Tag Archives: Churches

Autumn Skywatch

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Oklahoma City Starbucks Sky

The family loaded up earlier this week and traveled to western Oklahoma. 

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We went to Clinton, Oklahoma. I went over and took this photo early in the morning of their Route 66 Museum. 

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Later, I took this photo of this tree in our hotel parking lot. I love Fall Color.

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We were in Clinton for the funeral of a family member. He was one of those great guys in life. Not flashy or one to call attention to himself but very nice, very smart, and a great guy. He was married almost sixty years and raised a great family. He was also a John Deere mechanic for about the same amount of time. They said he bled green. 

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His employer, the local John Deere dealer parked these two huge tractors in front of the church in his honor. I had never seen anything like that before!!

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Back in Tulsa, I found this giant cottonwood tree in a tiny little park in East Tulsa. 

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Fall can even make parking lots look better.

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Close by I came across this church called “God’s Church.” I love the confidence in the name. I checked out their web site and they seem to be a vital and active part of the community ministering to their members and the community. What more can you ask of a church?

I think this is my blog post 3001 more or less. I’ve been doing this blogging thing for over ten years now and I really do appreciate the support I’ve got for my humble little slice of the interwebs. 

That’s about it for this week. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday – Arkansas River Run

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I went on a run after work Monday. I saw a lot of stuff like the scene above with the daytime moon. I love daytime moons.

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I saw a bunch of geese all swimming in one direction like they were zombies. I thought they flew north instead of paddling north.

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I saw a bridal shoot going on in the middle of the river.

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I saw another runner checking out the shoot.

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And some bicyclist zoomed on past me. Zooming past me is not hard. I like my shadow selfie.

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I passed the golden dome of the Greek Orthodox Church.

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I went across a bridge where there were a bunch of locks. I knew that it was just a matter of time before this tradition hit town.

Four slow miles in the 90 degrees heat.

I’m linking this post with Skywatch Friday

Walking to the Gym

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My old gym went out of business a few months ago. And so I rejoined a gym that I used to belong to until seven years ago. The gym is run by a Methodist church and just like a Methodist Church they still had me on their files and gave me my original member number back. When members show up you have to fill out the log, name, member number, time, and planned activity. We Methodists are fiends for documentation;

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Anyways its about a 3/4 mile walk from the office. I have noticed the past couple months that our homeless people are increasingly sitting down and laying down on the sidewalks. Just the left of the photo above there was a guy sitting down on the sidewalk blocking everything but about a foot wide strip of concrete. I walked right past him and he asked me how I was doing, Great! I said, and you? He was doing great also. I felt like saying, then get your butt off the sidewalk dude.

So what is up with sprawling on the sidewalks?

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Hey I crossed the street and come to Cathedral Square which is actually a City of Tulsa park. I love the fountain.

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And it has the fanciest wrought iron benches in town.

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And I came to my favorite tree. Sometimes I feel as old as it looks.

So, what did you do today?

Labyrinths, etc

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I was out and about and decided to go find a geocache at a local church. Right close to the cache was a Labyrinth and some instructions on how to use it. A labyrinth is not like a maze in that there are no choices to make or puzzles to solve. You follow the maze to the middle and then go back the way you came. It is presented as an aid to prayer. I’m okay with that. I googled Christianity and Labyrinths and boy talk about controversy. 

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In New Orleans I went briefly into the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, King of France. It is quite the building and the sanctuary is spectacular.

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Geocaching in north Tulsa I come across another church. Lots more humble but they are trying just as hard, if not harder.

I am fascinated by the creativeness of people and the differences between people and how in spite of the differences their are so many things that bind us together.

Skywatch Friday – Downtown Sky

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We had some stormy rainy weather on Tuesday when I went to my car on the roof of the parking garage I liked the view to the south with the big clouds and the wet streets. I also noticed that four of Tulsa’s major churches were in the view. From left to right we have the tower of the Bruce Goff designed art deco masterpiece, Boston Avenue Church, then the green domed First Christian Church. Then to the right the twin spires of the First Methodist Church and then to the far right, Holy Family Cathedral. Tulsa is unique in major cities in the US in that the downtown area are really thriving and maintaining their membership. The churches and businesses stayed downtown when everybody left and now the people are coming back to live, as well as work and worship. Exciting times we live in is what I say.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

The Chapel at Fort Reno

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Fort Reno has a chapel built by German Prisoners of War in 1944. It is a solid concrete structure with a basement. I don’t think any church services are held there but you can rent it for a wedding for a mere $500.  There are some by gum federal government paperwork to get the required permits out so if you are going to rent it, start early. And if you are going to toast the bride and groom with anything stronger than ginger ale, don’t do it here.

