Lex Anteinternet: Today (Actually yesterday) is the Start of Advent ...

Lex Anteinternet: Today (Actually yesterday) is the Start of Advent ...: 

Today (Actually yesterday) is the Start of Advent for 2018. Time for a Fast?

 The midnight sun over Advent Bay, Norway, 1905.  Things seem dark?  Maybe time to refocus a bit.

Yes, the Christmas Seasons has officially arrived with the start, today, of Advent!*

Now, most folks will of course know what Advent is, but for those who do not, and I know that there are plenty of people who do not, including not only secular people but many devout Christian Protestants, Advent is the liturgical season which preceded Christmas.  During this time, in Latin influenced Christendom, which by this point would mean all of Western Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and much of Sub Sahara Africa (and many other places as well), this seasons is characterized as being a time of joy in anticipation of Christmas itself, or in religious terms, the feast commemorating the birth of the Savior, that being Christ's Mass. . .IE., Christmas.**

So, time for a fast!

Eh?

 Yup.  Some Christians fast this time of year.  Indeed, they are obligated to in some instances.

Now this is something that's blisteringly foreign to most people in the Western World.  The whole idea is a shocker. This is the season of endless parties. . . that holiday gathering of friends, relatives and family, the office party or parties, the gatherings in dorm rooms, lecture halls and the like. Even people who only vaguely try to adhere to a Christian life will be gathering for Christmas parties and partaking in mass quantities of holiday cookies, cake, and, yes. . . booze.

Mr. Fezziwig dances with his workers at his company party in the famous scene from A Christmas Carol, in which Dickens portrays the jovial and generous Fezzwig as the model of a Christian employer. . and not without good reason.

But not everyone does that.

And perhaps that's a good thing for those of us in the Western World to recall.

In the East, and by that I mean in Eastern Christendom geographically, culturally and Canonically, this is a time to fast.

What?

Yes.

The Nativity Fast is here!

Now, to explain this I'm going to lean heavily on something I just linked in right above. The item above is linked in (taken?, swiped?, borrowed?) from an excellent blog called Fear Not Little Flock.  Its' the blog of the wife of a married Byzantine Catholic Priest.*** The chart sets out the season in the various spheres of the Apostolic Church's realms.  Indeed it does a very nice of job of doing so.

For those not too familiar with it, the Catholic Church has several Rites, only one of which is the Latin Rite.  The Latin Rite is that rite of the Church that most people call the Roman Catholic Church and which is by far the biggest rite.  It certainly isn't the only one, but for historical reasons it became the largest and has spread around the globe.  That rite never displaced the other ones however, and as noted above there are, in addition, the Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Byzantine, and Maronite Rites. The Ambrosian Rite is very close to the Latin Rite and actually exists principally in a certain region of Italy.  The Mozarabic Rite is one that was once dominant on the Iberian Peninsula and today is principally found around Toledo Spain.  The Maronite Rite is major rite that is centered in Lebanon. The Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church is that Catholic Rite which reflects that part of the Apostolic tradition in the East which remained with or returned to full Communion with Peter's seat.  In form of its liturgy, it's very close to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Indeed, that isn't all of the rites, but given as its the major ones (and a couple of more minor ones), it's a good list.  In addiction to those listed in this charter there are also Bragan, Dominican, Carmelite and Carthusian, which are very narrowly used and all of which are associated, like the Ambrosian and Mozarabic, with the Latin Rite.

The Maronite Rite is a West Syriac Rite, which also includes the Syriac and the Malankarese Rites.  The related East Syriac includes the Chaldean and Syro Malabarese Rites.  The Byzantine family of Rites includes not only the Byzantine Rite but the Armenian Rite. The Byzantine Rite itself shares its liturgical forms with the Eastern Orthodox so its not surprising that there are some Catholic Rites that share their liturgical forms with the Oriental Orthodox, those being the Coptic and Ethiopian/Abyssinian Rites.

Which brings us to this, as its part of the story we're about to relate, even though this wasn't intended to be a post on church history..  Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches are also Apostolic Churches, along with the Catholic Church.  I don't know the fasting disciplines of the Oriental Orthodox, other than that I'm sure they have them, but the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox share the same fasting disciplines, as essentially they are close in form.****Regarded such things as fasting, the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church are very close, reflecting a common Eastern origin.

