Peace Lutheran Windows

Today I was at a vendor event that was almost next door. It WAS next door before a medical office was built between us!

The event was at Our Savior Lutheran Church. Admittedly, I don't go inside the building too often, but there were several stained glass windows hung in the front entry and in two lighted frames on the walls. I didn't think I'd seen them before.

One of the men who was helping move things explained that the Peace Lutheran Church of Ludington merged with their church about a year ago. The former Peace chuch building had these five windows, which were brought to the Scottville building to display.

The one above is the only Christmas theme. They show various symbols and scenes of the Christian faith.

I'm always very happy to see such architectural elements preserved. And it must make the Peace congregation feel more at home with Our Savior.

I was hoping there might be some serious Christmas decorations up. It's a little early. They did have one, and it might get lumped with some others to show you this season.

Actually, I'll be back there in just a week. The bell choir is doing a concert at that church next Saturday!

And how did I do? Given that the weather was bad and the traffic was low, I have no complaints. The drive was very short (haha- about 0.1 mile). I definitely made enough to be worth my time and chatted with a number of people I knew or who knew me.

Not much else happened today.

See Methodist Windows moved

Back to Pentwater

 This morning, I played bells with the Pentwater Methodist handbell choir. Then, my plan was to go out and do another loop at Pentwater Pathway since I was again down that way.

There are still a few of these old DNR markers out there. (It's a state forest). For some reason, they just make me happy.

Remember Adventure Buddy Ellen? She introduced me to these trails, and to cross-country skiing. There is one hill that I'll never ski down again. She did talk me into it once. It wasn't even much fun to walk down it today. No trick camera angles to make it look steeper than it is. It's a direct drop off the edge of a ridge.

Steve, the bell choir director, and Keith, a member of the choir, wanted to hike too. So the three of us went out and did 4.1 miles.

I took these pictures somewhat surreptitiously during church, but the light coming in through these windows was amazing the way it was lighting up the window niches. I'm glad I did it because by the end of the service the effect was much less bright.

This one is even more stunning.

I have no idea what persons or saints these windows depict. Sorry about that.

Total miles hiked in 2024: 120.7 of which 23.7 is North Country Trail.

Pentwater Pathway, Red Loop and more to connect to parking. 4.1 miles

See A Pentwater Afternoon

Under the Dome

 The First United Methodist Church in Gulfport is Dale and Margaret's church. The present building was built in 1913 after a previous one burned.

The most amazing feature of the building is a 32-foot-diameter stained glass dome. This was made somewhere in Europe (exact records have been lost), but came to this location when the oil man from Texas who had ordered it was unable to complete the purchase when he went bust. The pieces were already in New Orleans, and the company let the church buy it for the outstanding balance of $1500. This was a big enough sum in 1913 that the church had to think about it. Of course its current value is just a "bit" more than that!

The church had planned a plaster dome and designed and built the rest of the church. It was considered almost miraculous that this suddenly available piece of art was the exact size to fit the existing hole.

It shows angels delivering the message of Peace and Good Will to Humankind.

Here is the sanctuary, and you can see the dome in the ceiling.

Other stained glass windows tell Bible stories. Jesus knocking at the door (of your heart).

Jesus the Good Shepherd.

And a rather unusual one- Jesus with Mary and Martha. Notice there is a dog curled at his feet. I don't think I've ever seen this story rendered in stained glass before.

These are exceptionally high quality glass images.

There are also 22 needlepoint kneeling cushions, made by 25 women in 1989. Each shows two angels holding some symbol of the church or the Gulf Coast. The angels tie in with the theme of the angels in the dome. This cushion shows the angels with a shell.

As I think is typical of Methodist churches, they have a number of service projects. One is "Home Under the Dome," designed to help enrich the lives of adults with memory loss through fellowship and engaging activities while also providing support for caregivers.

BONUS SECTION: Finding myself

We went out to lunch, and on the way passed a souvenir store called Sharkheads. What fun!

This was at the other end. The last "shark store" I found is linked below.

We saw all this on the way home from eating out. Then I went for a walk and found this. I don't think I've ever seen a Joan Street before.

We went out to lunch and saw several other interesting things, but this is enough for today. I'll share tomorrow.

Walking city streets- 6.2 miles

See Coastal See Shark's Ice Cream

Tuesday Night Methodist

 
Due to a communication snafu, I haven't been playing with the handbell choir this year. However, they needed someone for this Sunday, and I'm filling in. Therefore, I was at the Methodist Church for practice today.

