June Weekly Journal 2009

Welcome to my Weekly Journal. Each month I create a post to collect my thoughts and meanderings for the month. You can quickly find this post as it drops down the list by clicking on the Weekly Journal Link at the bottom of the Web Page.

Happy Birthday! The Cross Tipped Church Blog is 1 Year Old.



Busy, Busy, Busy
I knew it would be rough getting pictures for this blog in June. July doesn't look much better. I did make it to St. Mary's in Philothea.

Ohio Arts Grant - I was going to apply for a grant to create a roaming display to promote "The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches." The original deadline was this September. My chances are slim, only 8 percent of those that apply get accepted. However due to budget cuts the counsel has divided the divisions into two separate years. Unfortunately, Photography was moved to September 2010. Oh well I guess I should count my blessings and use the time to plan.

Cross Tipped Churches Photo Exhibit - February 2010 Amos Memorial Public Library, Sidney Ohio. Yes it is a long way's off, but to do an exhibit the size/scale that I want I need to start now!

A Guide to the Cross Tipped Churches - Someone suggested this and I thought it would be a good idea. I hope to have something in time for the exhibit.

Cross Tipped Churches Screen savers and Wallpapers and of course the guide will be available for download once I get my Web page up and running.

GOAL - I hope to have visited all the churches at least once by the end of the year.

Cholera Memorial

Erected in 1937 at St. Augustine Cemetery in Minster, the Cholera Memorial remembers all who were lost in the epidemics of the 1840's.

The inscription reads " In pious memory of all our cholera victims over 300 especially of the year 1849. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord."

Life Is Sacred

After attending and taking pictures of my grandsons Pre-School Graduation at Lehman Catholic High School, I couldn't help but notice the large number of crosses on the front lawn of the school.


READ MORE...
Investigation led me to this sign.



The number on the sign just froze me in my tracks. 3600 abortions not in a year, month or even a week but a DAY! I was bummed for the rest of the day.

While this display was only temporary they have a lovely permanent memorial that gave me the title for the post.



I hope that campaigns/displays like this aimed at improving public awareness on abortion and the number of lives impacted make a difference. It certainly opened up my eyes.

The Dove

The dove has long been a recognizable symbol for the Holy Spirit. We see it time after time in stained glass windows and paintings. The most notable reference is Matthew 3:16-17 "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."

Besides being a symbol for the Holy Spirit, we find the dove throughout the old and new testaments. It was the dove that Noah sent out that came back with the olive leaf. Genesis 8:8-11. The dove was one of the animals offered as a sacrifice to God by Abram in Genesis 15:9. In fact the dove is mentioned in several sacrificial rights: Purification, Trespass and Sin Offerings.

The dove is also associated with the gentleness typical of Christ. Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and as Innocent as doves."

When I think of the Holy Spirit symbolized by the dove I cannot help but think of the country ballad Wings of a Dove. I remember the Porter Wagoner version. It was one of my mom's favorite songs and she played it over and over. I can still remember the lines. "On a snow white dove he sent his pure sweet love, on a sign from above, sign from above, on the wings of a dove, wings of a dove." I am pretty sure my mom wore out that 45 record.

Picture taken outside Lutheran church in Dayton Ohio.

Corpus Christi Procession

The Corpus Christi procession held at the Emmanuel Catholic Church in Downtown Dayton has been a tradition since 2002. Jodie a parishioner of the church and a follower of this blog E-Mailed me about the event and thought it would make for a good post. She was RIGHT!. Thanks Jodie.

Here's an excerpt from her E-Mail describing the event:

What we do is a Corpus Christi procession. All day Sat. families gather to decorate the road. one talented mom draws chalk drawling on the road and we dye wood chips and fill in the pics, like a color by number. It is very beautiful when it is all done. Then after Mass father carries the blessed sacrament out in to the street. the artwork on the road is the carpet for Christ. It is usually a large procession with Father and the Sacrament, Knights of Columbus, Servers, First Communicates, Flower girls (who stop and say sanctus, sanctus and throw rose petals into the air) and the faithful. It is beautiful. READ MORE ...

The sidewalk artwork was pretty cool. I just wished I had brought a ladder so as to get a better picture. They remind me of stained glass windows.



Pictured above is the Resurrected Lamb of God located at the base of the steps of the church.

This menorah was one of my favorites.





The procession itself was quite elaborate.













There were a good number of people who came to watch and participate. I had a great time and am looking forward to coming back next year.

To learn more about this event click here to read the Dayton Daily News Article Festive Corpus Christi procession at Dayton parish

Resurrection of Christ

The resurrection of Christ is the linchpin of the Christian faith -- the historical event upon which Christian doctrine stands or falls. The apostle Paul makes this clear in his first letter to the Corinthians: But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. … For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone (1 Cor. 15:13-14, 19). In fact, the New Testament insists that belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ is a necessary condition of the Christian faith -- no one can be saved apart from it. This insistence is found in verses such as Romans 10:9: Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The importance of the resurrection of Christ is further demonstrated in the frequency and enthusiasm with which it is preached as the early church grows (e.g., Acts 2:31; 4:33; 17:18; 26:23). Nearly every public witness to the Gospel points to the resurrection of Christ as the hope for all who desire salvation.

The above text is from the All About Jesus web page. The stained glass window is from Saint John the Baptist in Maria Stein.

St. Michael the Archangel

According to the Online Catholic Encyclopedia St. Micheal has four offices:

1. To fight against Satan.
   
2. To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
   
3. To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
   
4. To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment
   
   Picture taken at the Solid Rock Church in Monroe Ohio.