A Church Hall And Columbarium

I have more today from my visit to Christ Church Cathedral during Doors Open.

Some years ago a new church hall was erected between the church and a new condo tower off to the west. This view takes in the inner courtyard between the church and the church hall, between old and new.

The new church hall incorporates a labyrinth on its floor, and is regularly used as such. I have walked its path from beginning to end, and can tell you that the concept is rather calming. I will have to come back at some point- the church has labyrinth evenings that would make for an ideal post.

Here we have another view of the courtyard.

Beneath the church is a columbarium, a repository for urns that can be made available for those who would like them. A small chapel can be found down here as well, with stained glass windows at the end.

I returned up to the sanctuary, finishing my visit with some more stained glass windows up here. I will be carrying on with the Doors Open series after tomorrow's theme day, though I can say that my take on the Spirit theme is in common with my posts these last three days.

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is the other church overlooking the Garden of the Provinces and Territories here in Ottawa. It is a regular participant in Doors Open. Founded in 1832, the current church was commissioned in 1870 in the English Gothic style. It serves as the seat for the Anglican diocese of Ottawa.

A recently installed sculpture of a homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz, an artist from St. Jacob's, Ontario, stands out front. There are others of this sculpture in various spots around the world, including in Vatican City, and he has another one here in Ottawa, a sitting Christ as a homeless person sculpture that is set outside St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

The front door caught my eye.

The sanctuary is a large, soaring one.

The stained glass in here is plentiful, from larger windows like the one overlooking the organ loft, to the regular ones alongside the sanctuary and even smaller ones here and there.

Here we have the altar at the front of the sanctuary, beneath its formidable stained glass.

This is just off the main sanctuary, a side chapel that can be used for a smaller service. I have more from here tomorrow.

Stained Glass Colour

With the theme day for July 1st being about Spirit, it seems appropriate to finish off the month with some church posts, taken from the Doors Open weekend earlier this month. St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church regularly takes part in Doors Open. The congregation was founded in 1910, and the current church was built at this location in the early 1950s, in the English Gothic style, formally dedicated in 1954. It is one of two neighbouring churches on Cathedral Hill, overlooking the Garden of the Provinces and Territories, as well as Library and Archives Canada. 

Inside, the sanctuary is a welcoming one. Quilts were hanging from the pews- I heard from one of the ladies present here that the congregation makes five hundred of those in a given year, and those go to Lutheran mission work.

The stained glass in the sanctuary is marvelous. Their subjects include music, the history of the Lutheran church, and the life of Christ.

I like the finer details too, such as this at the altar.

The church has a Casavant organ, installed at the back of the sanctuary, separating it from the church hall glimpsed through the windows.

Here we have a close up of one of those quilts.

I finish with a western view of the church. Tomorrow we'll have a look at its neighbour; its spire was just visible in my first shot for today.

Temple Of Science

Since I am busy here at the moment, take a look at my writer's blog for a photo post today on last weekend's Dragon Boat Festival here in Ottawa.

The National Research Council marked its centennial year in 2016. Founded by the federal government during the First World War, the NRC continues its mandate of scientific research and technology. Here on Sussex Drive, on the west side of the Rideau Falls area, can be found what is called the Temple of Science. It was part of the Doors Open event this year. The Temple dates to 1932, houses laboratories, and was designed to be a work of art in and of itself. This is not the headquarters of the organization- that is elsewhere in the city- but it is an architectural marvel.

Heading for the entrance, I paused to photograph the building across the street. This is the Pearson Building, part of the headquarters for our foreign ministry (the Diefenbaker Building, which is to the east,  makes up the rest of the headquarters). This building was also on the Doors Open list this year, but I didn't go in, though I have before for Doors Open.

The building's architecture, of limestone with Italian influences, is a visual delight. The agency's researchers have included Nobel winners. I stepped in to photograph around the lobby area.