, The English Girl.  It's set in Corsica, London and Moscow.  And, as I was reading, realized that I had just seen many of the places that was the scene of the Moscow action in this novel.  I love it when that happens--just makes the book so real.  Here are a few scenes from the novel:

 

Clockwise: Saint Basil and tourist heads(!), church walls ornately painted, closeup of onion domes, GUM Department store beside Red Square and scene of one of Silva's spy capers, Red Square where one of the book's spy operations began, soldier statue in honor of Ivan the Terrible's Mongol victory

 

Clockwise:  Cover of book The English Girl; bridge over the Moska River lit red-white-blue of Russian Federation flag which replaced the Communist hammer and sickle; Saint Basil's at night; history museum on Red Square; Russian "White House"; Red October Chocolate Factory on Moska River at night

BTW, if you like spy novels, highly recommend The English Girl.  I'm planning on traveling with Silva and his main character Israeli agent Gabriel Allon to some other locations like Venice and Amsterdam based on this book!

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday and Mosaic Monday .

InSPIREd Sunday - Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox

 

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A bit late in the day to be posting for InSPIREd Sunday, but worth the wait, I hope.  For the past several months I've been trying to get photos of all the historical churches in Louisville.  Have had Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox on the list for some time.  Waiting for a day when the sky is bright so it would be a good background for the church dome and blue spires.  This church was established in the 1930s and is described as Pan-Orthodox Christian, serving many cultures and ethnic groups from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, and America who live in Louisville.  Your can see the different influences in the architecture, especially the domed roof, brightly colored spires, and iconography.  Hopefully, I can get back to the church in the future to take some photos inside.

Here are a few more photos of the exterior:

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday .

InSPIREd Sunday & Mosaic Monday - Back on the Grid!

Hello Blogger Friends - this is my first posting since August 23rd!  I'm actually a bit nervous composing this post.  Almost like I've forgotten how to blog it has been so long.  After months of internet problems, I decided to get a new computer and went with an all-in-one with touchscreen and Windows 8.  I was just getting started with learning to navigate everything when things in my family fell apart.

Those of you who know me through Summit Musings and Facebook know that I--as do most of you--have primary caregiving responsibilities for older family members.  In my case, Diva Sister fell, spent time in the hospital and rehab during late August - September.  I just got her settled back in her apartment the end of September.  At the same time, my older brother in Tennessee went into the hospital where he received a devastating diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer.  He too was in and out of hospital and rehab and finally went home under hospice care the last of September.  Of course, I wanted to be with him on his final journey--while dealing with Diva Sister-- so was driving back and forth between Kentucky and Tennessee to help with his care.  Sadly, he completed his journey last Tuesday--at home where he wanted to be.

So, now I'm trying to get some normalcy back in my own life and that includes blogging!

This is the Convent of San Francesco in Tuscany, Italy.  I took these photos on a garden tour of Tuscany in 2000.  Look closely in the center of the photo and you'll see the campanile, or bell tower. The Convent is now a hotel and rehabilitation center for troubled boys and young men.  (click on the photos to enlarge)

In this mosaic you see the old stone paths and walkways around the convent.  Terra cotta urns and planters made locally from the red Tuscan clay line the paths and this single red rose climbs the convent walls.  A common "hen and chicks" grows between the stones.

Here you have a view of the side garden and notice that each window has its own planter of red roses.  A proud bronze peacock perches on the wall overlooking the well-tended garden.  The boys and young men work in the gardens and the hotel as part of their rehabilitation.  The discipline and responsibility--and hard work--was believed to help many turn their lives around.

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday and Mosaic Monday .

InSPIREd Sunday & Mosaic Monday - Tuscan Hilltowns and Countryside

This is Pienza, a small walled hilltown built in the mid-1400s in the Tuscany region of Italy. In this photo you can see the white stone belltower and spire of the Pienza Cathedral rising up above the town. Photos used in this post are from a 2000 gardening tour of Tuscany. Pienza was our base location for the tour. Click on the mosaics to enlarge for better views.

From the left: side garden of Pienza Cathedral, the cathedral altar, flowers decorating the baptismal font where we saw a baby being christened on the day we toured,and the sandstone arches of Hotel Relais which was once a monastery and our base for the tour.

Pienza is such a small town that very little car traffic is allowed on the narrow stone and cobbled streets. Everywhere you walked the walls were decorated with flowers and live greenery:

On this tour we not only visited some fabulous gardens, we also traveled many miles each day through the Italian countryside and saw scenes for which Tuscany is known. First photo is a tour bus shot of the sheep whose milk is prized for making the classic Italian pecorino cheese--nice of them to be grazing in a field of wild poppies! In the last collage clockwise: 1. skinny cypress trees accent the hillside looking down into a valley, 2. fava beans growing in some of the reddest soil you've ever seen 3. an olive grove for the famous Italian olive oil, 4. wild poppy fields as far as the eye could see.