Okay, so what can we learn from this?  Well quite a lot.  And its significant.

For one thing, Advent in the Eastern Rite begins on November 14 or 15, not in late November or early December as it does in the Latin Rite.  And it begins even earlier in the Ambrosian Rite which is very closely related to the Latin Rite. That probably suggest that it began earlier in the Latin Rite at one time as well, particularly as the Mozarabic Rite also commences Advent earlier.  As the chart shows, the Maronites, also start it earlier.

Where the Eastern Rite really stands out, however, is that it has a Nativity Fast tradition.

As the chart notes, the Advent fasting obligation is not as strict as the Lenten one for the Eastern Rite.  That fast, from the Latin Rite prospective, is very strict indeed.  In the Latin Rite, since the 1960s, the fasting discipline has become very minor and is confined to certain days Lent with the number of days of Abstinence, i.e,. days in which Roman Catholics abstain from meat, being likewise so confined in the United States (this isn't the case, however, everywhere).  The Eastern Rite, however, during Lent steps in various items which the Faithful must abstain from, with the ultimate list being quite expansive.

So what is the Nativity Fast in the Eastern Rite? Well the Church in the Eparchy of Phoenix states the following regarding it:

Fasting
Abstain from meat and dairy products on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. Dairy is allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but still no meat. (See our list of Philip's Fast Dinner Ideas.)
Fast from certain foods, such as soda, alcoholic beverages or candy.
With each meal, eat only an amount that is sufficient for nutritional needs, without feeling full.
Fast from select forms of entertainment (television, movies, radio, internet, novels, etc.).

That right there exceeds what a lot of Latin Rite Catholics do during Lent.  

Note, however, I don't know if the Nativity Fast is obligatory for Eastern Rite Catholics.  I do know that, just from listening to Catholic Stuff You Should Know, which as a Byzantine Catholic Priest as one of its hosts, that the Byzantine Catholic Church had let its fasting discipline weaken a bit over the years but it is now reviving it.  Brief net research suggest that the Nativity Fast may be optional, but if you are researching the topic, don't take advice from me, as I don't know the answers here.

The Antiochean Orthodox Church, part of the Eastern Orthodox, takes this view:

Guidelines for the Nativity Fast

The Nativity Fast

(November 15 through December 24)

The Nativity Fast is one of the four Canonical Fasting Seasons in the Church year. This is a joyous fast in anticipation of the Nativity of Christ. That is the reason it is less strict than other fasting periods. The fast is divided into two periods. The 1st period is November 15th through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Similarly, fish, wine, and oil are permitted on Saturdays and Sundays. The 2nd period is December 20th through 24th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil only on Saturday and Sunday during this period. Here are the guidelines:

Meat	Dairy	Fish	Wine	Oil
beef, chicken, pork, turkey, elk, veal, lamb, deer, rabbit, buffalo, and so forth	milk, eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, cream, and so forth	fish with a backbone (not including shrimp, octopus, shellfish, squid, or other seafood.	(some include all types of alcohol in this category)	(some include all types of oil in this category)
Abstain.	Abstain.	Permitted only on Saturdays and Sundays before December 20. (some permit fish Tuesdays and Thursdays also)	Permitted only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, & Sundays before December 20.	Permitted only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, & Sundays before December 20.

Abstinence includes refraining from the food and drink mentioned above, as well as from smoking. The Eucharistic Fast means abstaining from at least the previous midnight for communing at a morning Liturgy.

The Purpose of Fasting

The purpose of fasting is to focus on the things that are above, the Kingdom of God. It is a means of putting on virtue in reality, here and now. Through it we are freed from dependence on worldly things. We fast faithfully and in secret, not judging others, and not holding ourselves up as an example.

• Fasting in itself is not a means of pleasing God. Fasting is not a punishment for our sins. Nor is fasting a means of suffering and pain to be undertaken as some kind of atonement. Christ already redeemed us on His Cross. Salvation is a gift from God that is not bought by our hunger or thirst.
• We fast to be delivered from carnal passions so that God’s gift of Salvation may bear fruit in us.
• We fast and turn our eyes toward God in His Holy Church. Fasting and prayer go together.
• Fasting is not irrelevant. Fasting is not obsolete, and it is not something for someone else. Fasting is from God, for us, right here and right now.
• Most of all, we should not devour each other. We ask God to “set a watch and keep the door of our lips.”

