The Way of the Cross - St. John Fryburg

I thought this would make a nice ending to my Way of the Cross Series I using the Stations of the Cross of the St. John Catholic Church in Fryburg Ohio.

Stations of the Cross Collage

Saint John Catholic Church

Fryburg Ohio

The Top Ten Pictures for 2010

1. Wise Men Nativity - Saint Augustine. This was taken in December of 2009 but didn't get posted until January of 2010. It is one of my favorite Nativity Shots.



2. Processional Crucifix and Stained Glass - Saint Bernard Burkettsville. Taking pictures of processional crucifixes with stained glass backgrounds is becoming one of my signature shots. I really like this one because I got the balance of lighting between the stained glass window and the Crucifix just right.



4. Wood Carving the 4 Evangelist - Saint Remy. I am truly amazed at the quality of the wood carvings that I find in these churches. I was pretty happy with the way the texture and wood tones came out on this one.



5. Holy Chalice - St's Paul and Peter Church. This is one of those artistic shots that I am always on the look for and am always excited when I find them.



6. Station of the Cross - St's Paul and Peter Church.  It never ceases to amaze me the variety of Stations of the Cross I find in the churches. The St's Paul and Peter church has one of the more interesting design - modern yet tasteful.



7. Pieta Statue - Saint John the Baptist. This is one of those pictures that I took every time I visited the Saint John the Baptist Church. I don't know how many I took before I finally got the one I wanted.

 

8. Eucharist Vessels - Saint John the Baptist. These Eucharist Vessels are not the ones normally used by the church so I was lucky to find the when I did. I made use of a Choir Robe for a make-shift background.



9. Alpha and Omega - Saint John the Baptist. I just happened upon this choir book and took a quick picture. Sometimes its the simplicity that makes a shot great.




10. Altar - Saint John the Baptist. This is probably one of the best pictures of this altar that I've taken. The two stained glass windows are the Resurrected Christ on the left and the Death of Christ on the right.



Year 2010 was a busy one as it was also the year of my first photo showing of the churches. Look for an upcoming Featured Post with highlights from the show.

XIV Jesus Is Buried

Joseph (of Arimathea) bought some linen cloth, took down the Body, wrapped It in the linen, and placed It in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
MARK 15:46 

Station of the Cross

Saint John Catholic Church

Fryburg Ohio

Scripture - The Way of the Cross Devotional 

This ends The Way of the Cross Series 1. I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. I just loved the character of the Stations of the Cross of the St. John Catholic Church in Fryburg Ohio. The church holds a Homecoming every year and will be selling these as part of their fundraiser this year. The Way of the Cross Series 2 starts in August and will feature the Stations of the Cross from the St. Michael Catholic Church in Ft. Loramie, Ohio.

Weekly Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future

Believe - Poster Series

I was surprised when I found this Crystal Crucifix on display at one of the churches. I am glad I took the time to take some pictures as it is no longer on display. This is also the beginning of a new Poster Series of pictures. No posting schedule for these. I will just post them as I get them.

Diary of a Steeple Chaser

July 26, 2012 

Still more changes - I am changing the Weekly Journal to Diary of a Steeple Chaser.  I am not sold completely on the banner for the Diary yet so that may change in the near future. Posting times will vary.

Saint Michael will be the church featured in the month of August. I had a great time while visiting St. Michael. I got some really nice images so be sure to check in often in August.

The Black and White Postcard Series will continue till the end of the year and will be posted the 1st and 15th of the month for a total of a dozen pictures.

The Way of the Cross - This Sunday ends the first series of The Way of the Cross. We will start a new series in August featuring the Stations of the Cross from the Saint Michael Church.

Featured Post - Keep an eye on the Featured Post Section. I will be adding some new categories and updating others.

Revisiting the Past - The re-editing of my old post is proving to be more of a challenge then I had anticipated. It looks like it will take me the rest of the year to get through all my old post. At lest that's the plan anyway. I am still fiddling with 2008 with less than 50 post.

