Ship of Fools: Your favourite church

Thread: Your favourite church Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

Here's what Britain's political party leaders have chosen for their favourite church. How about you?

Mine would probably be Blackfriars Priory in Oxford. Rebuilt early last century after an absence of several centuries, on exactly the same spot as it was in the 1200s, it's plain and simple inside, light and airy, and feels far older than it actually is. The simplicity throws you back on yourself and I've found it much more fruitful being there than in any other church so far.

What's yours? Doesn't have to be one you visit regularly, doesn't have to even be one from your own denomination, or even in your own country...

Posted by Arethosemyfeet (# 17047) on :

I don't know about favourite, but I do have a soft spot for St. John's Cathedral in Oban. It is, in its own way, a beautiful building but it is very much a monument to thwarted ambitions and grand dreams brought down by bad luck and fiscal realities.

Posted by Uncle Pete (# 10422) on :

My favourite Church is a small Malayi Latin Catholic Church fairly near my Indian residence. Nothing to look at. Roofed, but doors open an hour before mass. Built in 2000, known casually as Jubilee Church, or more formally as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Men on left, women on right. Kids get front row spots on floor, No pews, some chairs for the infirm and elderly. It packs out at 2-250. Despite its youth, it a prayerful place.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

If Mr. Farrago's church is the one I'm thinking of, it is indeed an enchanting little building, and I have a much-treasured watercolour painting of it.

It has no parish, village, or (AFAIK) regular congregation - rather like UKIP after the election, I hope.......

I'll get me coat.

Ian J.

Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :

Hmmm ...

I don't think I have one particular favourite.

In terms of architecture, location, quirkiness and so on, I'd plump for these (among others):

Kilpeck
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/kilpeck-church

Cwmyoy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cwmyoy

Durham Cathedral

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

No favourite, but two that I regard with special fondness:

St Martin, Cwmyoy - sometimes called the most twisted church in the world, thanks to lanslip, seismic, shift, etc.

The church of St David at Llanthony - is where some of my ancestors are buried.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

All Saints Margaret Street, London - a cave of anglo-catholic delights.

Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :

I had Cwmyoy too.

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

Central Pentecostal Tabernacle

From my hometown, now demolished. The architect's family campaigned to get it made into a Heritage site, but the city ruled that, being built in 1972, it didn't meet the age requirements.

Obviously, a direct quote from the Egyptian pyramids. The architect went on to do at least one other building in that style, and inspired a few others(hence, one of the arguments for Heritage designation). That photo looks like it's in a leafy suburb, but in fact it's in a quasi-commerical area near the downtown.

There is also a second building, containing faint echoes of Notre Dame du Haut in France.

Posted by ThunderBunk (# 15579) on :

A remarkable, thin place

An extraordinary, unlooked-for discovery in Berlin.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

For position, this Creamtealand church has to be my favourite. Except when the mist comes down, whenever you are on the Western side of the moor, and even in that faraway foreign land of East Cornwall (where be dragons), you can espy this beacon of hope and know you are still safely in God's hands.

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :

Interesting that they seem more interesting in the building than in the church.

My favourite church would have to be King's Church, Durham - where I spent my student days with some great theological teaching from Mark Bonnington. However, the building we used was the student union and the floor was always sticky with spilt beer from the night before.

So for my favourite church building, I'd have to travel all of a couple of hundred yards to the Anglican cathedral in Durham. It's a great piece of architecture, stunningly beautiful and they don't charge you to walk in the door.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

For its sheer breathtaking beauty I too would go for Durham Cathedral. I think I would have been about four years old when I first visited it with my mum and dad. I remember being scared of the door-knocker, and I remember walking in and having an impression of a building that seemed to go on for ever in every direction.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

I like the church that we rent for our services in the Netherlands. It is so old the walls are actually tilted.

Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :

In my experience, Sipech, the buildings are often more benign than the people ...

[Big Grin]

In terms of churches I've been involved with, I didn't want to name or shame.

All churches have their ups and downs. I was a member of one congregation for 18 years - through thick and thin ...

I wouldn't have that down as my 'favourite' as we ended up leaving in the end - as almost everyone did ultimately ...

I've only really been a long-term member/attender at three churches - plus an occasional visitor/sampler at various others.

If you're asking which has been my favourite in terms of where I felt happiest - then it would have to be the Baptist church I was part of for 6 years from 2000 to 2006. It was somewhat 'emergent' in style and tone and charismatic-lite.

