Four landmark churches of Columbus, Indiana
“Our town is small and there are all sorts and conditions of men. While we should like the church to be beautiful, we do not want the first reaction to be, how much did the church cost. We want the poorest women in town to feel at home there and able to worship her God in those surroundings.” — Nettie Sweeney Miller, Chairwoman of the building committee
Only a couple of blocks to the East from The First Christian Church there is a 186 foot tall spire with a cross atop reaching for the sky. It belongs to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. It was designed by Latvian born architect Gunnar Birkerts who spent most of his career in the metropolitan area of Detroit. The church was completed in 1988. A massive structure that can accommodate the growing number of parishioners that reached close to 2,700 in 1983. The previous church accommodated a bit more than 500 members. This design was his second in Columbus. His first was Lincoln Elementary School completed in 1967. Depending on your point of view, you could think you’re looking at two different structures. From one side the it shows tall flat rectangular walls of cement panels with four narrow slats between them to accommodate windows hinting of the brutalism architectural style. Walking to the opposite side the view is that of two curved walls, one with 12 windows breaking up the brick structure. A ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ side to the structure. Very typical of some of Birkerts’ designs presenting opposite personalities.
Built: 1965 Architect: Harry Weese, Chicago. Landscaping: Dan Kiley. National Historic Landmark in 2000 The church has two levels. The upper level consists of the sanctuary with room for seating 500 and a chapel seating 100. The sanctuary is slightly higher than the main part of the upper level. The chapel is a miniature version of the sanctuary set at a perpendicular angle. The lower level and additional structures contain 25 classrooms, four restrooms and the heating plant.
The Building Castle or fortress motif evident in the front entrance moat/bridge and the curved brick walls. It reflects the Christian belief of ‘A Mighty Fortress is our God.’ Front Entrance Leads to a low ceiling narthex intended to create the feeling of lowliness and humility as preparation for worship. Sanctuary Entrance The lowliness/humble feeling continues through the open doors as one enters and approaches the first view of the sanctuary creating a great contrast to the worshiper. The Sanctuary As the worshiper moves from under the low ceiling and climb the steps to thew sanctuary the gaze rises to the 49 foot ceiling. The contrast creates a sense of wonder and awe. Lighting No visible windows look out into the world to create a distraction. Only the windows over the chancel bring in light from above reminding the worshiper of the One who is ‘The Light of the World.’ The building is positioned so that the sun rising in the East floods the wall with light during thew worship hour. The Pierced Wall It separates the choir from the chancel is symbolic of the rending of the temple veil following the crucifixion of Christ, announcing that each person now has access to God. It reflects the Baptist theology of the ‘Priesthood of all believers.’ The wall has three crosses of brick designed into the construction that are subtle to the worshiper. The suspended wooden cross at the center of the wall highlights the centrality of the cross in providing salvation. The Baptistery The curved lower wall to the right is the baptistery. Baptism by immersion is at the core of Baptist theology. The Pulpit Where the word of God is proclaimed is slightly elevated, not merely for better viewing, but to highlight the importance of preaching the Word of God. The Communion Table I s centered under the cross for additional emphasis of the centrality of the body and blood of Christ which provides salvation for the World. Communion is served the first Sunday of every month. Of the four churches this one comes closest to reveal itself as a church from the outside. The inside however reveals something very different. The way the walk from the entrance to the sanctuary was designed is very profound as one makes way to the high A-framed ceiling of the sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary I felt safe, warm and at peace in God’s presence as if in a womb or the hold of a great ship.
This little church is very, very special both outside and inside. The simple elegant plan is that of a hexagon, elongated slightly along the East-West axis Materials: 3,800 yards of concrete, 320 tons of reinforced rods and 22 tons of leaded copper. Floor space: 33,000 square feet. The pews seat 465 with an overflow bench around the top allowing a total seating capacity of about 615. In July, 1961, Saarinaen described his design: “When I face St. Peter at the gates of heaven I want to be able to say that out of all the buildings designed during my lifetime, one of the best was this little church because it has in it a real spirit that that speaks forth to all Christians as a witness to their faith.” Little did he know that only a bit more than a month later, on September 1, 1961, he would died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 51.
Saarinen wanted to design a church, where the sanctuary would stand alone and represent just that. Unlike other churches that are made up of a number of connected structures, he wanted to separate the two functions of a church. The worship side from the social function. The church is the sanctuary, and nothing else, at least visible to the eye. From the only parking lot in front of the church one is led up a number of steps to the entrance. Through the doors and straight up a few more steps one enters the sanctuary and looks up at the center of the ceiling. There, the oculus bings in the only natural light. One is now in the middle of the church right by the central altar.