The third of the stained glass windows was lit from inside, so I was able to get a somewhat good picture of it.



See the link below for the other two windows and the story of how they were transported to their new building.

In other news: It's the same as it's been for days: transferring tapes, writing, tax records, miscellaneous projects I need to get done before I can leave home for six weeks. I'm certainly doing things, but it seems like I'm not making much progress.

	See Three Gifts
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Friends and Bells

 
Once again, I went to the Manistee Methodist Church to hear my friends Dave and Loren play in their handbell choir. Yes, these are hiking friends, but we have some other things in common too. This is one of them. Actually, they are the ones who got me interested in playing bells.

We clean up pretty good, eh?



It takes two pictures, but here is their choir just getting ready to play (handbells still on the table). They did a medley of Infant Holy, Infant Lowly and Lu-lay the Little Tiny Child.





I know I take a picture of this window every year, but it sure is beautiful. And this year, the tree is right back in the corner. It almost looks like part of the window.



Here's their advent banner.



A very nice morning. It stretched until about 2 pm, because we talked afterwards and the roads were terrible making the drive slow.

In other news... it's this season again.



By the time I ate something, got gas for the beast, did the driveway and a few odd jobs... well... running the snowblower was my exercise for the day. It sure gets dark early!

	See Dave & Loren Play Bells 2014
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Handbells and Friends

 
I went to the Manistee United Methodist Church this morning to hear the Handbell Choir that Dave and Loren are in. They only did one number (Carol of the Bells), but it was good. I'm glad I went. I saw another friend I hadn't seen for quite a while too.


This handbell choir is rather small, but my I like to hear them because of my hiking friends. They are on the right end, front and back rows in the second picture.





I think I'd like to do that. But that would be another meeting/practice to go to... hmmm.

The church is beautiful. I showed you their abstract stained glass window when I went for the handbell concert in 2012, but in this picture the church is light, which makes it look quite different.


The vertical sweep was enhanced by this beautiful, tall tree, covered in symbolic ornaments.


And I wanted to add this large nativity set, since I showed you the one at the Lutheran Church.



Other than that I got sucked into a game that is tons of fun, but I sure "wasted" the day. On the other hand you could say I gave myself a day of rest.

	See Miscellany
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Three Gifts

 
You may recall that one of my personal goals for this Christmas season is to take in more music. This year, at least, that means more traditional music. I find that I'm enjoying the calming it brings to my life.

Sunday morning, before Ester arrived for her visit, I went to the Methodist church in Ludington, where the choir presented the Christmas Cantata, Three Gifts, by Randy Vader, Jay Rouse,and Rose Aspinall.

I'd never heard this piece before, but it is a mixture of some re-worded familiar carols, interspersed with newer musical material and narration. In fact, it was hard to find info online, but it seems to be very recently released.



The three gifts aren't the gold frankincense and myrrh, but are our gifts of My Life, My Heart, My Praise. The choir was excellent, right on key, and the words were easy to understand.

I know a lot of people who go to that church (including some in the choir) and many of them greeted me warmly. That was really nice.

Here's another little bit of local history. This church has a fairly new building. (The old building is downtown and is now the Ludington Area Center for the Arts building where my writers' group meets, and where I've gone to some plays). But they wanted to take the stained glass windows to the new building.






The problem was how to move them. No one was willing to take the risk. But here they are, in the new building! Another friend of ours was willing to drive them there, very slowly, on a forklift. He made the trips successfully, 1.5 miles with each window, and they now bring beauty and continuity to the new venue.

	See Two One-Act Comedies
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Miscellany

 
Just one of those miscellaneous days. I went to church with Dave & Loren (hiking friends) because they belong to a handbell choir that was playing this morning. It was a lot of fun! They played "Do Lord." Yes, the old chorus from the childhoods of even the oldest of us. They made it really move!



This church also had a pipe organ (I used to know this, but had forgotten), and an interesting, modern stained-glass window.


There were a couple of other firsts for the season. I got my act together and took my first bike ride. Just did six miles (don't care to be crippled tomorrow), but it felt good!

And I had the first glass of iced tea of the spring. Tall, strong and cold.

Proofread the chapter of Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp that I wrote last night, and got some ideas to flesh out the next couple.

The honeysuckle is actually getting leaves already! (This is potentially terrible weather for the fruit farmers though because if the buds open and then we get a freeze it will devastate the fruit crop. The economy doesn't need that)

Quite a nice day.

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