Church on Sunday: Boxwoods

The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Main St. hides its c. 1850 manse from view.

The church, built in 1963, is sited on what was once the long front lawn of a Gothic Revival cottage on South Main St, formerly known as "Boxwoods." The church's use of an existing Gothic building as a manse for a much newer church building resembles St. Patrick's Catholic Church and rectory on Nelson St. -- both cottages are even painted a similar shade of yellow.

A very Happy Easter to all!

(Here's a closer look at "Boxwoods":)

Church on Sunday: Zack

Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Zack (built 1879), dressed for Easter.

This clean white clapboard church, with its churchyard in back, is the larger of two in tiny Zack. The other, and a little about Zack, here.

Zack

The signpost for the rural locality of Zack, with Walker's Creek Community Church in the background.

At the far north boundary of Rockbridge County - about 20 miles from Lexington - lies Zack, here amidst the green fields and leafless wooded hills of early spring. This settlement, though tiny, has two churches! (I'll post the second next Sunday.) One church hosts services Sunday mornings, the other offers three services on Sunday afternoons -- at 1, 3 and 5pm. Other than the farms, the firehouse, a handful of "interlopers," and a surfeit of natural beauty, that's about it for Zack. The old store and gas station are no longer in operation.

According to a local resident, underneath the vinyl siding above is a log structure close to 175 years old.

Church on Sunday: A different view

The back side of the Randolph Street Methodist Church has but three openings: a red door (with sidelights), a small Gothic window, and an even smaller round window up top. Makes you wonder what's up there....

(The front has a much larger window.)

This photo was taken from the east end of the Nelson St. bridge.

Church on Sunday: Grace

Ivy clothes part of a window at Grace Presbyterian Church.

The congregation of this church has worshipped in this building on South Main Street since the early 1950s. Before that, it was (probably originally) a private residence, an apartment building, and a fraternity house. Now Grace Presbyterian is planning to build a new church outside of the city limits, and this old building is for sale.

One wonders what the future has in store for it.

Church on Sunday: Arches

The south tower and entrance front of Trinity United Methodist Church on Main Street.

The roots of this church run back to 1794, to a lay preacher named William "Billy" Craven - a stonemason - who first organized Methodist services in the home of a friend.

The present Romanesque Revival church on Main Street is the fifth structure, on the third site, that the congregation has built as they have expanded. It dates to 1926. According to the church website, the debt from the construction cost of $120,000 proved onerous during the Depression that followed. It does seem an impressive sum for that time.

Church on Sunday: Spring

The Oxford Presbyterian Church, surrounded by spring greens.

It's been so warm and spring-like the last two days that I couldn't resist posting this photo I took last year on a soft, rainy April afternoon. This handsome church is out near Collierstown, not far from Buffalo Creek. It will be green like this again soon.

Five, if you can find them

The Presbyterian Manse on White St. has five identical and unusual chimneys.

There was no good vantage point from which to catch all the chimneys (from up in the air would have been best!), but this shot has pretty light, and shows the inspired shed with matching trim work hidden behind the house.

The Manse, built in 1848 for the Lexington Presbyterian Church in the up-and-coming Gothic Revival taste -- and in strong contrast to the Greek style of the church itself, completed just 3 years earlier -- is one of my favorite houses in Lexington. (I'll show the front in a later post.) The site chosen was then on the outskirts of town, in an almost pastoral setting several blocks from the church. As the small lane or alley on which it fronted attracted new construction over the next couple of decades, the road was eventually widened and named White St., after the first occupant of the Manse, Rev. William S. White.

The Manse remains the residence of the minister of Lexington Presbyterian Church.

Theme Day March 2009: Glass

The rose window of R. E. Lee Episcopal, through the snow.

Today is the first of the month, and city daily bloggers around the world are posting on the March theme: Glass. Since my Sunday post is usually of a church, it was easy to combine the two this week.

It may not rival Chartres, but the church keeps this window lit every night, and it's a pretty and comforting sight on an after-dark ramble through the town. Particularly so when it is snowing (March is "coming in" lion-like), as it was last night.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this month's City Daily Photo theme.

Church on Sunday: Dissent

The stained-glass cross in front of St. Paul's Anglican Church, at Nelson and Davidson streets.

As I understand it, St. Paul's was formed a decade or so ago by a group of dissenting parishioners from R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal. They considered that the Episcopal Church in the U.S. had strayed too far from the true teachings of the Church, and, among other things, were concerned about changes being made to the Book of Common Prayer. The new congregation allied itself with the more orthodox Anglican Church in Africa.

The church was designed by local architect Hans Schweitzer, who died last year. Its low lines, board-and-batten siding and metal roof give it a rather homey aspect, with a Swiss (or is it Scandinavian?) flavor. So, this church appears to bring together influences from England, the United States, Africa and Switzerland -- neat trick.

Church on Sunday: Old and new at R. E. Lee

The steeple of the R. E. Lee Episcopal Church with the twilight moon.

The stone church dates to 1882 (see it from the front in an earlier post, here), but the steeple was replaced in 2007. The new steeple is 57 feet tall and covered in 1,800 hand-pressed metal shingles. The crown of the weathervane (salvaged from the original steeple), which was newly-covered in gold leaf by church parishioners, still shows bullet holes, reportedly from soldiers discharging their weapons a final time upon returning home from war. (More details on rebuilding the steeple here.)

