Pillars & Foundations

Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Medford, Massachusetts Pillars & Foundations was initiated as an exploration communities as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work. I was lucky to find introductory courses available on Tibetan Buddhism at Kurukulla Center so close to me in Medford. The timing of the offerings was conveniently at 7:00 pm, leaving time to get there following work. However, I did make a special point to drive instead of riding my bike which tends to leave me in less than desirable condition to be in confined quarters with strangers. Before I get too much into details on this experience, I'd like to stress my level of ignorance of the details Tibetan Buddhism, thus ...

St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish, Melrose, MA Pillars & Foundations was initiated as an exploration of communities as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share my experiences, and spread the positivity I obtain from them. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work. The Building & the History of the Parish I used to live close by on Pleasant St. in Melrose, and I was always impressed by this building. As seemed to be a smaller wooden, community church, that was designed in the fashion of a grand stone church. In recent times the parish chose to replace the wooden shingles with vinyl siding, however as you can see from the pictures, it was done carefully and tastefully, and the ornate features of the awnings, accents around the rose window and other windows are preserved. The church also si...

Unitarian Universalist Church of Wakefield, MA Through my efforts in Pillars & Foundations, I've been exploring and experiencing the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. Discovering all of these different faith communities builds my knowledge of the neighborhoods around me and the people who live there. These institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants, as well as others through their generosity and public service. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first. Fantastic quote. Don't let the past define you, nor worries of what yet is to come. That's my take. Building/History The church was established in 1813 as First Universalist Church which...

Saint Patrick Parish, Lawrence, MA Pillars & Foundations was started as an effort to explore my surrounding communities through their religious institutions, and to share my experiences. These institutions share a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their charitable work. History/Building This church dates from 1869 . Construction of the church was begun in 1881, and the upper church was completed in 1894 ( courtesy of history information on parish website ). Saint Patrick Parish boasts an upper church and a lower church. I attended Mass in the lower church. At some point I will need to return to experience Mass in the upper sanctuary. The Parish website has an some excellent links providing images and details of the stained glass windows in the upper church , as well as the lower church . Rev. Paul B. O'Brien joined the church in 2001 and oversaw the parish becoming...

High St. Congregational Church, Auburn, Maine Pillars & Foundations was started as an effort to explore my surrounding communities through their religious institutions, and to share my experiences. What all of these institutions share in common is a drive to make a difference, and they do, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their charitable work. While the sanctuary may only be just over 30 years old, the traditional white-washed accents of an older Congregational Church, along with the beautiful stained glass windows with names of historical benefactors, such as Edward Little provide great character to this old church's new building This post is another focused on my home communities of Lewiston and Auburn (I'm from Sabattus), as I recently traveled there from my current home in Massachusetts to visit with family.  The History of High St. Congregational Church The first thing I remember about High St. Congr...