Sunday, December 27, 2009

Loss and Restoration

Some of you may remember that two days before Christmas 2007, the church I attend burned to the ground. I posted about this topic back in April and showed the wooden framework of the new church sanctuary being built to replace the one lost to the fire.

This week we held the first services in the new sanctuary, and it has been wonderful to once again have a 'normal' house of worship. We had been holding services in the fellowship hall ever since the fire.

I was asked last year to create an exhibit to be displayed in the gallery of the new building. So for a little over a year I have spent many days at the construction site capturing the progress in photos, and also meeting many of the 'hands' that built it. I have made many friends along the way, and I have even been up in an 80-foot crane, photographing it from high above the roof. Unfortunately, I was not able to include many images of the finished interior construction in the exhibit, since the 12 x 18 prints had to be given to the framer while the final work was still being completed. The last three weeks prior to completion saw a 60 rank pipe organ being installed. The first service was held this past Wednesday, December 23, on the 2-year anniversary of the fire. I thought I would take a few minutes and give those interested a glimpse into this magnificent new structure.

The exhibit consists of twenty-one 12 x 18 inch prints. It attempts to capture some of the emotions experienced by a congregation during the loss by fire, and the subsequent questioning, soul-searching, planning, and finally rebuilding of their church. I have posted photos of the exhibit below, and you can see the actual images of the exhibit by clicking on the following link: http://www.pbase.com/tim32225/loss_and_restoration

9 comments:

  1. Congratulations to "your" new church, it is a very beautiful building.
    I really enjoy your blog and all your wonderful photographs!
    Hope you have a great Christmas Holiday and that you'll have a great 2010 as well!
    Michi

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  2. Well done Tim. I enjoyed looking thro' your gallery of this beautiful building's resurection.

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  3. Great photos! It's good to see that the project has been successfully completed, and that the parishioners are worshipping the in sanctuary again.

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  4. Awesome work Tim, I took the time to look through your gallery of the fire and rebuild. Very impressive!

    Happy New Year to you and may your cards be full!

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  5. Special post! Looks like you did an exceptional job of capturing the rebuild. The church is fortunate to have a resource like you. Congrats to you and your congregation that you are in a new house. HNY.

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  6. Great job of documenting the rebuilding of the church. It takes time and dedication to do such projects. Hoep you find another challange for 2010 without the intervention of fires or hurricanes. Keep those birds photo coming.

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  7. ....beautiful--both the new church and your photography. It was really nice you were able to chart the progress with a photography timeline! Wishing you a Happy New Year!

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  8. Lovely series. Happy new year to you...Thomas

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  9. It's simply wonderful what you have done for your parish. Recording such events is very important to the heart and history of your church. Well done, Tim.
    I was breezing through your blog and found myself wanting to follow you. I love the nature scenes and the wildlife. What you have captured with the heron is awesome. It was a wonderful walk with you. Thanks for sharing
    Blessings Be Yours

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