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So I couldn’t find out who designed it or if they just told the prisoners to go build it or just what but it has a definite German feeling on the outside and a kind of Western/German vibe on the interior. You can check out 9 On Main for the best interior design ideas.

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The windows are a translucent yellow and the walls and ceiling are pine and so the interior is very yellow, subdued and kind of pleasant. It is simple yet gets the job done.

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I loved the ceiling joists, and the chandeliers, they show a definite sense of style.

Downstairs is a fully equipped kitchen and a big dining room. Just saying if you were wanting to have a wedding and reception with an old west military flair this would be just the place.

Thorncrown Chapel – Eureka Springs, Arkansas

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During our recent outing to Eureka Springs Heather and I visited Thorncrown Chapel. Architect E. Fay Jones little jewel in woods.

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It’s footprint is 24 by 60 feet and is 48 feet high. It is modeled after the much larger Sainte Chappelle Church in Paris. The architect E. Fay Jones said that Thorncrown was “Ozark Gothic.”

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It may be the most remarkable structure I have been in. It is so full of light and is light and airy. I I don’t see how it even keeps itself supported. The structure is built entirely out of wood, glass, and stone.  You can read more about it and see some spectacular photographs on Thorncrown’s Website.

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The chapel gets lots of visitors but everybody is very quiet inside the building plus they quite politely and calmly ask people to sit down while they are looking around and taking photographs.

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I loved how the design is kept open by the absence of an altar. Note though the cross standing outside the structure and the rock ledge looks like an altar to me. The chapel fits in perfectly with its surroundings. Jones specified that no single component could be bigger than what two men could carry through the woods to the site. The trusses and such were built on site the lumber that was carried to it.

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I guess that I am turning into a fan of E. Fay Jones. Just a year ago I visited his Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel at Powell Gardens near Kansas City, Missouri. It was another structure that blew me away.

Google has built a 3D model of the building. You have to play around with a little bit. It gives a better idea of what it looks like in its setting.

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InSPIREd Sunday – Sioux Valley Baptist Church

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Sioux Valley Baptist Church is a small clapboard church sitting on a dirt road a few miles from Trent, South Dakota and right across the Big Sioux River from my Great Great Grandfather’s original homestead. He donated the land the church sits on. The church was dedicated in 1888 and has been in service ever since. It is a tradition in my Dad’s family that they attend services in connection with the annual reunion. It is pretty cool to see the church still holding services and knowing that my ancestors had a hand in getting it started.

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The service is simple and heartfelt. The music is great. The prayers and praises concern thankfulness for a safe rodeo season and livestock showings at the County Fair, concerns about illnesses. Somehow the pastor, Rita Webber remembers everything and mentions it during the prayers. The sermon is likewise great.

Somehow this is all accomplished without powerpoint slides, amplified guitars, video segments and all that. Totally Old School and relaxing.

InSPIREd Sunday

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Temple at the Falls

Idaho Falls Temple on River

Situated on a pretty spot on the Snake River in Idaho Falls, Idaho is the Mormon Church’s Idaho Falls Temple. Next to the Falls it may be the most noticeable feature of the city. It is almost pure white and has a gold statue on top.

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Groundbreaking started in 1939 and the Temple dedicated in 1945 and is still in use. It is not open to non-members but they do have a visitor center on the grounds open to everyone. I don’t think they mind visitors checking out the beautiful flowers on the ground.

Idaho Falls Temple Moroni

An interesting feature of most, not all LDS Temples, is the Angel Moroni. Interestingly enough the suggestion to add the statue to Mormon temples came from a non-Mormon sculptor, Cyrus Dallin. Almost everything you ever wanted to know about the Angel Moroni is here. He almost always faces east. I was too lazy to walk around the temple to get a picture of the front of the statue.