West Market Street United Methodist Church

West Market Street United Methodist Church is today's Sacred Sunday post.  The history of the church, including its growth and its many locations, is outlined on their extensive website. 

The original part of the church, seen in the foreground of the above photo, was built in the late 1800's to accommodate the growing number of Methodists in the city. Not long after the church had been built, its stained glass windows were acquired. They are authentic Tiffany windows and, I believe, were brought to Greensboro by the pastor, via the world's fair at the turn of the last century. Another treasure of the church was acquired in 1999, a Dobson-Rosales organ. Additionally, they have a set of the "stations of the cross" paintings, known also as the Via Dolorosa. The paintings, depicting key points in the life of Christ,  date from about 1890 and come from a small church in France near the Belgian border. 

We applaud WMSUMC for staying downtown even through the years when many organizations were relocating to the suburbs. At some point, we hope to get inside the church and photograph the artwork. For now, we can enjoy the building itself as a work of art framed by a turquoise sky and light, billowy clouds.

Comments

[cieldequimper]

Wow, what a church. It's gorgeous, lovely shapes. Somehow, it reminds me of buildings in North Germany, in cities such as Lübeck. Looks like there is an interesting work of art right in front of it too. Can't wait to see inside.

[Dina]

Yes, wow. As Ciel said, it looks like "ein feste Burg", like Jerusalem's Dormition Abbey (built by Germans).
Interesting that Methodists would have the Stations.

[Jennifer]

What a beautiful building. And I read on their website that they have a library, that's cool.

You asked about the escaped gerbil: I think I would have tried sitting down and waiting for it to come close enough to handle, it it was tame enough it may even have tried to climb up on your legs or hands. Throwing a jacket over it to catch it may have worked (I caught a squirrel that hopped into a train that way once...), but I would only try something like that as a last resort and when I'm pretty sure I won't miss, otherwise the animal is scared away for good.
Poor gerbil, I hope it gets caught by someone. At least it will be able to survive for some time during summer and has a chance to find another home.

[Greensboro Daily Photo]

For those of you wondering about Jennifer's comment.....

Jennifer is a rodent lover, who is a foster home for a rescue organization. The other day, an obviously tame gerbil started following me when I was walking down a rural/suburban road visiting relatives in another town. Had a neighbor appeared, I would have asked if someone had lost a pet and, if so, enlisted their help. That gerbil kept walking toward me. In the absence of another human, I didn't know what to do as the critter kept following me. Having been bitten by my own gerbils in childhood, I could not bring myself to picking it up! Eventually the gerbil scurried into some underbrush and since I don't live in that neighborhood, I'll never know, "the rest of the story."

Jennifer is a librarian who lives in Germany near the Elbe River. One of the rewards of daily photo blogging is that you get to meet interesting people from all over the world!

[Jacob]

Who'd athunk there'd be that many Methodists in Greensboro?

What a complex! It's nice they kept the old when they built the new! And kudos to them for sticking it out downtown. I know it wasn't easy to do.

Great shot!

[FA]

Stained glass and an organ - things that are meant to lift the heart and mind to God, but, seem to be missing from many modern churches. Thanks for pointing those two things out. I went on their website and saw a nice picture of the organ but not of the windows. It would be great if you could get inside and capture those with the light coming in. Happy Sacred Sunday!

[Greensboro Daily Photo]

I have since found this information about WMSUMC:

West Market Street United Methodist Church

Built: 1893 Architecture: Romanesque Revival

"The designers and decision-makers who helped build West Market Street United Methodist Church in 1893 had great expectations. At a time when Greensboro’s population hovered around 3,500, the new church had a flexible design that could hold 2,000.

The interior of West Market Street follows the Akron Plan, a layout that features a large open space surrounded by smaller classrooms on one or two levels. The classrooms open onto the rotunda via folding or pocket doors, creating one gathering space."

http://www.greensboromonthlymagazine.com/index.php/previous-issues/features/hallowed-halls/

[J Bar]

Great building.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

[Hilda]

It's massive! Also reminds me of a castle.

[Ellie]

Lovely castle in the middle of the steel and concrete jungle!

[Dan]

I've been a member of the church since youth; you should indeed try to get inside -- the sanctuary is beautiful.