Pillars & Foundations

Churches of Bratislava, Slovakia This past spring I had the pleasure of going on a central European vacation with my wife, and amongst my fondest memories was the time we spent stopping in Bratislava on a trip bookended by several days Budapest and Vienna.  Bratislava is not to be overlooked. This small European capital city of Slovakia is unique not just for the stark juxtaposition of Medieval architecture and ultra-soviet era modernism that slashed through the city without regard, but for the warmth of its people. Be it taking a tour of the modern apartments and civic buildings in a Soviet era Skoda (car), or meandering through the old town and hiking to the castle, you can't help but fall for the allure.  But I digress, this blog is about Church Crawling and so I should share that major aspect of the trip. Sadly I did not get photos of the famed Blue Church (St. Elizabeth's) as it had very limited hours and we chose to prioritize the previously mentioned tour

Saint John's Episcopal Church, Saugus, MA Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often intimate groups in our midst. 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. Building & History According to St. John's informative website , unusually this church actually started as a Sunday School in 1883, before having the church constructed across the street from the location where the school was held. The current church's chancel area, I was told by Stephen Belyea, the verger who took me on fantastic tour of the facilities, is

St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Woburn, MA Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often intimate groups in our midst. 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. This post is unique in that my only photos are from the interior of the church. I attended a 4:00 pm Mass and the lighting wasn't conducive to getting good exterior photographs. A sketch of the exterior of the building can be found on Woburn Catholic Collaborative's webpage .  Horn of Plenty on display for the Thanksgiving Holiday Building  & History St. Anthony&

First Parish Malden, Unitarian Universalist, Malden, MA Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often intimate groups in our midst. 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. Building & History Aptly named First Parish was founded at the same time as the city it resides in, Malden, MA, in the year 1648. According to First Parish's website the church, primarily a Universalist church ( Unitarians merged with Universalists in 1961 ), has resided in five different buildings. This building, a granite neo-gothic revival structure, wa