What Are Your Favorite Types Of Churches?

[Feankie]

I worship in a church that be over 175 years old, is very Gothic with a beautiful high altar with lots of saints and angels on it, the two usual side altars, and lots of vigil lights. Gorgeous! me 4 month old granddaughter be baptised yesterday in a church that I might charitably call a social hall. I couldn't even find the tabernacle - finally did hidden in a chapel outside of the nave in the narthex. The altar (or platform as the parish likes to call it) be stark white, had a mission-style very small altar, ambo, and three huge wooden candle stands at the very back. And thar be a sandstone risen Christ hangin' on the back wall. Glassware be used for the chalice and ciborium (definitely a no- no). and the choir and piano sounded like we were in a piano bar, At the conclusion of Mass, they asked for volunteers to cart away everythin' on the "altar" so a dance troupe could perform in the afternoon. In the spirit of the day, I say ARGGGGGG!
What's your favorite type of sanctuary?

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Well, me first church would be somethin' like this: (Sainte-Chapelle, France). thar be a picture here, but in order to post, I had to take it down. Google it--you matey'll want to go thar, too!

But me "home" church in NJ is 130 years old and is a bit of a mix of Gothic and Romanesque (me friend says it is goin' through an identity crisis! ) I miss it, very much. One of the most precious moments in me life be when I got to lie prostrate at the altar in that church. Let me tell you matey matey, it is one of the top moments in me life.

Currently, me parents new church (they moved south) is brand new (just opened in August) and is very modern. thar's a clerestory, but nothin' of Notre Dame's quality. thar are very few stained glass windows, which make me sad (I love Art history....) But it's a Church, and that's what matters, I guess.

The church on campus....well, it's a campus church! The Anglican church next door looks more Catholic than this one. I don't like how the tabernacle is situated (in a little chapel thin' in a corner, and people sit in front of it....) The windows have fleur de lys on them, which makes me happy! (French major) The priests thar are pretty good, though, so that makes up for the late 70s decor!

One nice thin' about the campus church is the reconciliation room. It's a little octagonal room, with an OLD screen in the center, a kneeler, and the priest behind the screen. thar's also a rockin' chair...I guess that's if Father's havin' a slow day! It'd be a great place to take a nap!

So, if I could, I'd be worshipin' in Sainte-Chapelle, Sacre Coeur, or Notre Dame (all in France). But for now, it's the campus church for me!

Again, only 6 hours until this fiddler nonsense is gone!

Edited September 19, 2011 by LaPetiteSoeur

[faithcecelia]

Plain to the point of stark, so that the focus is on God and not ornamentation. The parish church I currently worship at reminds me of a migraine, it is so highly decorated that I find it a terrible distraction. I like the crucifix to be either graphic or a resurection crucifix as I can't bear limp, effeminate crucifixes - they illustrate neither Christ's agony nor his triumph over death. I don't really have a preference with placement of the tabernacle, providin' its easy to see - I like it behind the altar as it focuses the mind and also means that Mass said ad orientem (which they be here) is directly in front of it, but I also like it in a side chapel as when I be prayin' outside of Mass I like to sit on the floor as near to it as possible and in me home parish that meant only a few feet away.

[OnlySunshine]

me favorite kind of Church is me home Church. It is a pretty new Church in that it be built only 9 years ago, but the parish has been around longer than that. Our former pastor helped choose the decoration and it's very tastefully done. It's got bits and pieces of decoration from different cultures, includin' Moroccan. He wanted to inspire the theme of togetherness and it works beautifully.

I also like the old gothic-style Churches. thar is one that I visit on occasion that be still decorated like it be before Vatican 2 -- in fact, they still have the Latin Mass on Sundays. I love the huge stained glass windows and GORGEOUS statues of angels, saints, and Mary with Jesus (especially a colored reproduction of the Pieta). It inspires me in prayer. I can certainly understand why it would distract someone, though. I have ADD and, on bad days when concentration is nil, I can't focus either.

I think the worst Church is the Church I be baptized in. It has ALWAYS been stark and unattractive. Before they remodeled, it looked fairly normal, but now it has skylights throughout the Church and the altar is completely bare. It has pretty much no decoration and the walls are brown brick. The floor is ugly teal tile.

