Pillars & Foundations

Stoneham TV: First Unitarian Church of Stoneham, MA, Repurposed Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, their foundations, 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 will be a bit atypical compared to other posts I've written. First Unitarian Church of Stoneham is no longer an active church, having closed its doors long ago in 1995. This is an example of a building that has lived on, repurposed to serve a new community need, and in its second life continues to serve Stoneham and the surroundi...

Introduction to Pillars & Foundations, an Exploration of Churches Pillars & Foundations: I intend this to be a blog that details visits to churches, mostly in the area that I live, but perhaps it will be expanded in then event of travels. The intention isn't to be critical of these organizations, in fact I intend to work to avoid this. I want to describe these community centers, these hearts of the community that many of us pass by daily and presume to know. We all have had different prejudices, be it personal experience or word of mouth or social perception of these cornerstones that is fed to us. I came upon a Buddhist quote recently, "Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people," (The Buddha - Magandiya Sutta). I want to understand what the churches meant to the communities they are part of, and what they currently mean. What sort of activities and community events are they fostering and who are the priests and ministers? ...