In Warren County, Ohio, a state where the governor has issued a stay-at-home mandate to slow the spread of coronavirus, Solid Rock Church pastor Lawrence Bishop invited worshippers yesterday to his megachurch just north of Cincinnati for in-person Sunday services. See the message below from the church's website. This is the same church where a massive Jesus statue was destroyed by lightning in 2010; a new one has been built in its place (see above.) From WCPO:
While the church’s pews were not filled to capacity for either Sunday service, the live stream showed the church’s choir and congregants standing next to one another and those delivering remarks appeared to share microphones.
Congregants and leaders prayed together, heads inclined toward one another while sitting on the steps to the stage during the morning service. Some people could be seen shaking hands after the service ended...
Supporters of Solid Rock commented on Facebook that Bishop was “fearless” and asked that “God bless him with boldness.”
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In Estella, Spain, a local handicrafts teacher completed this incredible "restoration" of a 500-year-old painted wooden effigy of St. George at a local church. Apparently the parish authorities of the Church of St Michael requested the teacher do the work.
"The parish decided on its own to take action to restore the statue and gave the job to a local handicrafts teacher," Mayor Koldo Leoz told The Guardian. "The council wasn’t told and neither was the regional government of Navarre... It’s not been the kind of restoration that it should have been for this 16th-century statue. They’ve used plaster and the wrong kind of paint and it’s possible that the original layers of paint have been lost.”
At the least, the parish should have hired Cecilia Gimenenz to consult on the restoration. Read the rest
Roman Robroek takes beautiful photos at abandoned sites all over Europe, including the thousands of abandoned churches across the continent as much of Europe becomes more secular. Read the rest
German photographer Robert Götzfried has published his latest series on the original high-tech wall of sound: church organ pipes. His beautiful symmetric photos show the remarkable variations possible. Read the rest