I would love to visit Lisieux, France and see the Basilica that be dedicated to St. Therese.

[img]http://www.normandie-tourisme.fr/docs/1669-3-basilique-de-lisieux-j-p-pattier-ville-de-lisieux-jpg.jpg[/img]

[BarbTherese]

I am delighted with my new Church (been in this parish for 2yrs on 29th September after almost 30 years in my previous parish). It is a very old type Catholic Church and the Stations of The Cross and the large Crucifix behind the altar seem to me to be exactly the same as the one's in my childhood Church or very similar. The carpet is very old in the centre isle and the marks of many feet progressing to Holy Communion over many years revealed. I really feel at home there. I love the huge front wrought iron somewhat rusty double gates onto the footpath outside, which are no longer used, they are almost falling off their hinges. Thought occurs that perhaps they remind me of myself at times

Is the pic the Basilica of St. Therese? It is absolutely beautiful and seems (emphasized from eye level and the angle of the shot) to gradually reach up to the Heavens! Magnificent! As ordinary as St. Therese was to others in her lifetime and as much as she wanted to vanish ("I must decrease, He must increase") it is very St. Therese. Magnificent!

Edited September 20, 2011 by BarbaraTherese

[AccountDeleted]

I'm happy with the church in the small country town where I live now. At the last town, we had a small weatherboard building and even though the inside was okay, it was still too much like a country schoolhouse than a church. The one I attend now is just right.
[img]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/nunsense/starnaud01.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/nunsense/starnaud10.jpg[/img]

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='BarbaraTherese' timestamp='1316517780' post='2307514']
I am delighted with my new Church (been in this parish for 2yrs on 29th September after almost 30 years in my previous parish). It is a very old type Catholic Church and the Stations of The Cross and the large Crucifix behind the altar seem to me to be exactly the same as the one's in my childhood Church or very similar. The carpet is very old in the centre isle and the marks of many feet progressing to Holy Communion over many years revealed. I really feel at home there. I love the huge front wrought iron somewhat rusty double gates onto the footpath outside, which are no longer used, they are almost falling off their hinges. Thought occurs that perhaps they remind me of myself at times

Is the pic the Basilica of St. Therese? It is absolutely beautiful and seems (emphasized from eye level and the angle of the shot) to gradually reach up to the Heavens! Magnificent! As ordinary as St. Therese was to others in her lifetime and as much as she wanted to vanish ("I must decrease, He must increase") it is very St. Therese. Magnificent!
[/quote]

Yep, it is indeed a picture of the Basilica of St. Therese of Lisieux. I don't know if I'll get there in my lifetime, but I'd love to go if I ever got the chance. I've always wanted to travel to Europe.

[FutureSister2009]

The amazing big beautiful and traditional kind.

[Feankie]

I'll have to go in early tonight (Mass before my Parish Council meeting) and get a picture of our sanctuary. I think it's one of the most beautiful things ever. Funny thing, though. The parish is St. Andrew's and we don't have a statue or picture of him anywhere. There's a prominent statue of St. Patrick on the high altar as the church was founded by Irish immigrants. The Archbishop was here in August to celebrate our 175+ anniversary and there were tons of pictures of the church and school throughout the decades. Just the progression of the nuns and their habits was a treat to look at. Unfortunately, we only have one sister assigned to our parish in the Hispanic religious education department. Our parish is kind of unique as we serve the English-speaking, a huge Hispanic population, a large Deaf segment as the Wisconsin School for the Deaf is located in our town, and we have a large influx of seasonal visitors since we're on a lake and it's a tourist destination. Hard to keep everyone happy, but we manage to do it!

[CatherineM]

My favorite church is in Enid, Oklahoma. It was built with a line of windows around the ceiling that allowed the sun on Sunday mornings to shine right on the altar. It was a bit like having mass at Sunrise.

[Lisa]

Ones where Jesus is present in the Eucharist! Of course, my nature attracts me to certain things that instinctively raise my heart to heaven in praise. But the presence of the Eucharist is what makes it Catholic, it is what ultimately matters! All of your churches sound wonderful!