Do Not Fast

• between December 25 and January 5 (even on Wednesdays and Fridays);
• if you are pregnant or nursing a newborn;
• during serious illness;
• without prayer;
• without alms-giving;
• according to your own will without guidance from your spiritual father.

Okay, whether its obligatory or not, its certainly the case that for most Americans the concept of abstaining from something during the Christmas Seasons is simply inconceivable, although ironically thousands of Americans will making pretenses towards abstention following the Christmas Season, which gets me to my next point.

 Christmas beer. . .something that most Americans are much more familiar with than Nativity Fasts.  While some might suppose that this is a recent phenomenon that came about due to the micro beer boom, in fact special ales for Christmas are a very long European tradition and go back into the Middle Ages.  Special Ale was in fact a very typical feature of Christmas feasts and usually significant landowners either brewed a good Christmas ale or imported it, even in the Middle Ages, from Germany which was already noted for its superior brewing.

I've noted here before the weirdness of the hip cool secular left repeatedly discovering, but not admitting it, disciplines that were long existent in the Apostolic Churches.  It's really bizarre but in recent years the hip and cool have "discovered" such things as "intermittent fasting", fasting and specific item fasting in the form of "purging" in general which the Apostolic Churches, together with the Jewish faith and Islam, have had as disciplines forever.

The anemic part of the secular trendy discovering, or pretending to discover those things is that they're always anemic as at best their tied to a vague sense that there ought to be a purpose to what they're doing and at worst they're tied to the concept that "if I personally do this, I'll live forever".  No wonder so many people who do this, with such little purpose tied to it, fall of the wagon while the Apostolic Faithful do it year after year without being noticed.

Well, what about an Advent Fast.  Extreme?

Well, not really.  

This is a season of joy, to be sure, and I'm not going to make the argument that there is no pleasure without pain (although that's likely quite true).  What fasting does, among other things, is to emphasize a point, and a point that needs to be made.

It focuses.

There is a point to Christmas and Advent emphasizes that point. The point isn't running around with eggnog spiked with Makers Mark and having a hangover the following day.  The point is likely the antithesis of that.  And the fasting discipline of the Eastern churches really emphasizes that.

It seems foreign to us, as it is.  But that's because the point of modern Western existence is, well pointless.  People run around after money or self fulfillment or any number of other vague catchphrases that have no deeper metaphysical or philosophical meaning at all. To try to fill that, they try to fill it with self directed meaning that's just as meaningless.  It's no wonder that all sorts of vague movements meaning nothing, from self awareness efforts, to confused efforts to redefine gender and base your identity on that (why on earth would anyone want their identify defined by their sex drive?), to grossly misunderstood attempts to adopt Oriental religions that have no disciplines are popular in our own day.  People want the greater meaning. . . as long as it doesn't have meaning. . . or perhaps if it doesn't seem too hard.

Well, fasting is hard, particularly if it has a purpose, and that purpose isn't focused exclusively on you.

Which is one of the reasons that the Western World here ought to take a look at the East.

___________________________________________________________________________________

*FWIW, the word "Advent" comes from the Latin, "to arrive".  It celebrates the arrival of Christ.

**Christ's Mass is known to have been celebrated extremely early on in Church history, I believe as early as the 1st Century.  Moreover, contrary what later day basement Internet dwellers and Naive Reddit Rubes may have some believe, it's not only not placed on top of a preexisting pagan holiday, it's known to have actually been celebrated in December early on and, moreover, prior to the Roman establishment of the most commonly claimed pagan candidate, Sol Invictus.  That's right, pagan Romans, probably simply coincidentally, placed their holiday on top of what was already a Christian feast day.

***Oh I know you are already saying "whoa there bucko. . . I know a thing or two about you Catholics and your Priest don't marry". Well not so fast buckwheat.  That's only true in the Latin Rite, and not fully true even in it.

Eastern Rite priests can and usually are married if they're parish priests.  And in the Latin Rite there are married priests who have come in typically from Protestant churches where the priest was formerly a cleric of a Protestant church that has a similar and close understanding of theological matters to the Catholic Church.  It isn't a matter of theology that keeps Latin Rite priest from being generally married, but rather a law of the Latin Rite was originally designed to prevent there from being an aristocratic inherited priesthood.

