I would have posted this over here, but it's technically about England, and to our blog's geographical proscriptions we must be true.

The Shrine reports on a fire at the Chicago Cathedral. It's reason to stop and consider the sobering words of Nathan Glazer.

First Baptist Church of Hightstown, NJ

This church, where I served as choir director/organist/bell choir director for four years, was founded in 1745. It was the seventh Baptist church in New Jersey, and the fortieth in the nation (which wasn't even a nation yet). It was founded in Cranbury, where it met in members' homes. The church moved to Hightstown (just about four miles down the road) in 1784, upon agreement with the Presbyterians that Hightstown would be Baptist and Cranbury would be Presbyterian. They first met in a member's barn, and eventually built a meetinghouse downtown. This artist's rendering shows a steeple on the meetinghouse, but I don't think that actually ever happened, as one is not visible in this 1895 photograph (the brick church is the vine-covered building directly behind them).

Growing too large, the church built in 1856-1857 the present sanctuary, which seated about 600. The place where the organ is (a 1914 Austin) was added on, I believe, in 1881 when a Roosevelt organ was given by Wilson G. Hunt. The addition is the perfect time for the inclusion of the proscenium arch, which was common in the period and focuses attention to the pulpit area. Although today the walls are a plain yellow, this photo from the 1910s shows the extensive decorative work that was there, as well as the large chandelier that is no longer present.

The original steeple was very tall, as seen here and here. It is a classic Wren-Gibbs style church. The steeple was struck by lightning during a Peddie school program, and so in 1920 (I believe it was) a second steeple was built. This one has a slightly more Federalist look than before, and almost overpowers the building. That steeple was condemned in the 1950s because of weakness caused by the swinging of the bell, and the current one was built.

The church has recently completed a renovation of the sanctuary, so I will leave you with some pictures of the new space. The pulpit was extended into the room, and it was brightened up a bit with new paint and lights.

Interesting facts on inauguration churches.

A 19th Century Baptist on Architecture

At the second annual Baptist Congress of 1883, Dr. S.L. Caldwell, a former pastor, professor, and president of Vassar College, concluded a discussion on the merits of church architecture, especially for the Baptist ideal of the spoken word, with the following:

"...when we come to the exterior of churches I hold to what you may call the ecclesiastical idea. I don't like to see a church which is like every thing else, like all the buildings on the street, like all the public buildings. I like to have something uncommon, something which we have inherited, something which has come down with our Christianity; not a radical innovation, not some brand new thing which has been conceived by some rabid architect, but the old-style structure with its spire pointing heavenward, with the familiar form which marks it as the house of God, with the sign that it is set apart to the uses of religion, that is what I want to see."


Interesting, especially since they were meeting in the former theater, Boston's Tremont Temple.

Christ Among the People

Christ Among the People
Originally uploaded by millinerd

This was taken tonight at the American Boychoir School Christmas concert at the Princeton University Chapel. (Iconographical details available in the tags here.) The incarnation has many unforeseen implications. Merry Advent North American Churches readers!

Sold St. Nick

I wonder how the Hindus who have purchased the building will alter St. Nicholas in Edison. It'd be nice to get some pictures before we find out.

A curious list of unusual churches with some North American examples.

Praisebuildings.com may not be the Institute for Sacred Architecture, but it's at least interesting, with a nice dictionary of ecclesiastical architecture.

Upjohn in Maine

First Parish Chruch, Brunswick
Originally uploaded by millinerd

Over Thanksgiving I was reading the world's best Brooklyn guidebook, and I saw that the first church Morrone lists for Richard Upjohn senior is in Brunswick, Maine. (Incidentally, the "untold" Buffalo church viewable immediately below is also Upjohn.)

Fittingly, I happened to be spending Thanksgiving in Bruswick, Maine. So I marched down the street and got some shots, and then snuck in on my way out of town during choir practice for some interiors. Who knew Upjohn worked as well in wood as in stone? And the glorious intricacy of those hammer trusses (I think that's the term) sure do show off the medium.

The statue near First Church is of Joshua Morrison. He lived in the cross-inscribed house across the street.

Incidentally, I like Francis Morrone so much that even I'm considering enrolling in one of his courses. These two sound thrilling.

I was also pleased to discover that nearby beautiful Bowdoin College has a handsome Chapel that is quite central to campus. Bowdoin even goes so far as to suggest that Nature's Laws are God's thoughts. Naturally. Not just nature's laws, however, but even nature itself all began as God's thoughts. Hasn't anyone read Question 15 article 1?

Untold Beauty Indeed

There's an interesting article entitled Saving Buffalo's Untold Beauty in the New York Times, but I challenge you to find the word "church." The way the caption to above image reads, it's as if they don't even exist. The author suggests that "the architects who worked [in Buffalo] were among the first to break with European traditions to create an aesthetic of their own, rooted in American ideals about individualism, commerce and social mobility."

I suppose that take on Buffalo architecture leaves little room for "European traditions" like Christianity. To correct the record, here are some pictures, chock full o' churches, that I took this summer.

