Relic Chapel (Black & White Road Trip)

David (my cousin) and I completed this weekend one of what I hope to be many more road trips together. We visited the Shrine of the Holy Relics and I actually got to go inside the museum. Along with this stop, we visited St. John, St. Rose, and St. Charles Seminary. The pictures featured here were taken with Black and White 35mm film. I used Kodak Professional BW400CN. This is the kind you can take to any local lab (Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc.) to have developed.


I have met some of the nicest people while touring the churches. This weekend was no different. A very nice lady saw that we were a little bewildered on where to go when we entered the building so she offered her assistance and led us to the Shrine and gave us a small mini tour/lecture. These five pictures are from the relics chapel.






I was curious to see how the stained glass would come out in BW. Makes me want to get out my box of crayons and start coloring. David was so inspired on this trip that he has already written a poem about the Cross Tipped Churches. Look for it in next weeks post.

Altar Rail Relief
Relic Chapel
Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue
Pieta Statue
Stained Glass Window

Relic Chapel
Shrine of the Holy Relics
Maria Stein Ohio

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman (Stained Glass)

Luke 7:36-50 (New International Version)

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.


When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

As promised I am using these stained glass windows and their story's to help me get through a busy time. If all goes well, I have a road tripped planned for this weekend to cover the By-Way using Black and White Film. It suppose to rain all weekend so we will see how it goes. It will be late November before I will have time to post anything from the trip.
 
Scripture (NIV)  Stained Glass Window  Holy Trinity Catholic Church  Coldwater Ohio

The Church of the Holy Trinity

My visit to this church has by far been my most productive. I came away with more usable pictures than I normally do. This cross tipped spire is just beautiful. You can't really appreciate the detail unless you get a close look like this. This was taken with my Canon 75-300mm f/3.5 lens. Its the under $200 dollar zoom lens I got from Wal-Mart when I bought my Canon Rebel K2 35mm film camera.
When I think of the Holy Trinity, I think of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so I was surprised when I read the history of the church. The following text is from their web page:
The founding of Holy Trinity Parish dates back to 1867 when three Catholic families, Kallmeyer, Boese, and Pohl of the Coldwater area sought permission for the construction of a wood frame church; hence the name "Holy Trinity."
It's this kind of stuff I find that makes me want to dig even deeper into the history of these German Catholic churches.
Here is another shot from the outside, using a wide angle lens from a very low viewpoint. I thought it made for a pretty cool pic.

Cross Tipped Spire Holy Trinity Catholic Church  Coldwater Ohio

The Baptism of Jesus (Stained Glass)

Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.


As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Scripture (NIV)  Stained Glass Window  Holy Trinity Catholic Church  Coldwater Ohio

St. Joseph Altar

Below are two pictures are of the altar the second being a close up of the Crucifixion. I just love the night time effect and the arches.


Church Altars
Saint Joseph Catholic Church
Saint Joseph Ohio

Missing Boy Jesus Found in the Temple

Like so many of the churches this one is not without it's beautiful stained glass windows. This is just one of many. In this one Joseph and Mary have found Jesus in the temple after searching for him.

Stained Glass Window 

Saint Joseph Catholic Church 

Saint Joseph Ohio

St. Joseph - Spire and Cemetery

St. Joseph is located between St. Henry and Fort Recovery. The church does not set directly off of 119 but is not too far off the road. You can see the spire from 119 during the day. I have made several trips to this church but have not been all that happy with the pictures. I am publishing these but I do not feel that I have found IT. "IT" being picture or pictures that best represent the church. Not to mention some of these were taken at ISO 1600. In addition to these I also added another picture of the church to the Description Of The Byway post. I went ahead and published these because it may be a while before I get back out that way and a feature on this church was long overdue.

The church has a cemetery right behind it. This picture is one of my more interesting cemetery captures. I found the snake-eye view to provide a unique perspective.

Cross Tipped Spire and Cemetery 

Saint Joseph Catholic Church 

Saint Joseph Ohio

Gethsemane Matthew 26:36-41

 
Matthew 26:36-41

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray. "He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed. "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet Not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Stained Glass Window Scripture - NIV
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Coldwater Ohio

Mary Visiting Elizabeth

Luke 1:39-45
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!

Stained Glass Window 

Holy Trinity Catholic Church 

Coldwater Ohio

Holy Trinity - Candles

The emblem at the left is from a candle holder and is practically life size. It never ceases to amaze me at how well my Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro performs. It's the little things like that and the candles pictured above that make each outing unique and fun.

Candles and Emblem

Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Coldwater Ohio

Holy Trinity - Church

When I go on a picture outing for The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches, I have a plan/goal. This outings goal was to re-shoot the brick relief arches on the school by St. Augustine and revisit St. Henry. I got the pictures of the arches but St. Henry was in use.

I decided now was a good time to visit the Church of the Holy Trinity just 4 miles to the North in Coldwater. To get to the church take 118 North out of St. Henry. While the church is not part of the byway it is part of The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches. The Ohio Scenic Byway only features 8 of the many churches that are included. As time allows I plan to feature some of these other churches.

This was my first visit and I can easily say it was not a wasted trip. It is definitely worth the small detour to visit if your touring the churches. As you can see from the picture above of the church I am really missing my polarizer. A darker blue sky would of looked much nicer.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Coldwater Ohio

Station 7 - Holy Trinity

The stations of the cross are one of my favorite subjects and this church's is my new favorite and probably my best capture to date. I just love the color and rich detail. I was able to take advantage of the available light, so I did not have to rely on flash or a very long exposure. Unfortunately this was the only one that was well lit.

Station of the Cross

Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Coldwater Ohio

What A Relief

These brick relief arches are found on the side of the school next to Saint Augustine. They are just one of many unusual finds that I have encountered on my exploration of "The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches" byway. According to this placard it was a joint effort between the school and the Ohio Art Council. This is definitely a story worth further investigation.

The arches are made up of pictures of places and events local to the community. See how many you can recognize. You can click on the picture for a larger view

 This is the first arch. Can you find the Volleyball Players
.

This is the second arch. Can you find the Veterinarian


This is the third arch. Can you find the Juggler



This is the fourth arch. Can you find the Barber


I used a seven foot step ladder instead of a tripod to take these pictures. The first two were taken with my 18-55 kit lens. The last two were taken with my Canon 50mm f/1.8. I wanted to compare the two. Not surprisingly the pictures taken with the 50 were much better than the Kit lens. It is by far the best lens for the buck in the Canon line.

Minster School House Relief Arches
St. Augustine Catholic Church
Minster Ohio