Continuing our tour through St. Matthew's I was struck by how beautiful it was like this, in natural light. Just the light from the sun passing through the stained glass.
The flash of the camera illuminated some beautiful brickwork and archways -- very medieval --
Look at that -- a giant piece of beautiful art here in Woodhaven --
Here an interesting pair of stained glass windows -- Albert Schweitzer and John Paul II.
Lot's of beauty in here -- a real tragedy that this Church will not be open to the public.
These will be the last glimpses we may have of St. Matthew's for a long time -- for us, it was out first glimpse.
Here's a lovely altar off to the side -- so many Woodhaven residents have prayed here, in this Church. Have been baptized here, have been married here. It's not the building that makes a Church special, though we can stop to admire the handiwork. It's the people. The parishioners of St. Matt's did a heroic job keeping their Church alive and beautiful.
Sadly, though, I think we will be seeing more of this in years to come as our population gets older, and less and less people go to Church. Unfortunately, it's hard to get the young people into Church --
One last look before we go outside, to visit the cemetery --
And a brief look at the columbarium that's been discussed a lot lately -- where the cremated remains of loved ones have been stored.
Many people expected their loved ones (and perhaps even themselves) to be secured in St. Matt's columbarium for centuries to come (at least). Now, they are being asked to come and collect their loved ones. A tragic last chapter to a long history that began over a century ago.
