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Sunday, September 28, 2008

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 .

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love how the skies are so blue! And I really like taking shots of churches! The ones you have here are stunning!~

Happy Sunday and WS:)

Napaboaniya.Elaine Ling said...

I'm sure while taking pictures of your church it brought back many beautiful memories as well :)
Have a good week ahead!!

ellen b. said...

I enjoyed your church photos. It really is interesting to contrast the many styles out there. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Juliana said...

wow..it is beautiful church...

Please drop at my WS post also : in HERE Thanks

desert dirt diva said...

I love old churches...

SabineM said...

lovely! Here in southern CAl, we have mnay churches, but not many steeples.. the churches are usually in boring buildings!

Miss Melanoma said...

Beautiful shots, Carver. I especially love the two birds on the cross at the top of the steeple. Makes me smile.
:)
-MM

Dr.John said...

What a nice way to end my Sunday looking at your pictures of churches. God would not be unhappy if you decided to enter one on a sunday.

Theresa said...

the church steeples made me think of a game our dad played with us when we were visiting his mother.

Not that we got any prize or anything buth the first one who saw the steeple would yell our "Carrolltown Church" and then we new we were getting close- we still do it to this day when we go back and visit.

The steeples looked so nice with the blue sky back ground- love the different architecture of all of them.

Anonymous said...

Wow i like all your entries this week fun weekend...

Anonymous said...

Our Lady of Lourdes is also the church name in my old home.

Anonymous said...

church architecture is beautiful and interesting. my favorite are churches in the gothic style. :)

Tapioca Pearls with Coconut Cream

have a great week ahead!

Bridalveil Falls

eastcoastlife said...

You have some lovely churches here and the one in the woods is so cool!

sweetytots said...

beautiful churches..

My entries are Titled Sweet and Pretty and Naughty, respectively. Be sure to visit both entries to see the variation. The sweet & pretty is here http://sweetprettynaughty.blogspot.com/2008/09/weekend-snapshot_28.html while the Naughty entry is here http://memoryfilled.blogspot.com/2008/09/weekend-snapshot-3_28.html

sweet..pretty..naughty
Memory Filled
Sweety tots

sweetytots said...

beautiful churches..

My entries are Titled Sweet and Pretty and Naughty, respectively. Be sure to visit both entries to see the variation. The sweet & pretty is here while the Naughty entry is here

sweet..pretty..naughty
Memory Filled
Sweety tots

Kero said...

i like the fourth shot most. and those churches are grand. we only have one catholic cathedral here in Dubai. and it does not come close to any of those you showed us hihi. Thank you for sharing Carver! have a wonderful week ahead! mine is up here http://kcelebration.blogspot.com/search/label/weekend%20snapshot

Bella Sweet Cakes said...

Church Hunting!!! very Cool!!!!! I like the way you capture different angle....

HiPnCooLMoMMa said...

interesting photographs of churches

http://hipncoolmomma.com/?p=2094

AscenderRisesAbove said...

Holy moley... you are right on top of this weekend post! I drag my feet and wait until the last minute
I wanted to drop you a note about a change that I am making on my blog.
I am changing the format soon to create a quicker download and I plan am taking my recprical links to it's own page. But I wanted to make the recprical page special - rather then just listing people I thought I would put a little thumb photo or the logo of the site and a brief description. I appreciate your listing of my link on your site so I wanted to see if you were interested in this. If you are interested please send the image you would like to use and a short description to this address. I plan to create that page before I update my main page template. Right now the bare bones link page is at:
http://ascenderrisesabove.com/wordpress/?page_id=4330.
It will be a slow process as I will only be able to work on it a little bit a day.
Let me know if you are interested.
Jacquelyn

Gemma Wiseman said...

Lovely collection of churches! Amazing the differences in style!

Dora said...

Nice photos!

Anonymous said...

turrets and minarets are such good subjects in photography:)

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos but I must say I like the first one because I belong to the UMC :D

Have a great week, Carver :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos! I like old Churches!

Happy WS! :-)

dixymiss said...

A beautiful series of shots, Carver. Compelling church architecture ~ the steeple spires are particularly inspiring in their wordless eXpression of faith (reaching toward heaven). The shot with the starlings atop is a great catch!

Wayfaring Wanderer said...

Churches have so much character.....wonderful tour!

Jeanne said...

really nice picture of the church

juliana said...

the churches look very pretty.
well done to spot the birds on the steeple.

Unknown said...

great church shots, carver! i love church photos, especially old churches. thing is, we don't have them here in burlington, ontario. back in the philippines, it surely is nice to snap on old churches. some even date back to 16th century!

Photo Cache said...

My high school BFF lived in Durham (worked at Duke hospital) for a number of years and occasionally send each other cards. That's why I am glad I found your blog because now I see sights from where she lived.

Carver said...

Thanks so much to everyone for visiting my weekend snapshot. Thanks a bunch Jacquelyn and I emailed you.

Anonymous said...

i love those birds. great photos!

thanks for dropping by my WS. :D