Churches

Since arriving in Melbourne I have been drawn to the various churches and their architecture. I am amazed at how old so many of them are and the history that you can literally feel when you walk in.

Sunday I spent most of the day wandering the big city visiting various churches.

This is St. Paul's Cathedral. It was my favorite today.

This church is really quite amazing. It was built in 1866 and is filled with so much history. The walls are literally covered with all types of plaques honoring or memorializing their past members. The plagues are brass and quite elaborate. I was in awe over the artwork.

I missed the morning service but got there shortly after it ended. The vestibule was buzzing with older people....serving coffee and visiting with each other. It was actually pretty loud. But as I progressed down the aisle a sense of calm came over me and the voices of the people fell to the background. I have not been very close to God lately, however, being in this church drew me in. I felt His presence. It was nice to have this sense of calm after the busy week and being sooo far from home. I took the picture below as I was leaving. I hope you can see the detailed dark wood in the archway. (I sure would hate to dust it! Can anyone say Swiffer?)

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Great specimen of Gothic architecture. Built in 1858. This church, in stark contrast, was VERY quiet. Very few people were here...maybe 5 others than myself in this massive structure.

I sat in a pew underneath a stained glass window. Today was a cloudy and VERY windy day but as I sat down the sun managed to break through and shine through the window. It gave the church a glow that I wish I had better words to describe. Ethereal perhaps?

A Japanese couple was out front with me and I offered to take their picture together so they would take mine. :)

I could go on and on about the others I visited today. I enjoyed seeing different religious 'houses.' Huh? As I am writing this it just dawned on me that I did not see any Muslim, Hindu or other religions represented today. Melbourne is a HUGE melting pot of nationalities. The culture shock is literally just that. Literally every day this week I have heard so many languages I honestly could not keep up. I felt like I was in an Asian country rather than Australia at times. I wonder where they worship??