Even though I'd probably moved on from both those positions while I was there, they were a great bunch of people and it was a good place to be - particularly for people like us who'd previously been involved with heavy-duty 'restorationism' and who needed somewhere to regroup and to chill ...

I'm not sure it'd be my thing now, though - nor is my current church, truth be told.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

This won't surprise anyone. [Big Grin]

It's where we got married, when D. was the organist and I sang in the choir. Whenever we go home, there's always a little intake of breath when it comes into view as we're driving into Kirkwall. [Smile]

St. Magnus was built by the same band of masons who built Durham (I understand it was their next job after Durham), and you can tell; although Durham's much bigger, I can almost get the same frisson when I go into it.

[ 30. March 2015, 14:23: Message edited by: Piglet ]

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
... driving into Kirkwall.

You drive? I thought you had a longship!

AG (whose vote goes to the Italian Chapel.)

Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on :

Either Pusey House, or the chapel of King Edward's School Birmingham - which used to be a corridor.

But it was a corridor in a building designed by Barry and Pugin before they did Parliament, so when the school moved site in the 1940s, they took the corridor with them and consecrated it...

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :

St Michael & All Angels, Linton

Grassington itself is a lovely place in the Dales. But then you walk across to Linton and enter a church where parts date from the 12th century and where there was almost certainly a church for a couple of hundreds of years before that.

It may not be architecturally stunning, but it is a place of peace and tranquility.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:

quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
... driving into Kirkwall.
You drive? I thought you had a longship!

It's a very long, hard row across the Atlantic ... [Big Grin]

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

But an even damper drive.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

[Killing me]

Posted by Higgs Bosun (# 16582) on :

quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
Either Pusey House, or the chapel of King Edward's School Birmingham - which used to be a corridor.

But it was a corridor in a building designed by Barry and Pugin before they did Parliament, so when the school moved site in the 1940s, they took the corridor with them and consecrated it...

Are you an Old Edwardian also? I sang evensong in that chapel/corridor fornightly when I was at the school.

Posted by Amika (# 15785) on :

St. Mary's church, Shrewsbury, now sadly in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. There are just two services a year and the occasional musical event now.

I love the building with its amazing stained glass windows but I do also often attend the services, usually consisting of a very small congregation of enthusiasts and perhaps former stalwarts of what seems to have been a very Anglo-catholic community. (I nearly choke on the incense!) Info about it here.

Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Higgs Bosun:

quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
Either Pusey House, or the chapel of King Edward's School Birmingham - which used to be a corridor.

But it was a corridor in a building designed by Barry and Pugin before they did Parliament, so when the school moved site in the 1940s, they took the corridor with them and consecrated it...
Are you an Old Edwardian also?

We're everywhere.

I too was a chapel chorister.

Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

For me, it would be this

It is Gougane Barra; the beginning of St Fin Barre's ministry in County Cork. The chapel is very tiny and sits on an island with preserved monks cells and a holy well. The chapel is beautiful inside but hopefully the individual who chose the colour scheme expired on an extended penance in the cold lake.

I'm also rather fond of this
Gallus Oratory County Kerry, and
this

St Kevin's Oratory, Glendalough.

You can probably see a pattern emerge.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

I have always been very fond of the church I attended while growing up. The last time I was there, (twenty-two years ago) a tropical storm had flooded the basement, so there were no services that Sunday. [Frown]

Yes, it's in Pennsylvania. No, I did not encourage the storm to follow me from Florida.

Posted by cattyish (# 7829) on :

I love our home church , which is generally full of people of all ages, tea and cake.

The area is pretty and the building isn't bad now that we've hacked out the dry rot. I like the fact that the stained glass shows a Jesus knocking at the door who is not a white man. The building isn't that much of draw though; it's the people I love.

Cattyish, about to make a quick dinner.

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

Mine's the one you see there in my avatar: the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit!

Posted by Full Circle (# 15398) on :

Another vote for the Italian Chapel in Orkney. I have only visited once but it was the first church that showed me how people might be able to worship in ornate environments: The craftmanship and attention taken to making ordinary things exceptionally beautiful seemed to point me to God (whereas previously entered ornate churches had always struck me as opportunities to display wealth)

Posted by Offeiriad (# 14031) on :

For me it has to be the church where I first encountered the glorious reality of the Living God all those years ago. A plain exterior hides a glorious interior, and it seems to have the churchmanship I will expect to find in heaven....St Silas, Kentish Town

Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :

I couldn't find the postcard I cherished, but have a link.

