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Sunday, June 26, 2011

STEEPLE SUNDAY #35 The Church of the Good Shepherd

This church has a long and rich history.  In 1873 members from Christ Church withdrew their
membership with the hope of forming a free church, open to all, with no seating restrictions.*
In early 1874 a meeting was held to extend a calling to a rector for the new church.

*Our understanding is that back in the early years, families 'inherited' seats in the church making it hard for new members to find seating.
 In 1878, St. John's Guild, an organization of the men of the parish, established the first public hospital in Raleigh.  The hospital soon realized a need to expendand relocated to a large house that provided two wards of six to eight beds.  All of the physicians were Episcopalians from The Church of the Good Shepherd and Christ Church.  All of their services were donated.  Over the years this parish has continued to serve the
needy of Raleigh .  In 1980 The Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen was opened.  It still seves meals to each day. 
This beautiful church occupies several blocks in downtown Raleigh.  There have been many additions over the years.  During a period of 60 years stained glass windows were added. Church families are memorialized in these beautiful windows.
 Architectually it is flawless.  The stone work, tile roof


 many arched windows

 and doors are very welcoming to old and new members.
These door opens to the entrance.  It doesn't appear that grand until
You see all of the front entrance from across the street.
 Attention to detail is shown below as the older portion of the church
on the right is joined to the newer portion, on the left, which houses The Shepherd's Kitchen and Educational Wing.
 this arched portico is part of the new; however, unless you knew this you would
think it had been there from the beginning
The Church of the Good Shepherd's campus is in the heart of downtown Raleigh which is rapidly growing.
It stands as a historical becon to those who came before and will contine to serve as a guiding light to its members and all the follow.

17 comments:

  1. What a beautiful church, I love the view from across the street. I really like the way the new blends in so well with the old.

    Hope you are having a wonderful weekend,
    J

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  2. That's a wonderful church. I love your mom's photos of it.

    pawhugs, Max

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  3. Beautiful photos. Your mom takes wonderful photos. Happy Sunday. Purrs

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  4. What a lovely church! I'm so glad they have continued to take care of it and did such a good job of blending the old and the new. Great pictures!

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  5. That was a wonderful post about a heart warming community, reflected in their beautiful house of worship!
    Wonderful architecture, the way the blended the old with the new!
    Thank you for the great photos, I felt like I was right there!
    Hugs, Kathy

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  6. That's a beautiful church, with a long and giving history. A gem for the city of Raleigh, to be sure.

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  7. Lovely church photos; we hope you are enjoying a restful Sunday, gorgeous Madi...Have a fun week ahead, precious friend and we hope you will be able to stop by for Sukki's Gotcha Day on Tuesday...smoochies...Calle, Halle, Sukki

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  8. It is beautiful! I like how the buildings meld, it shows that the folks know that pleasing the eye feeds the soul.

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  9. Madi,

    What a beootiful church! Happy Sunday to my BFFF!

    Woofs and Licks,
    Maggie Mae

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  10. Wow! That is a beautiful church! We love the round window. Is is stained glass?

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  11. That is a very lovely church!

    Thanks for sharing
    Leontien
    www.fourleafcloverdairy.blogspot.com

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  12. Oh my!!! How beautiful! I do so love churches - such love goes into their construction! This is a gorgeous one!
    Blessings!
    Ann

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  13. I do love all your church posts :)

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  14. That is a lovely church, and it was interesting to hear the history of it.

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