Monumental Checkbox

Sacre Coeur in Paris is an iconic landmark in the city. ‘I climbed the steps to Sacre Coeur’ is a check on the life’s to do list (or at least the ‘visit to Paris to-do list’). Europe is packed with one massive church after another - all full of opulent history and high church yet seemingly devoid of Christ. As in Costa Rica, at the center of every French town was the church building…yet the French people seem predominately agnostic.

I asked a few random people about faith, the buildings, Christ, the universal church, etc…almost unanimously, the church is a relic of the past. How sad! True the buildings themselves represent so much that was wrong with the organization of the church over the centuries, and that actually hasn’t changed much over time, but how grievous that a people group once rooted in Christ now sees faith as historic and irrelevant to today.

What was once a place for the people of God to gather and worship Him is now a monumental checkbox.

And so...

Climb the steps to Sacre Coeur....Check.

Places of Worship

In 2002 we took a few weeks to explore Costa Rica and there began my photo diary of ‘places of worship’. No matter the size of the town in Costa Rica, at the absolute center was the soccer field flanked by the church. Interestingly, this order directly reflects the priorities of the people too...But we WERE there during the World Cup, so everything was all about soccer.

Anyway, I was so intrigued by these churches – they were all very different architecturally and usually very colorful. Since 2002, my diary of pictures has grown and spans the globe.

The whole process has been encouraging...discouraging... interesting...perplexing and ongoing.

Some places of worship are really monuments – empty, ornate, massive, costly. While others are sincere....regardless of size or appointment.

As time allows, I hope to start sharing some of my collection here.

In The Press

If you don’t already have the May issue of Condé Nast, then read this article about Hawaii online.

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/12198?pageNumber=1

When you get to the very very end, you will find little me.... A very small mention, but very thrilling for me to see my name in my favorite magazine.

The article is great, Debi did a fantastic job of leading us to a different, more authentic Hawaii.

Enjoy!