After travelling for a week or more in Italy and visiting huge churches ornately decorated – I remember commenting on numerous side chapels with cluttered altars that reminded me of 'Victorian dressing tables' I came to Sant Eufemia in Spoleto – solid Romanesque with no furnishings save a plain altar and a triptych (not the painting in this picture). Filled with peace.

The links I've found tend to picture it from the 'women's gallery', looking down, but I remember it from floor level. And it has apparently not been used for worship for some time, perhaps from before I was there in 1958 or 59. But this does not stop one's soul from being raised in spontaneous worship!

GG

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :

I have several but if I had to pick one it would be St. Francis at Rancho de Taos, New Mexico. I first visited on a dark, stormy day. The storm broke while I was inside and the place flooded with light. You've seen the church - Georgia O'Keefe, Ansel Adams, etc....

St. Francis, Rancho de Taos

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Full Circle:
... The craftmanship and attention taken to making ordinary things exceptionally beautiful ...

That's part of what makes the Italian Chapel so special - knowing that it was all built out of the bits and bobs that the prisoners of war could find, you see what a labour of love it was.

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

Although I love the church Pete referenced and the nearby and fairly ancient [Syrian Catholic] Church of the Holy Cross my heart has to choose Brigflatts Quaker Meeting House outside Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales. The most wonderfully restful and tranquil building.

Posted by Ralegh (# 1436) on :

To toss a little American variety in the mix, I love St. Ann's Church in the South Bronx http://stannsb.dioceseny.org/. It has an incredible priest that has done wonderful work for the neighborhood, and as one of the oldest churches in the Bronx, it has history going for it as well. It is the resting place of a number of members of one of the Revolution's founding families, the Morrises. You can read about its current ministries in Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace.
I mystery-worshipped there once and was heartily welcomed as a stranger, decidedly not of the neighborhood.

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

My favourite church is where I regularly worship. A good supportive community.

The building is not half bad either, but that is not what really matters.

Posted by Ronald Binge (# 9002) on :

All Saints Margaret Street for me also. Have worshipped there anytime I've been in London since 1992.

Posted by cynic girl (# 13844) on :

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre Incredibly beautiful, although the different sectors for different denominations feels a little odd.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

Yes, I love it too.

The different denominations vying for space is part of its appeal - the way to the cross on a Friday morning wasn't through some peaceful haven but through a busy market place where everyone was out to make profit rather than to witness yet another criminal going to his death.

I remember going to mass there on the site of Golgotha at 4.30am because the altars were all booked up and that was the only 30 minute slot we could get.

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

One of the most moving experiences in my life was visiting the tomb but I'm not sure beautiful is the right word. Somebody said it looks like what somebody would produce if they had obtained a copy of book on architecture written by a nineteenth century Belgian but with some pages missing and without knowing the language it was written in.

Despite all that, and for all the noise, queues, clutter, division and muddle, when I got inside it, I was completely poleaxed by the most obvious fact, the one thing that everybody knows, which is that it is empty.

It was as though there was a corpse shaped empty space there. I described this to someone else later, who traced out an invisible body with their hand. That was exactly what I meant. I think they had at some point experienced the same thing.

Also, here are all these people from all over the world, with all sorts of different religious cultures and traditions, and despite the schisms, they are all here for the same reason and with the same belief.

[ 20. April 2015, 08:30: Message edited by: Enoch ]

Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :

I love in the "Kirk" in London - one a long time ago. It is an excellent Scottish one. I visit it at some times as I live a long way from it. I get on the 6 bus or the Holburn tube.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

I found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre one of the most disturbing places I've ever visited. Yes, I expected it to be busy, but all it brought to mind was that it needed Christ to come again to throw out all the people - priests - hawking their wares. Particularly unnerving was the priest offering to show some 'extra' behind the altar he was guarding if we supplied him with whisky (Johnny Walker Black Label was specified): truly dreadful.

Frankly, if I'd been looking for affirmation of faith this would have had the opposite effect.

Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :

I just remember it's one on computer ! It also has really lovely things inside!

www.crowncourtchurch.org.uk

It shows some of it where we have the one to sit and sing and be told by the man in speaking. And we read bible as they have them for us in our place we sing.