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday and Mosaic Monday .

(Blogger trubble! Kind first commenters, TexWisGirl and Eileen, have given me the heads up that the text is not showing up in this post without highlighting it (??) I am getting the text as well as photos so don't know what the deal is EXCEPT that Blogger has been giving me trouble--freezing up, etc.--for this entire post. Sorry for the glitch--just enjoy the photos! Faye)

InSPIREd Sunday - in a Tuscan Village

Campanile (church belltower) in a small village near Villa Massei in Tuscany, Italy (2000)

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I just finished reading Chris Bohjalian's The Light in the Ruins about a Tuscan noble family who becomes entangled with the conflict between the Germans and the Italian partisans in 1943 WW II that continued for ten years after with devastating results.  In 2000, I went on a garden tour of Tuscany and was able to stay in or visit many of the places in this novel--Florence, Pienza, several hilltowns, villas and farms.  One villa in particular--La Foce--served as the inspiration for Bohjalian's book.  La Foce was bought by Irish-American writer Iris Origo and her husband Marchese Antonio in 1924.  They farmed with help from the villagers and then during the German occupation La Foce was turned into a children's hospital and orphanage.  Origo's diary, War in Val D'Orcia, where she chronicles the war years and their efforts to help their village, provided the inspiration for the fictional The Light in the Ruins.

Come back tomorrow for Mosaic Monday where I'll be sharing photos of La Foce and the Tuscan countryside--if this brief tale has piqued your interest!

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday .

InSPIREed Sunday - St Mark's Episcopal

Since Sally and Beth started this new meme focused on places of workship and their history, I have been interested in photographing all the Episcopal churches in Louisville. In particular, I admire their, for the most part, simple stone architecture, minimal ornamentation, cornerstone messages, and the many interpretations of the Episcopalian red doors. Above you see the bell tower capped by a plain cross for St Mark's Episcopal Church.

In the collage moving clockwise: view of the church and grounds from left, cornerstone proclaiming the power of Christ, classic Episcopal sign, front entrance, Anglican cross, and arched red doors. (click on collage to enlarge)

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday .

(Note: tomorrow, July 15, for Mosaic and Macro Mondays I'm planning a special post on the Episcopalian red doors of Louisville. Stop by again if this sounds like an interesting topic to you.)

InSPIREd Sunday - Riquewihr, France

Photos from 2002 - this is the small medieval town of Riquewihr in the Alsace region of  France.  Like many other medieval towns and villages in Europe, Riquewihr is surrounded by walls.  Then all around the town vineyards stretch for miles and miles through the valley between the Rhine River and the Voges Mountains.  Famed for its Riesling wine, it's an important stop on the "Route des Vins", a small road though the famous vineyards of Alsace.  There are two churches in Riquewihr, a Catholic and one referred to as the Old Protestant.  You can just see the spires in the above photos.

Here are some other scenes of  our tour of Riquewihr (click on collage to enlarge):

 Clockwise:  wonderful blue-stuccoed outdoor cafe, the Zimmer wine cellar where we got to taste some local wines, looking down on Riquewihr, evening in nearby Hochfelden where our boat was moored, and vineyards completely surrounding the town.

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history.  Thanks to Sally and Beth for hosting.

 

June 17 - decided to link to Mosaic Monday as well for those who love all things French.

InSPIREd Sunday - Temple Shalom

Using InSPIREd Sunday to highlight the diversity in houses of worship in Louisville--this is the Jewish synagogue Temple Shalom.  This temple has been in St. Matthews since 1989, the architecture shows definite Middle Eastern influences with the sandstone block, domed roof line and evidence of an inner courtyard (although I haven't seen inside to confirm this).  The major ornamentation is the hexagonal Star of David, the secular and sacred symbol of Judaism.  This symbol is repeated on the back of the temple also.  Over the entrance door you see a sacred menorah which is the other important symbol of this faith.  The menorah serves as a "symbol of the nation of Israel and its mission to be the light unto nations" according to Jewish history.

Here are a few other views of Temple Shalom (click on collage to enlarge):

Left to right - front view of temple, menorah over entrance, Star of David window, temple sign

I'll close by wishing you "Shalom".  A common Jewish greeting which means peace, hello, goodbye; shalom is also meant to convey a deeper emotional and spiritual wish for you to experience completeness, well being, and joy.

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history.  Thanks to Sally and Beth for hosting.

