Pillars & Foundations

Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center, West Hartford, CT: Lectio Divina 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.  Campus Description Holy Family Retreat Center is located in a bucolic suburb of Hartford Connecticut. Still decidedly urban the monastery and an expansive, mostly wooded grounds is seated amongst an idyllic upper middle class neighborhood. Forty-eight acres of grounds offer a refuge from the bustle to visitors as well as the people in the community, to which it is open. Trails meander through the forest, and visitors can appreciate thoughtful landscaping and features that include the stations of the cross, grottos and various statues of saints and Christ. One particularly striking feature on the property is a large landscaped labyrinth located on a clearing in the forest. I found it covered in snow on my visit, a...

MIT Chapel, Cambridge, Massachusetts 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.  Building & History Wikipedia has a good write-up on this unique building, noting not just the unusual windowless-cylindrical sanctuary, but the landscaping. In warmer months the round sanctuary is surrounded on the outside by a reflecting pool or "moat," as it seems to be described. The trees are a crucial part of the appearance of the building, London Planetrees, they create a natural buffer to the bustle around, while the irregular lighter bark stands in contrast to the dark tones of the brick. A stained glass entryway is perhaps the one part of the structure letting light in, and for someone perhaps only casually familiar with the mid-century modern era, this section of the structure seems to especially evoke that style. The a...

Old South Church, Boston, Massachusetts: New Year's 2019 Organ Concert 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.  Building & History At the time of my visit, and writing of this post, the Old South Church Congregation is celebrating it's 350th anniversary! Many noteworthy historical figures have been congregants at Old South, including Benjamin Franklin who was baptized there, and Samuel Adams who once held Tea Party meetings in the earliest meeting house. Old South's website notes that the newest structure which is pictured was built in 1875 during the Gilded Age, and it is evident. It describes the architecture as Northern Italian Ruskinian Gothic. I definitely can see similarities in the eaves to some churches I've visited in Italy. If my photos (often blurry on the exterior- I don't get to Back Bay ...

Notre Dame Spirituality Center, Ipswich, MA: Centering Prayer 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.  How I Stumbled Upon Notre Dame Spirituality Center Over the past year some of you may know that I've engaged in this journey exploring different churches, denominations, and faiths. Through this I've attended courses on Buddhist Meditation at the Tibetan Buddhist, Kurukulla Center in Medford, Massachusetts. I've also on occasion attended Zen based meditation through Reading Unitarian Universalist Church . Most recently prior to this I attended a Centering Prayer group at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church . From reading Seven Storey Mountain and Thoughts in Solitude , by Thomas Merton , to Thich Nhat Hanh 's Living Buddha Living Christ , and Peace in Every Step , I've been quite curious about mi...

Centering Prayer at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church, Melrose, 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.  Background of Centering Prayer Mindfulness, being mindful, learning to be present, these popular terms/ideas have infiltrated popular culture over the past decade due to a surge in interest in meditation, largely focused on roots from eastern origins. Many meditation groups have popped up, both secular for the purposes of training the mind or destressing, as well as those with a spiritual focus, tied closely to Buddhist and Hindu origins. It is perhaps not as well known that the Christian tradition also has its own version of meditative practices. While some recognize traditional prayer itself as a type of meditation, another activity made recognizable by Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk and author from the 20th...