****And this definitely isn't intended to be a history of schism, so we'll only briefly touch on that here.

As noted, all of the Churches discusses here are Apostolic Churches. That is, they were directly founded by the Apostles.  They were, and they all acknowledge that they were, at one time one single church but historical events separated them and a schism developed.  That is, they have disagreements and the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox are not in communion with the Catholic Church.  I don't know if the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox are in communion with each other.  There is currently a major dispute going on with the Eastern Patriarch in Turkey, who is generally regarded as the most important Patriarch in the Eastern Orthodox community, and the Russian Orthodox Church, which has caused the Russian Orthodox to take itself out of communion with the Greek Orthodox Church and hence a schism has recently developed there.

Schism or not, all of these churches are highly related and are largely in agreement on most things. They all adhere to the doctrine of Apostolic Succession and they all view each other as having fully valid holy orders and sacraments.  While it might surprise an American who walked into the door of one of the various Orthodox Churches to learn it, they are much closer to each other than they are to any of the Protestant churches.

St. Dominic Catholic Church, Old Highlands District, Denver Colorado.

This is St. Dominic Catholic Church in the Old Highlands District of Denver, Colorado.  

This large Gothic style church was the second St. Dominic's in Denver, both of which, fittingly enough, were and are Dominican churches.  The church was originally associated with a school, but the school closed in 1973.  The Church itself was built in 1926, replacing one that had been built in the late 19th Century.

The rectory for the church stands next door and is just a bit older, having been built in 1923.

Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, Old Highlands District, Denver Colorado.

This is the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in the Old Highlands District of Denver, Colorado.  The church was built in 1890 and at the time it was built, it had no surrounding structures.  The Gothic style church is still a Methodist church today.

Covenant Lutheran Church, Wheatland Wyoming

This is Covenant Lutheran Church in Wheatland Wyoming.

This church is a modified modern style church, featuring some traditional elements that recall Prairie Gothic style architecture, but which also is updated to a modern look contemporary for when it was built.  When that was, I'm not exactly certain of.

First Christian Church, Wheatland Wyoming

When I started this blog I only intended to catalog traditional architecture, but I've obviously strayed away from that policy a lot, and nearly right from the onset.  I still think of going back to it from time to time, but I have not.

I guess that's a bit of a disclaimer for this post, and for being a bit more blunt on some of this than I used to be.  This is the First Christian Church in Wheatland Wyoming.  I'm not sure when this church was built, but it was fairly recently.

It's a nice attractive looking building, but it's largely devoid of traditional church architecture.  But for a few embellishments a person wouldn't immediately assume that it's a church.  One of those embellishments is the corner piece holding a bell, which is a feature designed, no doubt, to cause those observing it to realize that this is a church.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be immediately apparent.

Now, I don't mean to fault anyone for architecture of this type.  This is not an ugly building.  And traditional structures are expensive unless you go with the Prairie Gothic style of church which few do anymore. Still, there's something for the position that churches were designed the way that they were for a reason.  Still, if you aren't, at least this is an attractive structure.

Unidentified, Livermore Colorado. (Sometimes the photos aren't very good).

This is an unidentified, and likely abandoned Prairie Gothic church near the highway in Livermore, Colorado.

I've been by this church a zillion times, but until had to stop in Livermore the other day, I never attempted to photograph it. Stopping in, I found that unless a person is willing to is trespassing, which I wasn't, a moving highway photo is about as good as a person can do.

So why do it all? Well, at least its cataloged. 

This isn't, by the way, the only church in Livermore.  There's a much nicer newer one I'll photograph in the future.  I suspect that church replaced this one.

Painted Bricks: Blog Mirror: Pedri: An appetite for historical destruction

Blog Mirror: Pedri: An appetite for historical destruction

 Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, Rock Springs Wyoming, which this article is about.

From the Tribune, an article about taking down old buildings:

Pedri: An appetite for historical destruction

Metropolitan Community Church, Denver Colorado.

I really know nothing about this church at all, other than its in the Capitol Hill region of Denver where a lot of older churches are.  It's not far from the large Episcopal Cathedral in Denver.  Based upon what I can find about it, it fits into the politically and theologically liberal branch of Protestantism, and its occupying a church that was almost certainly built for another denomination some time ago.  

My photo of it is awful, but I was in a hurry at the time I stumbled across it.