The social spaces in the church are not visible at all as one enters. To get to them one must turn right or left and walk down a few steps. All the rooms are located below ground along the circumference of the church. This is the one church where I felt completely removed from the outside world and spiritually closer to God. The North Christian Church is very special but is also in a bit of trouble. The number of parishioners has declined drastically in the last few years. A good deal of money needed for many structural repairs was acquired through government funding.
I visited Columbus and these churches a few days before Thanksgiving. Preparations were being made for the Thanksgiving feast and also for providing food for the needy. I was invited to join one congregation for the festive lunch. Preparations were also under way for decorating the churches for Christmas. It was a very busy time. On a number of occasions I visited during non-visiting hours. Not a problem. The church staffs were very kind and helpful and showed me around or let me see myself around. One church I visited just before closing time. The lady in charge was very kind, told me she was leaving soon and asked me to just close the door behind me when I was done. Unfortunately I was not able to participate in any of the services in these churches and I regret that a lot. Next time I visit I will make it a point to do just that. Expanded gallery of the churches and Columbus modern architecture here
The Barn Owl and the Vole ... in the pellet!I have walked a trail that borders the nest of a Barn Owl many times but never noticed anything unusual. This time as I looked to my right in the lower bushes a few feet away from the trail I noticed a lot of white spots or blotches on leaves and the on ground.
I stopped for a moment and thought about what I was seeing. It must be poop droppings from some bird. So I stepped over to get a closer look. Sure enough, a lot of white poop all over the place. And to my surprise a good number of grayish patato-like things on the ground. “Ah! They must be pellets from the Barn Owl.”
So I had to sterilize them. That meant ‘baking’ them. Well, almost. To completely destroy any live matter, I wrapped them in aluminum foil and put them in an aluminum dish in an oven. I had a portable electric one. I would not do this in my main oven in the kitchen. I set the temperature to 350 degrees, and the timer to 30 minutes. As time went on, I started to smell something. The smell of burning hair. This smell brought back memories from my early childhood. One of our neighbors would slaughter a pig every year. Part of the process was running a flame all over the pig’s skin in order to burn off the hair. It was that kind of smell. It stayed in the garage for a few days. I think I overdid the ‘cooking’ a bit. Either too hot or too much time in the oven. Nothing really burned though. I let the pellets cool off for a few hours and then started the dissection. There was so, so much undigested hair. Gently using two tweezers I started taking the pellet apart. Pieces came off in clumps containing bones. Some with large bones like the skull, others with very small ones, like the disks between the vertebrae, or the very tip of the paws. Any bone that had a cavity or recessed part was full of hair. This became the biggest challenge, removing the hair from the bones. Great care had to be taken as to not break or destroy the bones. Some, like the ribs, were very delicate. It started to look to me that I had a fairly complete skeleton of a Meadow Vole, about 80% complete. I think I had bones from every part of the body. From all that ‘cooking’, the bones were not that clean looking, more like the color of dark and dirty ivory. The next step was to clean the bones. That involved soaking the bones in a solution of Hydrogen peroxide and water for at least 24 hours. I had to repeat this one more time to get good results. They come out very nice with a beautiful color of light ivory. Now I could sort out the bones by part of the body and start to reconstruct the skeleton. It was all very interesting.
The other pellets were not as rewarding. Skeletons were mostly incomplete. I also realized that the bones belonged to a vole much smaller in size, an immature victim. I thoroughly enjoyed this whole thing from start to finish. Most of us don’t get a chance to do this kind of activity every day, or want to. It certainly was very unusual for me and I must say I found it very interesting, rewarding and educational. Hmm, what else could I dissect and reconstruct? No worries! I’m not picking up any road kill! More images from this dissection in the gallery here
GHO owlets Falling out of the nestGreat Horned Owls along with Bald Eagles are the earliest nesting birds in North America. They are secondary nest users taking over nests of hawks, herons or even squirrels. The nest this pair of GHOs chose in Hempstead Lake State Park was very small. And on top of that it was in a tree on the side of a meadow very close to a busy area of the park.
When I first got there, mid March, people were not sure what was happening. Some said the mother was sitting on eggs. Others told me she had three chicks. I should have know that by that time the eggs must have hatched. Sure enough, a few days later I got my first glimpse of the two owlets, 2 to 3 weeks young.
So the plan was to quickly get the owlets well and returned them to their parents. Using the same nest was out of the question. For one, it would be hard to reach and second, it was way too small and another fall would surely happen. Bobby Horvath, a NYC fireman and experienced licensed animal rescue and wildlife rehabilitator knew exactly what was needed. Relocating the owlets in a man-made nest of good size close to where the original nest was. Word got out that April 13 was the big day.
Link to full image gallery here
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