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.


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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.
   
   

King of Kings

While on a business trip in Cincinnati I stopped by the Solid Rock Church in Monroe to get a picture of the King of Kings Statue.



The statue stands 62 foot tall and is reported to be the largest sculpture of Jesus Christ in the United States. The sculpture can be seen from Interstate 75.



It's easy to see how the statue has gotten two of it's nicknames, Touchdown Jesus and Big Butter Jesus. The comedian Heywood Banks made the statue even more famous when he wrote the song "Big Butter Jesus". The Big Butter reference comes from the statues resemblance to statues carved out of butter you see at the state fair.

The water was too choppy for me to get a good reflection shot. I bet this would make for a great night shot.

Prayer of Saint Augustine to the Blessed Virgin

O blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay thee thy just dues of praise and thanksgiving, thou who by the wondrous assent of thy will didst rescue a fallen world? What songs of praise can our weak human nature recite in thy honor, since it is by thy intervention alone that it has found the way to restoration. Accept, then, such poor thanks as we have here to offer, though they be unequal to thy merits; and receiving our vows, obtain by thy prayers the remission of our offenses.

Carry thou our prayers within the sanctuary of the heavenly audience, and bring forth from it the antidote of our reconciliation. May the sins we bring before Almighty God through thee, become pardonable through thee; may what we ask for with sure confidence, through thee be granted. Take our offering, grant us our requests, obtain pardon for what we fear, for thou art the sole hope of sinners.

Through thee we hope for the remission of our sins, and in thee, O blessed Lady, is our hope of reward. Holy Mary, succor the miserable, help the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for thy people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God; may all who keep thy holy commemoration feel now thy help and protection. Be thou ever ready to assist us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it thy continual care to pray for the people of God, thou who, blessed by God, didst merit to bear the Redeemer of the world, who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.

Picture taken at the Maria Stein Spiritual Center

May 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.

May 25, New Stuff

Stations of the Cross - Well I still haven't made it to the Immaculate Conception Church in Botkins to get my Stations of the Cross pictures.

Share this Blog - I removed the Rate this Post and replaced it with a Share Icon to make it easier to share post.

Subscribe to this Blog - Along with the Follow this Blog you can click on the Feed button at the top to subscribe to this blog in various formats.

BUY PICTURES - I now have an online gallery where you can purchase Cross Tipped Church and other pictures. You can check it out by clicking on the Think Focus Click Gallery Picture.

Taking A Bit Of A Break - While not coming to a screeching halt, I am going to back off of the pace quite a bit on this blog. June is an extremely busy month for taking pictures. Not to mention I need a break from taking pictures of churches. I need to step back for awhile and come back with a fresh outlook.

Copyright Notice - I've added a copyright notice and as you have already noticed a water mark to the pictures I post.

Upcoming - I am working on a Web Page to tie in all my Online Endeavors. I am hoping to have a Download area to have Screen Savers and Wallpapers of The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches available for viewers to download.
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May 17, What's Been Happening

Sunday Stations of the Cross Post - Well I had planned on posting one of these for the next 14 Sundays, but then I realized not only was I missing one, but number 3 was not usable. Rather than skip, I am waiting until I can make it back to the church to re-shoot. Hopefully this week.

I have been busy taking pictures just not Cross Tipped Church Pictures. I've been focusing on my Think Focus Click Blog. I was becoming a slave to the status/number of visitors to my Cross Tipped Churches Blog and found myself ignoring important things. I hate it when I get caught up in stuff like that. It's not that I don't care but, hey there are more important things in life than my blogs. I'm back on track now.

Latest photo outings - Road Trip to Michigan with my Permit Driving Son. We took State Route 66 as far as we could go then winged it the rest of the way. We ate and came back on State Rt 127. I took some pictures. Some with my Camera Phone....You can read about it in my Think Focus Click Blog.

Granddaughters Baton Recital - Got a great shot of the two youngest....yep it will all be in by Photo Blog.

Besides my Grand kids, my kids, family, and Cross Tipped Churches, I occasionally do a wedding or other event (Sports, Reunions, etc). I am setting up an Online Gallery for folks to make purchases. I am also setting up a web page www.ThinkFocusClick.com that will direct you to that and other gallery's, and of course my blogs.

Summer Photo Show at Wilson Hospital. - It's always tough for me to figure out what I am going to put in a show. The hospital is one of our more public shows so I want to put in some nice work.
Besides the show I also have to put together a set of pictures for Photographer of the month for June for the Edison Photo Society. Oh I almost forgot--We have made wall space for BW photo's of my grand kids. Have to get those edited, framed/matted/printed and hung....Oh Boy! There's also the possibility of an entry in the Pyramid Hill photo contest...and the list goes on. Not too mention the ton of editing I am behind on.

Busy, Busy, Busy.


May 6, Pyramid Park and Immaculate Conception Church

Well there was a break in the weather and I went on a club shoot to Pyramid Park this weekend. Pyramid Park is in Hamilton just north of Cincinnati. The park is made up of 250+ plus acres of woodlands, gardens, lakes and sculptures. It was a fun shoot and you can find out more on my Think Focus Click Photo Blog.

I took the long way back home US 127 North home so I could stop by the Immaculate Conception Church in Celina. I was too tired to spend a lot of time but I took a few pics to post until I make it back again. Great Church BTW.

Oh, and I did get my lawn mowed to boot.

May 1, More about Read More...

As you may have already noticed the post on the opening page have a Read more... option. This allows me to have more (5 post) display on the opening page without having to load all 5 complete post. My son Tyler is working on two graphics to help with this new change. The first is replacing the Read more... with a more noticeable button and a nice graphic to add to the bottom of my post to signify the end. If your on the main page and the post has the graphic at the bottom you know there is no additional text or pictures. As with all my changes this one effects the layout. So I have to be mindful of how I need to format my post. Also Read more... will only show if you start out on the Main Page and use the navigation buttons. It will also only appear on the post that have been configured to use it. Some of the previous post may not display properly. Feel free to leave a comment on how you feel about the change.

This weekend looks to be a wash as for taking pictures. If the sun does break free and bless us with some sunshine I've got plenty of yard work to catchup on. I may not get out to take any "The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches" pictures until sometime next week. I've got a few pictures in the archive I think I can use until then.