Lex Anteinternet: Mid Week At Work | Catholic Answers' Fr. Hugh Barb...

Lex Anteinternet: Mid Week At Work | Catholic Answers' Fr. Hogh Barb...: Fr. Hugh Barbour, the Chaplain for Catholic Answers, was on their Catholic Answers radio show on Labor Day for their daily question a...

Lex Anteinternet: September 25, 1918. The Passing of Archbishop John Ireland

September 25, 1918. The Passing of Archbishop John Ireland

Archibishop John Ireland in his later years.

On this day in 1918, a towering figure in North American religion died, Catholic Archbishop John Ireland.  He had just turned 80 years of age.

The Irish born prelate is universally regarded as having been born and possessed of a great intellect.  It's been said of him, when he was right, he was very right, and conversely, as is the case with towering intellects, when he was wrong, he was very wrong.

Ireland was born in County Kilkenny in 1838 and came to the United States at age 10 with his family. This put him in the midst of the horrible Irish potatoe famine and the accompanying waive of immigration into the U.S., Canada and Australia that accompanied it, with his family, like so many others, choosing the United States for their second home.  This meant that he arrived in the country at the depths of Irish despair and the height of prejudice against the Irish in the United States, whom were regarded as an "alien race" at the time.  But it also meant, even though hew would have grown up in the "Catholic Ghetto" era, that he came to the country sufficiently young to effectively grow up as an American.  These various factors would define his views in profound ways throughout his life.



Ireland was sent to France by the French born Bishop Joseph Cretin at age 14, at which time he'd only been in the United States for a mere ten years.  He was ordained in 1861 at age 23 and became a chaplain to the Fifth Minnesota at that time, during the American Civil War.  He served in that role until 1863 when poor health forced his resignation.  Following that he became a pastor at Saint Paul's Cathedral in Minnesota, Cathedrals having pastors who serve as the Cathedral's priest, a role quite different than that of the Bishop of course.  He became a coadjuter Bishop at St. Paul's in 1875, at the fairly young age of 37.  He became the Bishop Ordinary in 1884 and an Archbishop in 1888.



As a bishop he was a towering figure and a uniquely original one in many ways.  He would become a central figure in American Catholicism as a result, and take positions that some would regard as contradictory but which, at their best, showed his independence in thought.



As an Irish ex-patriot he was deeply concerned about the fate of the Irish in America and encouraged direct colonization of areas in the West and Midwest, taking the view that settling the Irish in rural areas took them out of the vice of the crowded Eastern slums in which many found themselves.  Several towns in the Midwest were directly founded by Ireland for this purpose and his concern over what was occurring in Eastern ghettos was not misplaced.



Perhaps almost paradoxically, however, Ireland was an extremely strong proponent of Americanization of American Catholics and he actively worked to prevent the formation of "national",  i.e., ethnic, churches.  His view left a heavy imprint on the Catholic Church in the United States and this may in some ways be his lasting legacy, although what he was working for had not been fully achieved at the time of his death in 1918.  He did not want Irish Catholics or German Catholics to be that, but rather wanted them to be American Catholics.  He urged and foresaw an American society in which Catholics were fully part of it, a dream never fully realized but perhaps principally realized (and maybe even in some ways over realized) after World War Two when American Catholics did in fact fully enter the American mainstream.  Ireland feared that if this did not happen Catholics in the United States would remain marginalized and the faith would loose adherents to Protestant denominations that were in fact mainstream.  His fears were well placed and his efforts would ultimately be successful to a large degree, indeed to such a large degree that some Catholics holding romantic views of the Catholic Ghetto of old essentially lament them even if they do not themselves recall Archbishop Ireland.

As part of this, he was a strong supporter of education but paradoxically, especially for a man who had benefited from a Catholic education himself, he supported state support of Catholic schools in some instances and even supported the municipal takeover of distressed Catholic schools even when it resulted in those schools retaining Priests and Nuns but found them unable to teach religion.  This was a phenomenal position to take at the time and it would be very unlikely to receive much Catholic support today.  Indeed, he had to travel to the Vatican to explain it at the time.  Ireland, additionally, was such a proponent of Americanization of Catholics i the United States that he opposed the use of foreign languages to instruct students, something that was common in immigrant Catholic schools at the time.



