Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Episcopal Church


This quaint little church sits at Foster, near the intersection of the old dump road and Route 14.

The old dump road is now called Ridge Road, but it will always be known as the Dump Road to me. That dump closed a long time ago, and now we have a new dump, called a "convenience center," not to be confused with a convenience store. Oh, heavens no.

What, pray tell, is so convenient about having to haul one's trash to the dump? Isn't it far more convenient if someone else hauls it off for you? When did a dump become a convenience center? Do they also sell stamps and ready-to-eat rotisserie chickens?

In other news, Chesapeake Bay Woman recently accepted the award for most frequent use of the word "dump" in an opening paragraph that is supposed to be about a quaint church. Her English teacher and her Sunday School teacher are holding a conference as we speak.

Below is another angle of the church, which is known as Trinity Church.



All these years I've just referred to it as the cute little Episcopal church. I've only been inside once, for a wedding. (Ms. Seabreeze? Are you out there?)

In spite of our limited interaction, this church waves cordially to me several times a week as I drive by, especially in the morning when the sun hits her just so.

Trinity was originally affiliated with Kingston Parish, which dates back to 1652. For a Chesapeake Bay Woman spin on that, including pictures, click here: http://lifeinmathews.blogspot.com/2008/05/kingston-parish.html.

The Kingston Parish site has this to say about its sister church Trinity:

"For much of its history, Kingston Parish had two or three Parish churches. In the twentieth century the advent of quality roads made transportation around the county easier. This factor and others caused the Parish to decide to hold services in only one church building. For many years services were held alternately in Christ Church and in Trinity Church at the corner of Route 14 and Ridge Road near Foster. As of the late 1970s, Christ Church has been the sole functioning church of the Parish, and today Trinity is leased to an unrelated congregation."

This church, beautiful in its simplicity, is entirely surrounded by a graveyard bearing the surnames of many Mathews County founding families. A lovely wrought-iron fence hugs the perimeter, almost pushing the graveyard and the church closer together, as if punctuating the fact that life and death are in such close proximity.

Is there a church with historical significance near you?

To anyone with any connections to Mathews, have you ever been inside this church?

15 comments:

Sharon Day said...

Thank you a thousand times over! Whenever I think of an old pleasant church, that's the one I remembered. When we stayed at our summer home down there, we would pack up the trash in the trunk and ride to the dump. I just remember it was fun cause he'd let us kids ride in the open trunk--life was simple in the 60s/70s. I remember that church and the graveyard and I've thought about it all these years wondering where it was. I just recalled seeing it every time we visited, but forgot where--it must have been on the way to the dump. It really is quaint and sweet.

Mrs F with 4 said...

Oh, yes, there is church which is exceedingly special to me... St Gregory's. A tiny (TINY!) very plain church, built of local stone. It is part Saxon, part norman, and at bit of 18th century. I was married there, as were my parents, grandparents etc, my children were christened there, and my father is buried there. As an added bonus, it has a truly heavenly view.

As an aside, I am chortling merrily into my cornflakes... for us, a 'dump' is a bodily function that would certainly require a 'convenience' of some kind to be at hand (a public convenience would be a public washroom in the UK). Just IMAGINE what might happen in a Convenience CENTER?

big hair envy said...

My church was built in the 1700's, and the "town" where I live was named for the church. The first pastor is buried under the church (true story) and there's a plaque in the sanctuary that says so!!!! Perhaps THAT should be a Blog Fest stop...?

Daryl said...

LOVE the headstones and the church shot ... add this one to the photo op tour in July, please

Mental P Mama said...

As an Episcopalian, I can say that my own little church here is just as historic...and if you ever get here, I will take you there;)

Caution/Lisa said...

Near my parents' home in Kentucky is a small wood frame church built primarily for Civil War Union soldiers to use as a meeting place and church. The place is cleverly named Union Church. It is about to fall apart and there just seem to be no takers to fix it. It has nothing to do, I'm sure, with the train tracks that are 6 feet behind it or the road which is 6 feet in front of it. I spent years thinking it was a poorly placed shed.

Trisha said...

Living in the Dallas area pretty much everything around me is new - compared to the places around you! I love your stories of historic places because they take me back to Ohio - where I grew up. Ohio has many historic places.

Pueblo girl said...

You'd be hard pressed to find a church round here which DIDN'T have historical significance...more difficult to find one with contemporary significance though.

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

I was gonna say what BHE said.
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abb said...

Like Virginia, Connecticut's history is old...and I do not personally know of a historic church. Well,there IS Miss LaLa's...

WV: saing - I saing in church and it broke the windows.

Meg McCormick said...

I grew up in a tiny United Methodist (formerly E.U.B.) church about that size, with a cemetery adjacent. Need to photograph and blog it one of these days.

In our county, our "dump" is euphemistically known as the "transfer station." I think because you back in, heave your junk down a ramp and into waiting train cars that will ferry it all the way out to some landfill in West Virginia.

Annie said...

I think all of the eight churches I have worshiped in over the years are very special to me. Especially the little very ordinary wooden church where I grew up, and the similarly wooden but prettier church where I was married. They all represented "family" for me, especially when away from "home". Most of the houses I lived in,and churches I went to, have been in rural areas. Which makes them more special.
Even belonged to a congregation that didn't have a church, when we truly lived in the "bush". The pastor would come out and take a service wherever we met in various people's homes. [As most of us know, the "church" is the people not the building].
So I enjoy any and all little churches tucked away in various places, and love reading the inscriptions on the headstones in the cemeteries if they are nearby. A very humbling experience when reading back into history and people's lives and deaths!

Country Girl said...

There is a church with historical significance near me. In fact, there's several. I may have to visit some of them. You've given me an idea for a post!

Country Girl said...

I know you're out there, Mathews Mark. Hello in there.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

AF-What a great memory, thank you for sharing it.

Mrs.F-We're chortling right along with you, trust me. Your family's history with that church is amazing. Are you sure you don't have a blog?

BHE-Underneath? Definitely a potential Blog Fest stop.

Daryl-Y'all passed this several times a day coming from the Sea Shanty to Home Base here. I'll point it out to you in July.

MPM-Have seen photos of your church and it is truly beautiful.

CF-Somebody needs to rush out and take a good photo of that place before it collapses.

Trisha-You should write about those places and those memories in Ohio..to preserve for posterity.

PG-Oh, the cathedrals! They're magnificent. There are no words to adequately describe them.

NNG-You'll have to fill me in at the next meeting. I need to know how that man ended up underneath the church.

TSA-Your sainging can't be that bad. Really.

Meg-Transfer station sounds familiar, perhaps it dates back to my NoVa days. But still--transfer station, convenience center, it sounds like Amtrak. (Would love to see a pic of that church.)

Annie-I love reading about your life - thank you for sharing it. Would love to see pictures of the church where you grew up and the one where you were married.

CG-Can't wait to hear about it. Oh, and MM has been computer-less here lately but hopefully will be back on soon.

Thank you for commenting, I truly enjoy reading your words.