I am taking a break in September to catch up on some things on the blog. The Way of the Cross, Weekly Scriptures, and Post Cards will post as normal. But I plan on only doing one post a week on Wednesdays for the whole month.

Vintage Photochrom Postcard Series - This is another series of a dozen pictures of the churches that I am planning for next year starting in January. I am getting closer to the process I plan on using on the images to achieve the Photochrom effect. This is a sneak preview.

Russ Martin 
Steeple Chaser

The Spires of St. Louis

Cross Tipped Spires

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

Christ Resurection - Stained Glass - St. Louis

Romans 1:4-5
And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. (NLT) 

Stained Glass Window of the Resurrected Christ

Scripture NLT

Saint Louis Catholic Church 

North Star Ohio

Feeling Blue

Mary and Baby Jesus Statue 

Saint Louis Catholic Church 

North Star Ohio

John 6:47

Processional Crucifix 

St. Louis Catholic Church 

North Star Ohio

Scripture - ESV English Standard Version

XIII Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross

They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Zechariah 12:10  

Station of the Cross

Saint John Catholic Church

Fryburg Ohio

Scripture - The Way of the Cross Devotional

Weekly Scripture

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Holy Angels Restoration Photo Book

Bill Simpkins, not only made an amazing book on the Cross Tipped Churches - He also made one on the recent restoration of Holy Angels. The book took 3 months to complete and sells for $25+s&h.

Holy Angels Resoration 2011 Photo Book
by Bill Simpkins Sidney, Ohio

Cross Tipped Church Photo Book

Bill Simpkins a native of Sidney Ohio is also a fan of the Cross Tipped Churches and he has made an amazing photo book you can view and purchase if you like. I asked him if it would be okay to share a link to his book and for some back story on the project. Below is his story.

I have lived in the area since 1980 and fell in love with the spirit of the churches and the struggle of the settlers who built them. When St. Patrick church was razed, my alarm bells rang and St. Joseph told me I had a job to do.

Between work travel and raising a family, it took three years and a lot of gas to take the photos. Several were taken with snow on the ground to make a cleaner shoot. I wanted to also capture interiors, but this became to great of a task due to locked doors and my tight schedule.

The following is a link to the cross tip book on the MixBook web site. Land of the Cross Tipped Churches Photo Book  by Bill Simpkins Sidney, Ohio

The book may be viewed free or purchased from MixBook.
Purchase from me at $20+S&h. The cost is less due to my volume buy from Mixbook.

Are You Ready

The detail I find in the Stained Glass Windows of some of these churches is simply amazing. This is a closeup of the Roman Guard coming face to face with the Resurrected Christ.

Stained Glass Window

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

The Top Ten Pictures For 2009

The year 2009 saw a lot of post, which made it very difficult to narrow it down to just 10. In my original post I split it up into 4 post of 3 months each. So here is the best of the best for 2009.

1. Relic Shrine - Shrine of the Holy Relics. Not only is this one of my favorite pics but also one of my favorite outings. The sisters let me pay a special visit to the Relic Chapel at Night. It was Awesome.

2. Station of the Cross - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I just love the Stations of the Cross in the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. I started doing close-ups to capture the detail. I was very happy with the way this one came out.

3. Stained Glass Window Collage - Holy Family Church. All I can say is WOW when I got a look of the stained glass windows of the Holy Family Church in Frenchtown. I made this collage and then donated a dozen prints for The Radio Maria Fundraiser.

 

4. Pieta Statue - St. Remy Church. Lots of the churches have Pieta statues and I almost always take a picture of them. This Window lit one I found a St. Remy is one of the best shots I have taken so far.

5. St. Remy Statue and Stained Glass - St. Remy Church. I am always on the look for that special shot and was pretty happy when I saw that I could silhouette the bust of the St. Remy Statue with the Stained Glass Window in the background.

6. Statue of Mary - St. Remy Church. St. Remy is a beautiful church and has recently been remodeled. This was taken before the remodel and when the altar of Mary had been decorated for the month of May the month of Mary.

