We're a broad church

Hello again and welcome to November's Photo Challenge. This month I was asking you for places of worship. And, as per, you didn't let me down. This month's collection is staggering. Staggering in terms of quality and staggering in its global reach: this month more than any other, I think, shows that, here at Photo Challenge, we know no boundaries. Thank you as ever to everyone who takes the time. I love you all dearly.

Rol, as is tradition, is up first. "Hi John, When I was a boy, I went to a C of E school. This is Helme Church, which was right next to the school, where I also attended Sunday school for a while. I probably have loads more church pictures in my hard drive, but this was the one that means the most. Take care, Rol." Thank you, Rol. I love it. What a great start. Spoiler alert, I was expecting more clock faces this month tbh.

Khayem from the Kotwolds - what have you got? "Hello John, Mostly old photos this time. in 2005, Mrs K and I were lucky enough to spend a few weeks travelling around Japan. Temples galore as you can imagine, but here are a couple of examples from Nara and Kyoto. The statues within are immense, as this example from Nara amply demonstrates..." 

"...I always seem to find a way to work Gloucester Cathedral into most photo challenges so it was an obvious pick. This one taken from the top floor of a nearby office block..."

"...A few minutes walk away, to the docks and you can find the Mariners’ Church, dwarfed by warehouses all around..." 

"...Lastly, walking back from a recent gig, I couldn’t resist a nighttime snap of Bath Abbey. Cheers, K." A smashing little sextet, K. Churches in docks is a sub category we should explore more!

David gives us five straight off the bat: 1. 'Lincoln Cathedral'.

2. 'St. Paul's'.

3. 'Birmingham Cathedral'.

4. 'Holy Trinity, Stratford upon Avon'.

5. 'St.Mary's, Greasley'. Good work, David!

A great response from Matthew up in Stranraer: "Hi John, I didn’t realise I'd visited so many (for a non-church goer). From North to South – all un-edited snaps. (Matthew's nomenclature may or may not follow the order in which they landed in my inbox): 1.Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland - pretty austere looking, particularly in February. Certainly not warm and inviting inside either. 2. The Cathedral of San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife (internal) - good audio tour there. 3. Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico (internal) 4.Mazatlan Cathedral, Sinaloa, Mexico. 5. Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil -loads of historic Portuguese architecture in Salvador, but well dodgy, off the tourist trail. 6. Church of Notre Dame des Laves, La Reunion island - this was renamed following the volcanic eruption in 1977; the church missed the lava flow and was seen as a miracle – also fortunate for the tourist industry as it is on the island tour now. Hope you can consider these. M x." Considered and all fit for inclusion! Thank you, Matthew. (Some of these might be out of order, sorry!)

The lovely Miss Turner has just got back from a few days away on the North Yorkshire coast. "A church and an ex-church (now the Fishermans Chapel Apartments) in Filey."

"And, nearer to home, walking with Alfie to The Abdication past St. Paul's in Daybrook."

Kate, recently back from the Orient, had loads of places of worship from her travels. "Hi John, gold and silver temples in Chiang Mai..."

"...and the big Buddha of Phuket. The whole week, while we were there, I'd got 'Whoa big Buddha, bam-ba-lam!' in my head - to the tune of Black Betty."

Adam, our resident Manc, is next: "It turns out I have quite a lot of churches, but this one is a recent addition to my archive - St. John's in Offerton, near Stockport - a fairly ordinary suburb with a wonderful 1960s Modernist/Norse/Scandi inspired church." Thank you, Adam. I need to check this out next time I'm up there. 

The Swede doesn't come ut to play as often as he used to but this is a bit special: "Hi John, these snapshots of Walpole Old Chapel were taken one evening a few summers ago, when I visited for a Laura Cannell concert. It's an atmospheric, creaky old building that I pass regularly and must drop into again someday for a longer look around. If you'll forgive me, rather than rewrite its long and fascinating history, I'll quote directly from the chapel's website:  'At first glance the building appears to be an attractive 16th century Suffolk farmhouse, in a lovely agricultural setting. But a closer look reveals its story. A non-conformist meeting house was created from this domestic farm building in the middle of the 17th century, during a time of religious repression. The congregation, which was originally formed in 1649, leased the farmhouse in 1689 and converted it shortly afterwards into an independent chapel. A simple space, created by local people to meet their own worship needs. The Chapel has one of the finest meeting house interiors in England, and vividly conveys the atmospheric setting of 17th and 18th century dissenting worship. The historic chapel is one of the most threatened types of building in England. Many have been damaged by unsympathetic conversion or the removal of fittings. This building has been part of the village of Walpole for over 400 years, and was a place of continuous worship for nearly 300 years. The Chapel formally closed in 1970, and eventually came into the care of the Historic Chapels Trust in 1995. It is now cared for on a day-to-day basis by the Friends of Walpole Old Chapel and is itself a Registered Charity. Today this beautiful Grade II listed building continues to play an important role in the religious, social and cultural life of the community'."