Posted by A Feminine Force (# 7812) on :

For me, Notre Dame de Chartres is an object of near-obsession and, dare I say it, near-idolatry.

I'm about as in love with that edifice and place as anybody can be. I have been above the vault and in the crypt, above the choir, crawled about the outside to get up close and personal with the inverted Chartres Maria in her mysteriously un-blue outdoor robes.

This place haunts me in the best way possible, and I have been drawn to it like a moth to a flame, year after year, century after century. I can't appreciate it enough.

LAFF

Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :

The Altenberger Dom is an old favorite. (View of outside here.) If you turn around in this virtual picture and look at the "golden" window, you have to imagine sunlight streaming through that to quite amazing effect (on a nice day). What's also stunning is that this massive church (it's called "Dom" or Cathedral by the locals, though formally it isn't one) actually belonged to a monastery, and is nestled deep into the woods of the "Bergische Land" (a hilly region close to Cologne) with no major town nearby. An amazing place, well worth a visit. Excellent for combining with a walking / cycling / riding tour in the surrounding landscape - and while there are no major cities, there are actually several good places to eat in that area... If you have little kids, there is a "Märchenwald" close by, which is basically a theme park in the woods illustrating Grimm's tales. Finally, it is also a shared place of worship of the RCs and (German) Lutherans, so you can go there for a service whether Catholic or Protestant...

[ 20. April 2015, 15:58: Message edited by: IngoB ]

Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :

It's difficult to pick out a favourite. For years, we went to a small presbyterian church on the outskirts of Montreal, where the worship and fellowship were as good as they get, though the building was modern and not lovely to look upon. Around here there are old order Mennonite meeting houses that are plain, but elegantly proportioned (to my eye) with surprisingly comfortable wooden seats in their comforting interiors - but I'm not a Mennonite. My real favourite in recent years has been St Columba's Shrine on Iona. Much as I like the Abbey church itself, the little shrine is my favourite spot. It hasn't been the same since Historic Scotland found it necessary to install electric lighting, but it's still good, especially on a windy autumn night, when you come out to see the huge cross of St John against the sky.

Posted by scuffleball (# 16480) on :

The question could refer to churches that are of personal or communal importance, and all the candidates' answers are pretty unconvincing.

Crowland Abbey is a significant as a strange place to sleep as a pilgrim, chasing the horizon through the "Holy Land of the English". Somehow the whole place oozes a sense of continuous prayer over the years. The american vicar is also very kind and softly spoken, and somehow the flatness adds to the eerieness.

Also St Mary Eversholt St - the archetypal "where not even the Bishops will try to hinder you."

IMHO faith in the slums has an obvious path, as does on the fens. It's in the suburbs we seem to fail to find our identity/vocation?

And it's funny you should mention Blackfriars - despite never having been there it brings back association with the names of many eg Seamus Heaney.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre one of the most disturbing places I've ever visited. Yes, I expected it to be busy, but all it brought to mind was that it needed Christ to come again to throw out all the people - priests - hawking their wares. Particularly unnerving was the priest offering to show some 'extra' behind the altar he was guarding if we supplied him with whisky (Johnny Walker Black Label was specified): truly dreadful.

Frankly, if I'd been looking for affirmation of faith this would have had the opposite effect.

I entirely agree, I found my visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre very depressing; crowded, noisy, rude abrupt priests and bizarrely segregated, especially with different denominations vying for who had the 'real' tomb.

Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
King's Church, Durham - where I spent my student days with some great theological teaching from Mark Bonnington. However, the building we used was the student union and the floor was always sticky with spilt beer from the night before.

The time I went it was still called Emmanuel and meeting in a carpet factory with industrial size portable air blowers. Cue the jokes about the sound of a mighty rushing wind.

quote:
So for my favourite church building, I'd have to travel all of a couple of hundred yards to the Anglican cathedral in Durham.

Thirded. I think the setting has something to do with it, too.

We got to visit all sorts of off-limits parts as part of a lecture series during the French degree, for some reason.

The only place of worship I have ever entered to address a pressing need to pray.

Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :

I love the big cathedrals but this little Orthodox one really gets to me: Siberian church.

Posted by cynic girl (# 13844) on :

If we're talking tiny churches, I did love the Elbe Church in Washington State. It's 18x24 ft. http://www.elbehistoricchurch.com/

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