7. Jesus with children Statue - Maria Stein Spiritual Center. I had visited The Shrine of the Holy Relics many times before I ventured over to the Maria Stein Spiritual Center right next door. It is home of the 50 Foot Cross and this beautiful statue.

8. Resurrected Jesus Wood Statue - St. Henry. St. Henry is one of the only completely modernized churches. As if that wasn't enough to make it stand out - how about a wood carved modern statue of the Risen Christ where you would normally find a crucifix. That alone is enough to make it in the top ten.

9. Crucifix - Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church has one of the largest and most detailed Crucifix of all the churches. Standing underneath and looking up you can't help but get a since of wonder standing at the foot of the cross.

10. Holy Water Bucket - St. Augustine. I just found this to a very interesting subject and composition. It took some work in PhotoShop to get my reflection out of the bucket.

Saint Paul - Postcard Black & White Series

Saint Paul Catholic Church

Sharpsburg Ohio

Lamb will be my Guide

The Lord of hosts my Shepherd is

O sweet these words to me; 

And Thou, dear Lamb, will be my Guide 

Throughout eternity. — Kendrie

Resurrected Lamb Stained Glass Window

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

XII Jesus Dies On The Cross

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up His spirit. Matthew 27:50

Station of the Cross

Saint John Catholic Church

Fryburg Ohio

Scripture - The Way of the Cross Devotional

Weekly Scripture

Mark 11:22-24
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

We Three Kings

I took several shots of these three bottle of oils until I found this one that I really liked.  I love the way the middle oil topper picks up the reflections of the candles. The bottles reminded me chess pieces so hence the post title We Three Kings.

Holy Oils

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

Modern Style Holy Family Wood and Stain

I found this rather unique looking carving of the Holy Family very interesting. Especially with Saint Joseph sporting a cross necklace.

 Wood & Stained Holy Family

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

Weekly Journal - July 2012

Where is the Summer going? We are almost halfway through July and it seems like only yesterday it was Spring. Speaking of Spring - I have been doing some spring cleaning on the blog and still have plenty of sprucing up to do. I am removing some of the junk and re-editing and re-posting some of my old stuff. You will see some of the re-post in the upcoming months, but I am featuring the bulk of them in the month of September.

Post Card Pictures - I have decided to do 12 Black and White Post Cards of churches for this series. I plan on starting a Color Post Card Series starting in January of next year. So I am going to change the posting from the 1st of the month to the 1st and 15th for the rest of the year.

 Saint Michael in Ft. Loramie is the featured church for the month of August. I wanted to revisit this church and get some updated pics. I was pretty happy with the photo shoot and think I got quite a few quality pics.

Poetry and Prayer - I have already created a category/label for Poetry and am thinking of adding and combining Poetry and Prayer and add it to the Featured Post Section.

So far I am happy with the new look and layout of the blog. It is going to take some time to clean up the old post but I think it is worth it.

Diary of a Steeple Chaser - This is going to be a journal of my thoughts as I travel through The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches. I plan on going all the way back to the beginning.  This will not be a regular post. You will have to access it from the Featured Post Section to see if I have added anything.  Look for it soon.

Madonna and Child

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you I come; before you I stand, sinful and; sorrowful. 

 O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen. 

Madonna and Child 

Saint Louis Catholic Church 

North Star Ohio

Flag and Steeple

Flag and Steeple

Saint Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

The Christian Life

1 Peter 4:16

But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

Photo St. Louis Catholic Church - North Star

Scripture - Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

XI Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15

Station of the Cross

Saint John Catholic Church

Fryburg Ohio 

Scripture - The Way of the Cross Devotional

Weekly Scripture

Luke 23:34
And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Scripture - Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

Romans 15:13

Holy Water Font 

St. Louis Catholic Church 

North Star Ohio

Scripture - ESV English Standard Version

Follow Me

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Statue

St. Louis Catholic Church

North Star Ohio

Scripture - Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

Happy Fourth of July

Fire Works - Public Domain 

St. Rose Catholic Church