It was only a matter of time - Ernie's grandstanding: "Hi John, after exercising great restraint on the tree challenge I am reverting to appalling showing off this month - we start with two scenic monasteries from the Caucasus, Haghartsin in Armenia and Uplistsikhe in Georgia. They are followed by the hard to spot La Merced church in Leon, Nicaragua and an interior from Urbino cathedral in Italy. Finally, a shaman's home in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. On the right of the photo you can see Mrs Shamen instructing me in no uncertain terms to bugger off. All the best,  Ernie." Splendid stuff, Ernie. I think you and Coops are tying for who's got most air miles. 

Tim from Hucknall - wot ya got? "Figured it was time to send some church based material, John. Yet again, a ton of stuff here so tried to limit to a degree but please feel free to edit as usual. Sagrada Familia in Barca. Wonderful place. Strong stained glass game..."

"...St. Paul's Cathedral - 'Are you sitting comfortably?'  Wonderful symmetry on the roof and inside of the dome. The detail is insane..."

"...Bobbers Mill at dawn. Blurred glimpse from the Robin Hood Line. I like the artistic quality this has taken on..."

"...Berlin Cathedral - bass paying angel. Top 'heavy metal axe' pose. I'll leave it here so others have the chance of getting some pictures in." Thank you so much, Tim. Strong church game, for sure.

    

Charity Chic: "We are equidistant between two magnificent Church of Scotland buildings - Marylee Parish Church and Cathcart Trinity Church." CC adds that he's never been in either of them. No shame in that, CC. You heathen. Unlike Coops...

My +1 on a U.S. vacation in 2022, the current Mrs. Medd, took this great photo of a beautiful church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I love the white crosses against a brilliant royal blue sky backdrop.

Go on Mr. Cooper: "I do go in churches/cathedrals etc. quite often when away - for the architecture, a bit of peace and quiet and also they tend to be cool. Have gone for a couple of photos from the two extremes of extravagance. Firstly the Catholic Church in Funchal, Madeira ‘Igreja de São João Evangelista do Colégio do Funchal'..." 

"...the second is attached to a monastery in Warsaw ‘Sklep monastyczny Monastica’. I know which one I prefer..." 

"...my wild card was taken in the largest model railway in the world ‘Miniatur Wunderland’ in Hamburg." Thank you, Coops. I love the miniature church.

Portugal calling. Come in, George: "Hi John I have just collected about 120 litres of water from the natural spring you can see in this photo. It is under a chapel: in a period of great drought, Mary (mother of jesus) appeared and showed a group of shepherds where they could find a natural spring. And many many years later the ground was consecrated and this chapel built. It's about 6km from our farm and we, like many people in the area, use it as a source for drinking water. Best wishes, George (your correspondent from the Alentejo Litoral)." George - the story alone gets you a podium finish this month! Thank you.

Jo, our delightful, far flung Cornish snapper is next: "Snowy morning in my village, Stithians..."

"...a church in Haarlem, Amsterdam. It was a beautiful place..."

"...St Austell Church in Cornwall." Thank you, Jo! Stithians looking like it's straight out a film set.

Alyson from way up in the Highlands: "Hi John, York Minster from when we met up for #BlogCon23." Thank you, Alyson. How could I forget?

Pete Zab with four belters: "Hi John, not had much time for photography this month, so a few from the archives. The crypt at St. Wystan's Repton - burial place of some of the Mercian kings..."

"...St Mary's at Whitby..."

"...A section of some of the wall art at St Peter & St Paul's Pickering..."

"...and finally, Witley Parish Church, this is next door to the remains of Witley Court." Great shots, Pete. For my sins, I know the Pickering church well - I used to ring the bells there. True story.

A newbie next: Former AC/DC roadie, Johnny Legs, all the way from Basford Crossings. Legs has been criss-crossing Europe and beyond - first up, 'Lecco, Italy'.

'Milan'.

'Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (x2)'.

'Leon, Spain.'

'Burgos, Spain (x2).

'Copenhagen'.

Celia at Sun Dried Sparrows says "Hi John, just one simple photo from me this month. My local church looking rather picturesque and a teensy bit spooky here too. C x." Are you sure the roof wasn't on fire, C?! 

A couple from me, then, to wrap things up. The notorious crooked spire in Chesterfield. 

And its stunning stained glass. (Every picture tells a story.)

As Phil Lewis once said, you can play my trusty organ.

Two junctions up the M1 from Chesterfield and this random church in deepest Sheffield caught my eye.

The Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool a.k.a. Paddy's Wigwam.

Bingham Parish Church. I visit these ne'er do wells probably more often than is good for me. For some reason I take great comfort from them. 

Midwest USA 2022. God knows where, exactly. On the Amtrak from Chicago to Los Angeles I was pointing and shooting out the window at all sorts of flotsam and jetsam. And then I saw this...

And there you have it. I hope you like what you see - I predict a fantastic photobook coming soon comprising the Best of '24. Waddya reckon? Until next time...

...

Postscript 4.11.24

My friend Riggsby has asked if I can squeeze a couple of his snaps in as he missed the deadline. Of course, never a problem. Richard is based in San Diego and any opportunity to fill this feature with California sunshine is fine by me. "Hi John, the Encinitas Self-Realization Fellowship, Golden Lotus Towers on Pacific Coast Highway: a spectacular building and a beautiful setting. The Meditation Garden is open to the public (you have to keep your voice to a whisper) and has a panoramic view out over the ocean. A place for meditation and reflection." Looks idylic. Are they related to the Quakers, I wonder?