http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/ stories about the suburbs, church, and home Sun, 12 Jun 2016 23:06:30 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.3 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/#comment-19446 Tue, 15 Sep 2015 13:55:47 +0000 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/?p=3307#comment-19446 Dear Heidi,
I loved reading this blog and share your sense of romance as well as mourning for the church of the Epiphany and so many others like it. I followed the link in your last segment to the English non-profit organization, English Heritage, which does such good work preserving and transforming ancient church buildings. They rely on donations and gifts from the UK lottery fund. Churches that hope to receive a grant to restore their building for continued worshipping congregations are most likely to be successful if they have spent all their available resources first, and of course are the oldest and of most historical value.
I wondered if the idea could be replicated here? Would it be possible for a non-profit to draw funds to transform old churches into community projects? Massive undedertaking.
Thanks for writing and for the wonderfully emotive photos.

]]> http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/#comment-19008 Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:50:14 +0000 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/?p=3307#comment-19008 Thank you, Marcy!

]]> http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/#comment-18893 Tue, 25 Aug 2015 11:19:45 +0000 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/?p=3307#comment-18893 Heidi, I met you briefly at the Peace during Rev. Donna’s final Sunday at St. Barnabas; and being curious about where Donna was headed next, I did some online spying, and came across your blog. I have enjoyed it very much. Thank you for seeing and loving the universe in a grain of sand or an abandoned church or a suburban town, like you do. All the Best.

]]> http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/#comment-18883 Tue, 25 Aug 2015 03:17:58 +0000 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/?p=3307#comment-18883 Huge stained glass windows were stolen in the early 2000’s while it was still a church community. During it’s final years, the nave held coffee houses and theater productions, with strings of lights crisscrossing the space. In 2010, the final graduation ceremony for 6 young men from St. Gregory School was held at Epiphany, the mother church of the school.

]]> http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/empty-churches/#comment-18867 Mon, 24 Aug 2015 19:30:36 +0000 http://www.vicarofbolingbrook.net/?p=3307#comment-18867 I was installed to be Episcopal/Lutheran campus minister at UIC in a service at Epiphany in 1985. Memories. Thanks, Heidi!

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