Saturday, August 11, 2012

Cathedral Walking Tour ~ Part One


In the Historic District of the North End where I live, there are 
several grand cathedrals.  There are two of them just blocks from my
cottage and I pass by them each day.  The first one is St John's Cathedral.
 St John's is Boise's Catholic Cathedral and it is a beauty.  



Construction began in 1906 by Tourtellotte and Hummell, Boise's famous
architectural firm.  The construction was so costly that it was built in 
stages and was not fully completed until 1921.




The style is Romanesque and was the vision of Bishop
Alphonse Glorieux.  What a beautiful name!




I am not a Catholic, so I do not attend services here.  I have however,
attended two funerals at this beautiful cathedral and it is quite spectacular.




This is my church, Saint Michael's Episcopal Cathedral.  While not as
grand as St John's, it too is a lovely cathedral.  It is a charming gothic
style and is reminiscent of churches in England.  I know every inch of it's 
interior because I served on the Alter Guild for two years.  And yes,
twice a year we used Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the pews just like
the old commercial suggested.




Here is the front entrance.  It is simple, understated and lovely.




The stone for this cathedral was quarried from the Table Rock
Quarry.  Table Rock overlooks the city of Boise and is also the
current home of a huge lighted cross that overlooks our city.




This is Bishop Tuttle House.  This is a lovely gothic style fellowship hall
behind the cathedral.  



This fountain in the Bishop Tuttle House courtyard is where the animals
are blessed each St. Francis Day.




St. Michael's took possession of this Ten Commandments monument after
controversy caused it to be removed from Julia Davis Park.  We gave it
a home because we believe and follow the Ten Commandments.

I am very proud of the efforts of the past and current members of this 
cathedral.  After it's dedication in 1902, Bishop Funsten opened St. Luke's
Hospital a few blocks away.  It only had six beds, but the women's auxillary
dedicated themselves to it's growth by raising funds for supplies by holding
annual balls. These women also supported the hospital by making bandages
and dressings to be used for surgery.  One must remember that Idaho only
became a state in 1890 and the area did not have many facilities, so
these efforts were crucial to this growing but oh so isolated region of the 
northwest.



This is the side entrance to the cathedral.  On weekdays whenever the
cathedral is open, I often stop in for silent prayer.



I hope you enjoy this video about the history of my home church.
I don't talk very often about my faith on this blog, but it is a the guiding
light of my life.

I am joining


Bentley ~ Momma will take you to St Michael's to be 
blessed this fall.  You will see lot's of friends there.

Hugs,
Susan and Bentley




11 comments:

  1. Susan ~ thank you so much for taking me on this tour. How lovely ~ faith is a great part of my life also (as you know). How very blessed you are to have a lovely sanctuary with history. Our church is new, but, any place to worship is a beautiful thing. Thanks again. The architecture is just amazing ;-)

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  2. Susan: What beautiful churches and interesting history. I always think that seeing the architecture of all churches, whether grand or simple, is just perfection.Thank you for sharing this..Happy Weekend..Judy

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  3. Susan, this is a terrific post. Thanks for taking us on a tour of this beautiful church. Happy Weekend.......Sarah

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  4. Susan, what a beautiful and moving post! I love your grand church and it's devotion to God's word in the 10 Commandments!
    But what is even more beautiful is your faith! I am so happy you shared the churches and your faith!
    May you be richly blessed because of it!

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  5. Oh Susan, I enjoyed my tour through all the beautiful Churches and Cathedrals. Interesting history lesson. Beautiful…………

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  6. I love seeing architecture. Lucky you for having these gorgeous churches so close.

    Great to have you be a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  7. what a magestic building. I'm sure the atmosphere is wonderful.

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  8. I love these grand beautiful cathedrals and please feel free to talk about your faith often, I love to share and hear about other folks' religious paths. I am a Christian and share Scriptures on my blog as the spirit moves me. I visited Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris often, and listened to free organ concerts there. What wonderful music and setting.

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  9. Good morning Susan, you are so fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community. I thoroughly enjoyed the video clip and the history of your church. What I really like is how active and involved the women are. I love that they bless the pets too! My church does that, and on a different Sunday we bless the motorcyclists too!

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  10. Hi Susan

    Thanks for taking us along. The architecture is gorgeous. Churches like that are so majestic!

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
    Leann

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  11. Beautiful churches. A lovely monument with the 10 commandments engraved. What a blessing our nation would receive if it lived by God's commandments.

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Oliver and I LOVE and read every comment.

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