Perhaps as part and parcel of this, and perhaps reflecting his Civil War service, he was a Republican and friends with several Republican Presidents.  He was an outspoken proponent of the rights of blacks at a time when that was not a fully popular view by any means.



Conversely, these same doctrines made him a dedicated opponent of "national" or ethnic churches to such an extent that he's also remembered today for inexcusably alienating Ruthenian Catholic followers of Alexis Toth.  Toth, an immigrant Ruthian (Eastern Rite) priest received a cold shoulder from Ireland upon making a courtesy visit to him upon first arriving in his diocese. As an Eastern Priest with his own Bishop, he was not subject to Ireland's jurisdiction, but Ireland was open in his opposition to the Eastern Rite having a place in the United States and took the view, rather bluntly, that Eastern Rite Catholics should switch to the Latin Rite, which he was working to make non ethnic.  This view is completely contrary to the view of the Church today and at the time it lead to Toth, who is regarded now as an Orthodox saint, going into schism and taking his followers and taking a large number of them into the Russian Orthodox Church, to which additional adherents would later follow.  Ireland is sometimes jokingly called the father of the Orthodox Church in America as a result.



Ireland was a towering figure and more successful than not.  His impact on the Catholic Church in the United States was very large, and because of its nature, lasting.  Ironically, his impact upon the Orthodox in American proved to be very large as well, but for a different reason, and perhaps in some ways both churches owe their modern nature to Ireland.

Holy Apostles Orthodox Christian Church, Cheyenne Wyoming.

This is Holy Apostles Orthodox Christian Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  This church was built in 2012 and is located on the edge of Cheyenne.

This church is interesting in several ways, one of which simply the way it is named.  The Church is what would normally be called a Greek Orthodox church but presents itself as an "Orthodox Christian" church.  This stands in contrast to what we typically find with the various Orthodox churches which usually identify an ethnic component to them, such as Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox.  Indeed, while the various Eastern Orthodox churches are in communion with each other, they are all autocephalous and there are real distinctions between them at least to the extent that each of them has their own hierarchy.

They are also very traditional in many ways and to find one that doesn't note the ethnic component is simply unusual for them.  Also unusual is the design of this church which is highly modern (unfortunately in my view, as I don't care for this external office building appearance).

While not knowing for sure, I suspect that these departures from tradition here were intentional and reflect an effort to deal with a decreasing ethnic component in the Orthodox Churches which they are going to have to deal with in order to survive. At the same time, however, it also may reflect an increased interest in the Orthodox community among traditionalist Protestants of various kinds who have investigated their own churches origins in the wake of numerous doctrinal changes in recent years.  There's been a bit of a boom, more than a ripple but less than a tidal wave, of traditionalist protestants coming into the Orthodox Churches, typically the Greek Orthodox Church, as a result of that.  This church, in its name and design, seems to be designed with an eye towards accommodating that. 

Redemption Church, was Kaycee United Methodist Church, Kaycee Wyoming

We rarely feature a church twice here, although occasionally we do if there's a reason.  This is one such example.

We posted on the Kaycee United Methodist Church quite some time ago in this post:

Churches of the West: Kaycee United Methodist Church, Kaycee Wyoming: 

Kaycee Wyoming is a small ranching community in southern Johnson County. This Methodist Church is located there.

Here's the same church today:

The church is still there, but it's no longer a Methodist Church.  It's name indicates that it is the "Redemption" church which causes me to suppose its likely some type of non denominational protestant church.  That doesn't surprise me much because, in modern times, having a sufficient population of Methodists in a small town such as this would be a bit of a surprise for Wyoming.  I'd have expected the Baptist church, which is often the default protestant church in this part of the country, but a Methodist church is quite specific.  This is not to say, of course, that this pattern always holds.  For example, Shoshoni has a prominent Presbyterian church.

For much of modern small town Wyoming today, however, what we'd expect to see is probably a non denominational protestant church, maybe a Baptist church, a Catholic church, and a Mormon church.  We might omit any one of those, or perhaps half of those, depending upon how small and isolated the town is.  This contrast notably from a century ago, or half century ago, when an Episcopal Church would almost be a default for any small Wyoming town and we'd see more active small, but denominational, churches.

In all of this Wyoming follows a bit of the modern trend, although that trend isn't really properly analyzed as a rule.   There are very distinct doctrinal differences between the various protestant churches but a lot of rank and file protestants don't really acknowledge them very much which has given a boost to "non denominational" Christian churches which are not quite as non denominational as it might seem in real terms.

