Blog Archives
Cyril and Methodius (and their church)
In addition to their cemetery, the brother saints Cyril and Methodius have a church.
I can’t even tell you how much I like to find a church with an unlocked door…
near Buckholts, Texas
photographed 11.25.2017
The Descent
Coming down the narrow stairs from the loft gives photographers a nice view of the church.
It was peaceful inside this space; I felt calm when I left after a happy hour of making photos.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Shafter, Texas
photographed 11.4.2017
The Sacred
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this church holds Mass once a month, at 2:00 p.m. But I believe the church doors are always unlocked, just in case.
Shafter, Texas
photographed 11.4.2017
A crack in everything
After I was through inside the church – this was the last interior photo I made – it was time to walk around the building. As I made it around to the side that faces the highway, I saw him. The monk. He was on his way to the mailboxes.
In a minute, he came down the hill, and stopped for a chat. He talked about the town, the Mennonites who live just across the border in Mexico, the weather, Minnesota (where he’s from), a 1940 murder at the liquor store* and showed me the bullet holes, and gave me directions to the cemetery.
But you know what? I never told him about the icon, partly from residual shyness that still pops up from time to time, and partly because it seemed a little too fan-girl.
The whole encounter starts to seem like it was more of a dream than anything else, but I can see clearly his dusty brown robe, his desert boots, his long reddish beard…
Shafter, Texas
photographed 11.4.2017
* True.
Wilderness
Remember that I came to Shafter because of that story about a monk?
He’s about to become part of the narrative, but in the meantime, check out the way the light’s bouncing around here? Lovely, isn’t it?
Shafter, Texas
photographed 11.4.2017