I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to discover the Institute for Sacred Architecture.

Wholy Wholy Wholy (Foods)

My friend Justin sends this along regarding Harlem's gentrification.

White people are also hoping to close down things that they do not like, specifically churches. With over 100 houses of worship in the area, white people are concerned. Though the article does not mention why white people are upset at so many churches, it can be implied that they would feel more comfortable if they were to be replaced with condominiums, yoga studios, and white people churches (also known as Whole Foods).

Sounds like a Harlem photo mission is urgent. Stay tuned for results from our recent Morristown, NJ mission.

The Wayside Chapel

The Wayside Chapel
I'm ashamed to say I left out the most significant church in Ontario. It's a bit cozy, but very direct.

It is reminiscent of the millions of even smaller "wayside chapels" in Greece.

(mostly) Catholic Canada

This summer, by visiting a few more churches, I finally completed my Ontario and Toronto sets (at least for now). There are many gems in downtown Toronto, but the prize goes to St. Michael's Cathedral (info). The building is alive with art and devotion in a way that, sadly, many Protestant churches in Toronto are not. But one contender to Catholic dominance is St. Anne's Anglican (info), which is decorated by everyone's favorite North American artist posse, the Group of Seven. Come on now, look at that! (I've gotta work on my white balance).

Strangely, my picture of Trinity Church (made famous from the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions) got drafted for some mapping site called Schmapp. What is that Schmapp?

A trip to St. Marie among the Hurons afforded an interesting attempt at indiginous Catholic architecture. Notice the martyr shrine is an upside-down canoe. There is a remake of the Jesuit mission nearby (the martyr shrine is in the background). There are actual relics of the great Jesuit martyrJean du Brebeuf at both sites. Also, don't miss Tim's priceless comment.

The greatest surprise of the summer, however, was the exquisite church in Guelph (info). But as this site shows, to get the best pictures, it helps to actually live there. Canada too often gets left out of the game, but she's just too good to forget!

Expressing the Liturgical Impulse

David Bains, of Samford University, accurately names it the "Liturgical Impulse." In his dissertation and forthcoming book, he describes the rediscovery among mainline Protestant demonimations of the sacramental and liturgical expression in worship - including architecture. It took place in the early and mid twentieth century. This was an all too short episode in which worship orders moved away from sermon-centered and included meaningful response on the part of the congregation. This was more than so-called traditional worship. A few churches do it today, fewer do it well, and a few of those are blessed with appropriate architecture and worship centers.

At Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, a recent find revealed a part of the story of how its worship architecture came to be. See Undercroft Discovery

Nathan Glazer is right

Writing in his poignant book From a Cause to a Style, the eminent Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer sums up our architectural predicament with sobriety:

"We can preserve the buildings of the past. We can't build them again. The language of the past can be admired and studied; its loss can be, and is, regretted; but too much has changed for it to serve us today. We are suspended between a language that cannot be used and a language - the language of modernism - that is unsatisfying for major public [and, I insert, religious] purposes, but for which we have no replacement."

But there is hope:

"It think the first steps toward a more satisfactory language have been taken. We have developed a proper respect for the achievements in public building of the past..."

And so, let's start a blog devoted to appreciating the great, and at this point unrepeatable achievements of North American church architecture. Oh wait, we already did.

Check out what Lance has done to Oklahoma City using the flickr tag feature (scroll over the image).

American Whitewash

One of my more unfortunate experiences with North American Churches is described in the fifth paragraph of this brief article.

Gracanica

Denise and I just got back from Kosovo. (I'd be rich if I had a nickel for every blog post that started like that.) Anyway, we were there to see the glory of Serbian church architecture, the handsomely exquisite Gracanica, and the experience was profound enough to alter our now matching (yes, it's disgusting) facebook profiles pics.

Now, lest you think that I've violated an implied rule of the North American Churches blog (only cover churches in North America), think again! The trip to Kosovo was only to prepare me for a visit to the North American Gracanica, located near Chicago. (There's also a copy in Belgrade that I saw last year.)

The copies are necessary because it's quite dangerous for Serbs (and until recently, anyone) to visit the church. As our guidebook put it,

"The enclave is under heavy KFOR protection, and unless you have personal contacts there, it is unwise to make any attempt to visit it."

While we didn't have any contacts, we did find a much cheaper plane ticket out of Prishtina, and therefore figured it was at least worth a try to visit the place. The gamble paid off, as the situation has cooled down considerably, and aside from the barbed wire and guards, it was a regularly functioning monastery church. The inside is glorious, and though I'd like to have more pics, the nuns asked me not to take pictures within, and who am I to disobey a nun?

The lessons for North American Churches blog? A renewed charge to keep visiting churches, spurred on by the sobering reminder that we don't need to pass barbed wire and machine guns to do our work, for which photos are rarely an issue. Furthermore, a reminder that so much (all?) of the best New World churches owe an incalculable debt to the Old.

Press on!