Little Churches

Well, here it is, 2014 already!  Boy, how time flies as you get older, and I feel like I am in a Star Trek-like warp drive now that I have reached the ripe old age of 44.  Some of those who are older than me may scoff at that, and I can hear those comments - "Aww, you're still a baby!" or "I wish I was 44 again!"  To be fair to my older friends, I will probably be making those same statements in a couple of years.   Any rate, I wanted to start this year off right with a couple of good thoughts.

Let's see...ever since I was a kid, I have loved church architecture.   There is something about a building that is designed to worship the sovereign God, and also the functionality of the church design is of interest to me personally.  However, I also love miniature things (except when it comes to saxophones, where bigger is better!) and inevitably the two penchants were bound to cross paths at some point.  Surprisingly, they did so practically on the back doorstep of where I grew up, as I remember as a kid this little tiny church that someone had built on US 219 South just outside of Parsons headed toward Elkins, adjacent to this large house that if I recall used to be an assisted living facility of some sort.  The little church did not have a name, and obviously no one carried on regular services in the little structure (who could fit into it, for one thing!)  but it served as a sort of holy place for local people who wanted to stop and pray, or just be close to God in their own way.  That mentality entails what we Appalachian-Americans would call "sense of place," which I recently dealt with in a theology article I submitted for an academic journal, and it also is the reason I write a lot of this stuff - "place" is more than just a geographic location, because for whatever reason it has sentimental value to the person who appreciates it, and it serves as a visible and tangible point of contact which connects to the deepest convictions of the person who appreciates it.  That little church outside Parsons back those many years ago did just that too.  As a kid, riding in Mom's car or with other relatives around town, I had passed that little church many times and in most cases never gave it too much thought other than something deep in my imagination stirring which for some reason made me appreciate it for my own unique reasons.  Let me share what the little church looked like back all those many years ago:

After several years of being away from my hometown, as I grew up several miles away in my early teens, I began to get a curiosity in my early adult years about whatever happened to that little church, as my grandfather now owns a house less than a mile south of where the little structure used to be.  I noticed on one occasion that it was no longer at the spot where it once was, and so I asked my grandfather about it.  He informed me that the little church was moved to Elkins, where it serves as a sort of meditation chapel in a garden of a local nursing home, but it is still very much around.  I was actually very happy the little chapel was preserved, because it was really too unique of a little landmark to just destroy.  Today, with some refurbishing, here is what she looks like:

Perhaps next visit home I may go see it for myself, as it would be nice to actually see the inside now too.

A few miles up the road is another tiny church, somewhat bigger than this one but still tiny, in the town of Silver Lake, WV, on US 219 North.  This one does have a name, as well as a story behind it, and it is called Our Lady of the Pines Chapel, the "Smallest Church in 48 States."  A popular local tourist attraction, the little chapel was built by a Lithuanian Catholic immigrant family many years ago as a sort of symbol of gratitude for the way God blessed them, and it has been kept up immaculately by the modern descendants of this family to this very day.  To access this little chapel, you go north on 219 past Thomas, and just shortly before the Maryland state line you will come into the small hamlet of Silver Lake.  If you watch for the signs, you will note them directing you to a small street that forks backward off 219, and if you take that narrow street back a little, you will come to the little church.  The doors to the little chapel are always open, and I understand that Masses are even held there, as well as weddings and other services (many people like having weddings in places like this, as it makes the experience extra memorable).  I have visited the chapel several times, and it is always a neat experience to do so.

Our Lady of the Pines Chapel, Silver Lake, WV

 

Altar area

 

The directional sign of the little church

 

As far as little churches go, it is not the smallest (despite the well-intentioned claim!) as there are many other tiny chapels that would make this one look like Notre Dame, but it is still definitely a tiny chapel that is worth your while to visit if you are in the immediate area.  However, I have visited one smaller in my youth, and now to tell you a little about that one.

 

Back when I was but 2 or 3 years old, as you may know, my parents divorced.  I of course spent most of my life in West Virginia with my mother, but I did get to visit Dad on occasion too, who lived in Brunswick, GA.  While in Brunswick, I had gotten to see a number of neat things  - the historic landmarks on St. Simons Island, the beautiful Atlantic beaches on Jekyll Island, and the pristine Okeefenokee Swamp a short distance away.   However, if one travels up US 17 heading north towards the town of Darien, there is a sign along the road which heralds "The Smallest Church in the US," and to get to it you have to turn right off US 17 and go out a short narrow palmetto and Spanish moss-draped sand road to it's location.  The little church is called Christ Chapel, and at only 10' x 15' it actually makes Our Lady of the Pines look huge!  Although built like an Anglican chapel, it is considered a nondenominational shrine for curious tourists as well as devout Christian motorists just needing a place to pray as they proceed on their travels.  And, like Our Lady of the Pines, I have visited this one many times over several years, and it is still fascinating to visit it even today, although at present it has been over 20 years since I had last been in that part of the country.  

Christ Chapel, off US 17 near Darien, GA

 

The interior and altar of Christ Chapel, Darien, GA

 

 

One of these days I will have to research into the full story behind this little chapel, as I have it somewhere in my memoirs but need to dig it up.  

 

There are other unique little churches I would like to visit but may not be able to for some time.  One of them is a tiny little church that a group of young teens put together in rural Virginia, and represents their love of the serpent-handling tradition.  The kids call the little church "Poor Valley Pentecostal Holiness Church," and from the outside it looks like a dilapidated outhouse although the kids have admittedly done a fantastic job making it look like a church.  It is even replete with its own "parishioner," a doll in Holiness dress they call "Sister" something.  The kids actually look like they are pretty devout, and even have a website for their little church at   https://sites.google.com/site/pvphc777/home that is worth a look.  

This is one photo of the little building called the Poor Valley Church

 

A side view of the little structure

 

This young fellow, Brandon Campbell, is listed as the "pastor" of the little church

 

A map actually has them listed near Rose Hill, VA, in a very remote area at the extreme western tail of the state near the Kentucky border.   I am not certain if these kids actually believe they have a real church (perhaps they do!) or if this is just a group of country pre-teens playing church - if it is the latter, there are worse things they could be doing, so to me they are pretty decent kids if they want to emulate churchfolk, so no harm done regardless.  It would be something neat to visit though and just talk with the kids about, because somehow they had good upbringing to undertake an endeavor like this, whatever their reasoning for it.  And, it looks like they believe in some ministry of some sort, as their website takes prayer requests too.  Any rate, they have gotten me curious about them, and I am interested in learning more about these remarkable young people.

I hope this lighthearted tour of small chapels I have either visited or have learned of over the years has been something you have enjoyed reading, and soon I will be back with some more reading material for you.  However, I may not be able to visit as often, as my graduate studies with Franciscan University, as well as church business and other things, have been keeping me pretty occupied the past few weeks.  However, although I may not be home here a lot, you are always welcome to visit my virtual "front porch," and feel free to do so.  God bless until next time.