Pillars & Foundations

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Wakefield, MA  This is the third entry in my blog project where I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. The motivation for this activity/journey is detailed in the introduction post of this blog. The 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 serve. I'd like to learn about their impact and share what I find. 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. The building and history: Emmanuel has a very informative website that I was able to rely upon heavily to add to my observations made this Sunday. The parish itself predates the structure by more ...

Melrose Highlands Congregational Church, Melrose, MA  This is the second entry in my new blog project where I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly where I live in Massachusetts. My reasoning for this activity/journey can be found here . In short these churches are important, often overlooked and misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others, and I'd like to learn about this and share what I find. 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. The building: This congregation is housed in a large brick structure with wooden accents, off of Franklin St. in Melrose. I wish I could speak more to the architectural style of the building. As I continue in this activity perhaps I'll pick up more knowledge al...

Most Blessed Sacrament, Wakefield, MA  I chose a local Catholic Church, Most Blessed Sacrament (MBS) for my first true entry of this blog. I thought I would start out where I am the most familiar. It was very cold on this morning, after mass the temperature still read only 8℉. Normally I would have walked here, but not today. As I drove into the parking lot the sound of ice and compacted snow made that snapping and rubbing sound that all of us in colder climates know. The lot was largely empty, there was a breeze, and despite steady weekend traffic on main street, a sense of quiet. I was concerned at this point that the mass may even be cancelled as the atmosphere outside the church was desolate. Thankfully the door was open and I was greeted by a friendly usher, and a surprising amount of warmth considering the temperature outside. I made my way to the back of the church and took in my surroundings. The building: The dark stained beam interior reminded me of Sacred Hea...

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? ...