Anyhow, this church appears to have changed roles a bit.  I wonder what denomination originally built it?

Grace Mission Baptist Church, Kaycee Wyoming.

This is Grace Mission Baptist Church in the small Johnson County town of Kaycee, Wyoming.  Other than the location and that its a Baptist church, I don't know much about it.

Holscher's Hub: Echos of Parco. Sinclair Wyoming.

From our companion blog; Holscher's Hub: Echos of Parco. Sinclair Wyoming.:

Not too many people stop at Sinclair who are just passing through.  But at one time that wasn't true.  And that's why the town has what was once a luxury hotel (now a Baptist church), a spacious park, really nice tennis courts, and the like.  Only the sign on the hotel remains, as well as a historical monument, to remind us that Sinclair is the town's second name.  It was originally Parco, a company town founded by the founder of what is now the Sinclair Refinery, the Producers & Refiners Corporation.

This post has had the unusual distinction of being on three of our blogs.  It's put up here because, as noted above, the Parco Hotel is now used as a Baptist church.

Or at least part of it is.  The hotel is quite large and it doesn't appear that the church occupies the entire building.  Oddly, Sinclair has an abandoned church that looks as if it would serve this purpose better, but then that's engaging in a lot of speculation.

Abandoned Church, Sinclair Wyoming

Given the Spanish style of this abandoned, but apparently still maintained, church in Sinclair, my guess is that it was contemporaneous with the  construction of Parco, as the town was originally called.  All the principal buildings that were built in the early 20th Century along the refining town on the Lincoln highway, were built in that style

I'm not sure what denomination used this church, or even when it was last in use.  As noted, it's still receiving maintenance even though it is not serving as a church and is partially boarded up.  Oddly enough, the Baptist Church in Sinclair is using the giant Parco Hotel of the same vintage for its church.

St. Barbara's Catholic Church, Powell Wyoming

This is St. Barbara's Catholic Church in Powell, Wyoming.  This church was built in 1964 on the site of the original St. Barbara's which it replaced.

First United Methodist Church, Powell Wyoming

This is the First United Methodist Church in Powell, Wyoming.  Other than its location, I can't provide any other details about this modern architecture church.

Grace Reformed at City Park, formerly First Presbyterian Church, Casper Wyoming

This isn't a new addition to the roll of churches here, but rather news about one of them.  We formerly posted on this church here some time ago:

Churches of the West: First Presbyterian Church, Casper Wyoming: This Presbyterian Church is located one block away from St. Mark's Episcopal Church and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, all of whi...

People who have followed it would be aware that the Presbyterian churches in the United States are undergoing a period of rift, and this church has reflected that.  The Presbyterian Church, starting in the 1980s, saw conflict develop between liberal and more conservative elements within it which lead to the formation of the "moderate conservative" EPC.  As I'm not greatly familiar with this, I'll only note that the EPC is associated with "New School Presbyterianism" rather than "Old School" and it has adopted the motto  "In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity. Truth in Love.".

The change in name here is confusing to an outsider in that this church is a member of the EPC, but it's no longer using its original name.  As it just passed the centennial of its construction, that's a bit unfortunate in some ways. 

We'd also note that the sought set of stairs is now chained off.  We're not sure why, but those stairs must no longer be used for access.

Traditionalist Anabaptist In Wyoming?

Starting at some point about six or so years ago, which means its actually probably more like ten years ago as things that occurred about that time seem more recent to me than they really are, I started running into some type of traditionalist Anabaptist from time to time here in Wyoming.

The first ones I ran into were at the rest stop outside of Waltman.  There was a travel trailer there with a flat tire that was being repaired and the people with it were outside of the trailer.  In my naivete, as I didn't expect to run into Anabaptist here, I thought at first "oh. . . reenactors", as the women were all wearing what appeared to me to be very traditional 19th Century style dresses with sun bonnets and the men were wearing straw broad brimmed hats, blue shirts, and jeans; and sporting that type of beard which lacks a mustache.  Very quickly I realized, however, that they weren't reenactors, they were some sort of community of Anabaptist adherents or perhaps a family of Anabaptists traditionalist.