 

InSPIREd Sunday and Mosaic Monday - Episcopal and Buddhist Neighbors in St. Matthews

This is the very contemporary steeple of the St. Matthews Episcopal Church  in the the small city of St. Matthews near Louisville. The church has been around for many years.  In fact, the city took its name from the old  St. Matthews Episcopal Church.  In the late 1950s the present sanctuary was built in mostly residential neighborhood of St. Matthews.  And what a shock it must have been for the community because the architect decided to depart from the more traditional churches and designed what is thought to be one of the first contemporary Episcopalian churches in the U.S.

First reactions to the church were not very positive.  It was called a "ski lodge" church for its shape.  I'll admit when I went over to take photos a few weeks ago, I was puzzled by the design myself and didn't like it.  However, the more you look, the more you come to appreciate the building and how it sets so comfortably in the landscape.  The architect intended for the soaring, tent-like roof to evoke the gathering places of early Christians in the desert.  Here are front and side views:

Inside, people worship in a circle with the altar in the center of the sanctuary.  This is possible because of  design of the tent-like roof.  And here are a few more photos of contemporary architectural and decorative details:

Left to right:  contemporary cross spire on steeple, angel sculpture in front of massive ginkgo tree, red Episcopalian door

*  *  *  *  *

Now for the Buddhist part of this post:  I noticed this message on the church sign welcoming the Dali Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, to the neighborhood:

At first I was puzzled by the "our community" even though I knew The Dali Lama was going to be in Louisville for a visit promoting compassion and spiritual understand among all religions.  It has been quite exciting to have him visit since he is recognized as one of 25 most influential religious figures of the 20th century, up there with Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Billy Graham.  What I discovered was that there was a new Buddhist temple just opening right down the street from St. Matthews Episcopal!

Here it is, the Drepung Gomang Instutute, a formerly residential property converted to a Buddhist temple.  As part of his visit, the Dalai Lama came to the temple and blessed it.  The temple was festooned with Tibetan prayer flags and banners and Buddhist symbols painted on the walks for the ceremony:

Here are a few other photos of the temple and grounds:

Clockwise: temple sign, Auspicious Symbol, Buddha statue, colorful door, Tibetan prayer flag, temple entrance

My final thought for InSPIREd Sunday:  Leave it to the Episcopalians to welcome the Buddhists to the 'hood!  :-)

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history. And Mosaic Monday. , the meme that allows photographers to tell stories in pictures.

InSPIREd Sunday - Hobbs Chapel Rescued

Still in Anchorage, an old tree-lined city just outside Louisville, for InSPIREd Sunday.  This newly renovated home that you see in first photo is the former Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church established in 1884 on one of Anchorage's main thoroughfares.  The current edifice was built in 1921 and eventually closed as a church and fell into disrepair as you can see in the photos below taken in 2004.

In 2008 the property and building was sold to an  individual who has converted the church into a private home.  If you compare the most recent photos with earlier ones you can see that the the original architectural details--roof line, windows, door-has been maintained.  The new additions to the sides, as well as the landscaping, complements the original structure.  I read that this same attention was paid to the inside, keeping the living space on both levels open like a sanctuary.

Here are a few more closeups of the renovation:

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Left to right - closeup of the "church" with additional buildings--right four seasons living space and left connected by a covered walkway; closeup of gothic bell tower; front door with new glass, but still maintaining the original arch

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history.  Thanks to Sally and Beth for hosting.

 

InSPIREd Sunday - St. Luke's Church in Anchorage

This is St. Luke's Episcopal Church in the small city of Anchorage just outside Louisville, Kentucky.  It was founded in 1873 and sanctuary built in 1903.

Since Sally and Beth started the InSPIREd meme, I have been particularly interested in the wonderful Episcopal churches found in the Louisville area.  Many of them are historical and most have a lot in common.  Just this afternoon a friend drove me around town so I could take photos of Episcopal churches.  In most of them, old or new, I found the traditional red doors which symbolize that all who enter will find sanctuary and safety of body and spirit.  Each had a prominent cornerstone with different inscriptions.  Most were Gothic architecture, using the stone building material that would have been used for the Anglican churches of England, of which Episcopal churches are affiliated.

It was hard to be selective with photos of St. Luke's--a small church, but rich in detail.  So, I've tried to show you some of the most interesting and beautiful angles (click on the collages to enlarge):

Clockwise from upper left - full view of church with bell tower, roof line of church and attached gate house, the Episcopal red doors to the sanctuary, front stained glass window depicting St. Luke

Left to right - side view of Gothic bell tower and front entrance, closeup of stone wall with nandina berries, the church cornerstone on bell tower

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history.  Thanks to Sally and Beth for hosting.