[WPRESTO]

A church AND a covered bridge. Very nice

Glad you enjoyed the image. I would never have remembered the name of the church, but fortunately the sign on it is easy to read when sufficiently enlarged.

[paulh]

St. Mary Magdalen Chapel, Camarillo CA

[WPRESTO]

Small town church in Texas Big Bend country is actually a movie set that was used in multiple productions including the TV series "Lonesome Dove." . Some of the slapped-together buildings were evidencing their shoddy construction.when we visited, but major damage caused by flooding of the nearby river made them dangerous, and all but one structure - I don't know which* - were torn down for safety reasons.

*I would guess the orange-colored building in the second image, just because it's higher.

[WPRESTO]

I seem to be the only one, even on this Sunday, who is going to church - - - - - thread to post an image.

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[tim60]

I seem to be the only one, even on this Sunday, who is going to church - - - - - thread to post an image.

Your comment triggers interesting thought about our current situation where the photographer can take pictures of elements in the built environment but without the people from whom those things were built.

[goatsNdonkey]

Your comment triggers interesting thought about our current situation where the photographer can take pictures of elements in the built environment but without the people from whom those things were built.

Often elements of church architecture say something about the beliefs and spiritual philosophies of the denomination or sect which worships there, and during the week, not just on the Sabbath, the building is meant to communicate some of those messages. I have thought for a long time, that in rural areas the tallest spires, together, say a great deal about the traditional aspirations of a community--whether they be church steeples, courthouse cupolas, the crowns of municipal water towers, or the tops of grain elevators. Each has its own, congregation, sometimes overlapping with that of some of the other spires.

[tim60]

It is interesting looking at churches from that point of view of the embodied theology. Your picture did something different in putting a church, designed as a statement of and in community, without the people and with the doors closed. I found the latter point was what you picture triggered for me.

Here, in Oxford, the competition for tall spires is between churches and the university. That reflects other contestation between them.

[Dartmoor Dave]

In the small rural communities in my part of the world, the churches still play a role at the center of village life and I'm glad they are there. I have friends who go to services even though they haven't got any faith of their own, but they go because the village church is the social glue that holds their community together. Although I'm a committed non-believer myself, I love visiting churches and always find it a peaceful and meditative experience. And I love photographing them.

This is the 13th Century church in the tiny village of Sampford Spiney, which is exactly the sort of place I mean.

[tim60]

One of those halls looks much older than the other. Seems like an extension project during the centuries. Another church I know like that is at Cogges, along the Windrush opposite the Witney Waitrose. The Cogges church has a door with no external knob, just like Holman’s famous painting.

[Dartmoor Dave]

One of those halls looks much older than the other. Seems like an extension project during the centuries. Another church I know like that is at Cogges, along the Windrush opposite the Witney Waitrose. The Cogges church has a door with no external knob, just like Holman’s famous painting.

Apparently the tower, south aisle and porch are 16th Century additions, and if my hopeless sense of direction is right then the south aisle is the one closest to the camera here. The main church was originally a private family chapel for the lord of the manor.

I'd guess that making architectural additions to churches in the 16th Century must have been a fairly contentious issue. Do something that implied the wrong doctrine and you could have ended up in a whole heap of dry kindling.

[tim60]

There was contention during the 15th century that was on a fairly short time frame compared with the building project duration. The major theological issues were with the furnishings, images or not, and placement of furniture in the altar area. Those were relatively easy to choose after the main structure.

Going to an older church it is interesting to see modifications done through the history.

[Michail_P]

I find Greek churches most interesting, culturally and architecturally. I say Greek, because locus has played a huge part here. Especially when it comes to those remote ones, up in the mountains or far away at a rocky shore. Traditional churches seem to possess the secret of perfectly fitting in their surroundings , like they emerged from the earth's depths. Painted white, most of the times, so they can reflect the beautiful light of the Mediterranean sky.

[noelcmn]

Being a Pastor, with some knowledge of the histories of some churches, I'll resist the temptation and simply post

[WPRESTO]

Mykonos. As I've remarked before, prior to "modern architecture" churches within some countries tended to have standardized features, or a very similar overall design, or were made with particular materials so that you would at a glance know where the church was built. Traditional Greek design is stark white stucco exteriors, generally small windows, and rather than a bell tower some sort of arch atop the front wall where one or more bells were hung and operated by a rope from the outside of the building.

[tim60]

Being a Pastor, with some knowledge of the histories of some churches, I'll resist the temptation and simply post

Well built but very austere.