Now, for those for whom this term is a mystery, what I'm referring to is Christians who are members of a traditionalist Anabaptist denomination, such as the Amish, traditionalist Mennonites, or Hutterites.  The most famous of these groups is, of course, the Amish, but there are some Mennoites in Colorado and Nebraska and there are Huttertites in Montana and the prairie provinces of Canada.

This is the Greeley Mennonite Church in Greeley Colorado.  The church was originally a Lutheran church but I don't know when it the Prairie Gothic church was built. 

 

Now, while these groups are all Anabaptist, they are not all the same, and I don't want to suggest that they are.  That is not my intent at all.  And while it is my understanding that all Amish are traditionalist in the sense I'm using it (which would likely be grating on their nerves and be regarded as singularly unfair by them), and I think that this is also the case for Hutterites, it is not true for Mennonites.  Indeed, there are Mennonite congregations that are not distinct in dress and which are not otherwise traditionalist such as limiting the use of technology over time.   I'm frankly unclear on which denomination the group I've been seeing belongs to, and that's what I'm curious about.

 

I've noted above the first instance in which I encountered them.  The second time was, oddly enough, in Sam's Club. There were a group of women who met the description set out above, except I see that their head covering is a simple covering, not a sun bonnet, buying huge lots of flour and other baking goods.  Since then I've run into them here and there, most recently at the past two gun shows here in town.

On the first of those occasions two men and a boy were present selling old farm equipment.  A woman was present selling baked goods, and seemed to be married to one of the men.  The men were all dressed as described save for wearing cowboy boots, which causes me to lean towards Hutterites.  This past weekend they were back but it was two different women and a different man, and they were all selling baked goods. The man was wearing heavy work boots.

The presence of traditionalist Anabaptists in Wyoming would be a new thing and I'm curious.  Does anyone know who they might be, what group they're actually in, and where their community or communities are located?

St. Anthony Catholic Church, Guernsey Wyoming

This modern architecture church is St. Anthony Catholic Church in Guernsey Wyoming, the training headquarters of the Wyoming Army National Guard and a farming, ranching and railroad community.  The church is served by St. Rose of Lima in Torrington, which was posted here just the other day.

There are an unusual number of St. Anthony's Catholic Churches in Wyoming.  I'm not sure how this came about, but there are at least four, including this one.

Ft. Laramie Community Presbyterian Church, Ft. Laramie Wyoming

This Prairie Gothic church in the small town of Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, is in the Prairie Gothic style.  The town of Ft. Laramie is just a few miles from the historic frontier era Wyoming fort.

St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Torrington Wyoming

This Romanesque style Catholic Church is St. Rose of Lima in Torrington Wyoming.

Christ Reformed Presbyterian Church, Torrington Wyoming

This is the Christ Reformed Presbyterian Church in Torrington Wyoming.  The church was built in 1909.

First Baptist Church, Torrington Wyoming

This Romanesque style church is the First Baptist Church in Torrington Wyoming.  I'm unaware of the history of the church itself, so I have no other details on it.

Grace Lutheran, Worland Wyoming

This is Grace Lutheran in Worland Wyoming.  Other than the name and the location, I'm afraid I can't provide any other details about this particular church.

St. Peter's Catholic Church, Greeley Colorado.

This is St. Peter's Catholic Church in Greeley, Colorado.  The Gothic style church was built in 1909.  In addition to serving the residents of Greeley, it also serves the students of the University of Northern Colorado.

Abundant Life Fellowship, Greeley Colorado.

This church houses the Abundant Life Fellowship in Greeley, Colorado.  The church is a Gothic style older church, but I otherwise know nothing about it.

Greeley Mennonite Church, Greeley Colorado.

This is the Greeley Mennonite Church in Greeley Colorado.  The church was originally a Lutheran church but I don't know when it the Prairie Gothic church was built.

Lex Anteinternet: The dogma lives loudly within you

Lex Anteinternet: The dogma lives loudly within you: Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a maid came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean; but he denied...

St. Anthony's Catholic Church. Upton, Wyoming.

St. Anthony is a very popular patron saint for Catholic Churches in Wyoming for reasons of which I'm not aware. This is one of three churches in the Diocese of Cheyenne which is dedicated to St. Anthony.

This St. Anthony's is the smallest, being in the smallest town. This Prairie Gothic Catholic Church is located in small Upton, Wyoming, near the Black Hills.  It's a mission church of the church in Newcastle.