Weekend Snapshot: Number 56

Whenever I go to my office in Durham (NC, USA), I pass Duke Memorial United Methodist Church. This week I was sitting at the stop light at the right spot to take a picture of this Gothic Revival style church which was started in 1907 and completed in 1912. When I was driving home a block over from the way I drive to the office, I spotted the steeple of the same church through the trees and snapped another picture.
Friday when I was getting gas on the street very near where I live in Raleigh (NC, US), I spotted the two starlings perched on the cross at Bethlehem Baptist Church.Saturday as I drove past the same church, I decided to pull in and take a full shot. I thought it was kind of interesting to contrast the different styles of churches. There isn't any information about this church online which is why I don't have any information to include about it.
Another church I photographed recently is Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (also a school). This church and school is located at the end of the park in the neighborhood where I grew up and was founded in 1954 but was enlarged with a new church being dedicated in 1976, and a new parish office and chapel were dedicated in 1997. Part of the expansion also included a larger school.I like the way it's nestled in the woods so it's almost as if it's part of the park. It's a very contemporary design and offers yet another contrast in church design. Although it has been expanded, what I shot through the trees is much as I remember it as a child. The very fact that it was so contemporary struck me when I was growing up because it was very different than the church I attended. Below is the church I went to when I was growing up. I thought I'd throw it in although I've shown shots of it before. Christ Church (above) is located in downtown Raleigh and was established in 1821 as the first Episcopal Church in Raleigh, NC (although this church was built later). The church building was designed by Richard Upjohn (founder of the American Institute of Architects) and is the oldest example of the early Gothic Revival style in the south. The building was designed in 1848, the sanctuary was consecrated in 1854, and the tower was completed in 1861.I don't attend church anymore but I guess in a way this is still my church. I took my daughter there when she was growing up, and I think it's a very beautiful old church.

To find other weekend snapshots you can go to the home of WS where participants post on Monday or you can browse for early birds on technorati weekend-snapshot.