The Norwalk Lutheran Church

 On Saturday, I decided to head up north.  I thought I was going to go to Sleeping Bear but I ended up going elsewhere instead.  As I was going to that other place, I saw this church and I figured that I needed to stop because it looked pretty cool.

I like the look of rural churches, especially ones that are in the woods.  The have a simple elegance about them.

In 1916, the church prior this this one burnt down, it was called the Scandanavian Evangelical Lutheran Society.

The church needed to be replaced, so the Reverend Ole Stenson and an unknown architect came up with the plans for this church.

The church was dedicated in 1920 and has been remodeled several times since then.

St. Nicholas Church in Ann Arbor

 Yesterday one of my cousins got married.  She ended up getting married a Greek Orthodox church and that would make the first time I've ever stepped into an Orthodox church.

The current St. Nicholas church was built in 2003 on land donated by one of the members.  It was built to replace the old church that was on Main Street that was completed in 1939.  The church had seen incredible growth in that time and could no longer support the congregation.

It is a pretty nice looking church on the outside.  It does not look like the Greek Orthodox churches that I am used to seeing though.  But it was still pretty cool.

Originally, I wasn't going to bring my camera but when I stepped in the church, I had to go back to the car and get the camera.  I figured that this was likely the only time I would step into a Greek Orthodox church, so I needed some pictures.

The Greek Orthodox Church came about from the first apostles of Jesus but it took a different path from the Catholic church when the Roman Empire split in to the East and West Empires.

The Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western Empire around 300 A.D.  The Eastern Roman Empire had its capital in Constantinople and was named after Emperor Constantine who was the first Emperor of the new entity.

The Western Roman Empire fell with the sacking of Rome in 476 A.D.  The Eastern Roman Empire which would be later known as the Byzantine Empire would last for roughly another 1000 years.

The Greek Orthodox Church is a part of the larger Eastern Orthodox Religion which was founded around 100 A.D.  Which similar to the Catholic Church there are some differences.

At one time, the service would have been said in Greek instead of Latin.

The Orthodox Church doesn't recognize the Pope, nor does it really have a leader of its own.

Instead it has a council of Bishops that end up electing a main Bishop.

One thing I think many of the Orthodox churches have in common is the beautiful artwork.

In this church, the artwork seemed to depict various scenes from the Bible.

I kind of wish I would have taken more pictures of the ceremony itself because they had some traditions that were separate from the Catholic masses I am used to attending.

Anyway, it was pretty neat to see.  I think many of the traditions are rooted in early Christian practices.

Like I said, the artwork was pretty cool.

The altar looked pretty cool.

This was a dome at the top of the cieling.

The double eagle seems to be common in Eastern European countries.

The back of the church.

The First United Methodist Church Battle Creek

This church is across the street from the Sojourner Truth statue.

The first meeting of the Methodists in newly formed Battle Creek was lead in 1833 by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Thomas.  Daniel Thomas died the next year and the group was disbanded.  Another group started in 1836 and the first church was built in 1840 on the site where the Battle Creek city hall now stands.   

The current church is an Italian Renaissance Style and was built in 1908.

Continuing on to South Haven

I ended up taking the Blue Star Highway north from St Joseph.  Again, I was taking the back roads.  If you aren't particularly pressed for time, it's a nice relaxing way to go.

 My next stop was the South Haven Lighthouse.  Again, it was still a pretty nice day for it.

 I liked the look of this flag.

 Taking the long view of the pier.

 A sail boat heads out to Lake Michigan.

 The water on the pier wasn't quite as bad as St. Joseph, so I didn't get the nice reflection shots like I got there.

 Getting a little closer.

 A view I haven't taken in a while.

 Walking back to the other side.

 Walking back.

 I think I've posted pictures of this church before, but I never went into its details.  St. Basil Catholic Church was founded in 1857 by Father DeMize.  During this time, church services were held in various homes in the area.  In 1884, a small chapel was built.  Construction on the current church was completed in 1923.  It was renovated in 2016.

 Back to taking pictures of the lighthouse.

 A boat coming in.

the view from the beach.

The End of a Church

I was following up on another story while I was up in Bay City.  A few years ago, I took pictures of this church and it was in sort of happier days (but not by much). 

 In the summer of 2014, it was announced that the church would be closed down and Visitation Parish would merge with St. Mary's Church.  The new church would be named Our Lady of Peace but would be located at St. Mary's.  Visitation was later closed down.

 Earlier this year, it was announced that the church was going to be put up for sale.  I really hope that they find someone to buy this because it would be a shame if they had to tear this church down.

 I guess it is kind of fitting that I caught this church in the sunset light as I feel that they will probably have no choice but to tear it down.

 The beautiful stained glass windows that were here were taken down.  Some of them may be integrated into St. Mary's Church (but not likely).  Currently, they are being stored at the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw.

 They also removed the statues that adorned the church.  Again, these are in storage somewhere.  It's kind of a shame to see what once a thriving church turned into something else.

 It's even sadder because this church was kind of an icon in the Bay City skyline.  As I said in the other post I wrote about this church, this was one of two buildings that you could see from the Zilwaukee Bridge.

 Looking up at the steeple.

 This was another beautiful piece of stained glass.

 It's kind of sad not seeing stained glass here.

Like I said, I hope they find someone that can buy this church and restore it.

A Country Church

After looking at some maps in New Era, I saw that I was pretty close to the Little Sable Lighthouse.  As I was heading there, I ran across this church.

 I didn't catch the name of the Church, but I liked the looks of it.

 Based on the rod on top of the steeple, this church was founded in 1884.

 A side view of the church.

  A closeup of that rod.

I kind of liked this angle.  I didn't like the electric pole in it though.