Blue and gold II

The "carpenter Gothic" central gable of the St. Patrick's parsonage.

Built in 1840, the painted brick parsonage predates the church it serves by 113 years. It's possible there was another church on the site before the present one, but I haven't yet found evidence of it. (A small church on Henry St. - now the Gospel Way Church of God - is referred to as "Old St. Patrick's," which suggests that the congregation moved here from there at some point.) It seems likely that this was originally a private residence adapted by St. Patrick's for its purposes.

Whatever its history, the parsonage has charm. Here it is, tucked beside and behind the more modern stone church:

Church on Sunday: St. Patrick's

An image of Saint Patrick before the Catholic church bearing his name on Nelson St.

Lexington's sole Catholic church is St. Patrick's, built in 1953. (Like much of the valley, this area was settled by the Scots-Irish; as a result, Protestant churches - particularly Presbyterian - are much more numerous than Catholic.) The parsonage that adjoins the church is much older than the church itself, having been built in the Gothic Revival style in 1840. A glimpse of that tomorrow.

Church on Sunday: Hands to work

The First Baptist Church at Main and Henry gets a new roof.

The workers appear to be hired hands, unlike those who originally built the church in 1894. First Baptist was founded as Lexington African Baptist Church in 1867, by the black membership of Manly Memorial (then Lexington Baptist) who wished to form their own congregation after the war.

It is said that they surveyed the church architecture in town and in that way put together a design for the building. All of the original construction work is reported to have been performed by the parishioners themselves, a feat that is especially impressive from this angle.

After the concert

Members of the Rockbridge Choral Society tidy up after Sunday's concert.

One of the wonders of this little town of 7,000 inhabitants is the wealth of good music - particularly choral music - available throughout the year. And this would hardly be the case if it weren't for William McCorkle, music director and organist at Lexington Presbyterian Church, and director of the Rockbridge Choral Society. Sunday afternoon the Choral Society performed a program in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn.

In addition to Mendelssohn's Op. 52, Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), we heard the Brahms Alto Rhapsody Op. 35, two Schubert lieder (Die Allmacht and Ständchen) and Schumann's In der Nacht. Mezzo-soprano Barbara Hollinshead and tenor Robert Petrillo were down from Washington, D.C., and the area's own Christine Fairfield sang soprano in the Mendelssohn.

Why don't I have a photo of the concert itself? I tried, but the music was just too good.

Church on Sunday: Lee Chapel again

The last few days have been too cold for new photos! (I have gotten soft since moving down from the frozen north; though I prefer to think of myself as developing one of the southern refinements.) Here's another shot of perhaps my favorite structure in Lexington - Lee Chapel - taken last month.

You may remember the Chapel from this shot through the columns of Newcomb Hall.

The walkway at right leads through the campus of Washington and Lee, beginning at Washington St. beside the R.E. Lee Episcopal Church, past the Chapel (with the Colonnade on your left), and eventually on to the VMI Post. (The two schools are adjacent to one another, making for extensive grounds, as well as a very interesting contrast.) Surely one of the most pleasant walks in Lexington.

Church on Sunday: Full moon

Manly Memorial Baptist Church at dusk; corner of Main and Preston streets.

"Manly" does not refer to the character of the congregation (though I wouldn't like to rule it out), but to the church's early 20th C. namesake. Formerly Lexington Baptist, it became"Manly Memorial" in honor of Dr. Charles Manly, pastor from 1903-1914. (The church's website states that in his day he was known as the "most universally beloved man in Lexington.")

The present church was built in 1920, in a rather eclectic style. In addition to the dome, Ionic capitals (above smooth, unfluted columns), and heavy, dentiled cornices, there is an impressive amount of contemporary stained glass in soft, opalescent colors -- greens, blue-greens, warm browns, lavenders and pinks -- that make a strange and interesting contrast to the brick and the many classical references.

Here is an example:

It's a very American ("Rules? -- what rules?") structure that, not surprisingly, also appears to take inspiration from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello (located about 56 miles [91 km] NE of Lexington, as the crow flies).

Church on Sunday: Randolph Street

Window of the Randolph Street Methodist Church.

I can find out very little about this church, other than that it was built in 1892, and suffered a fire in 1929 (according to my copy of "The Architecture of Historic Lexington" by Lyle and Simpson). Like many Methodist churches I have seen, it does not have a spire, but rather a bell tower, which can be seen (from a distance) here.

This graceful window faces the street, and is surrounded by some simple yet imaginative brickwork (of a beautiful, rich orange-red), which makes for nice shadow lines.

New Year's Eve view

From the hospital hill, facing north toward Hogback Mountain, overlooking the town. (Not a bad view, should you find yourself in the hospital.)

The bright white steeple of Lexington Presbyterian seems to be springing from Randolph Street Methodist's brick bell tower, with the silver steeple of First Baptist decorating the roof: A little illustration of just how many churches we have here in Lexington.

At lower right is the blacksmith's forge and the in-town stable for the horses of the Lexington Carriage Company.

Hope to show you much more of Lexington in 2009!

Church on Sunday: Column

Column and capital of the porch of the Trinity United Methodist Church on Main St.

I'd like to take more pictures of this church and its interesting details, but, alas, I'm going to have to get out a lot earlier in the morning to catch the sun on its façade!