Sweet Tea And God's Graces ...

“You can get by on sweet tea and God’s graces ….”

     “Sweet Tea and God’s Graces”

              ~ Taylor Swift

                  ~ 2004-2005 demo cd

The Church of the Cross is bathed in morning glory on a beautiful late October day on the bluff at the end of Calhoun Street in Old Town Bluffton in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

The historic church pre-dates the Civil War, or the War Between the States.

Formal worship in the Bluffton area traces its roots to the establishment in 1767 of St. Luke’s Parish, where a church was built near Pritchardville in 1787. Services on “The Bluff” of the May River first took place in the early 1830s. The young town of Bluffton was a summer resort for area and inland planters and a stop on the ferry route between Savannah and Beaufort. By 1842, a chapel was built near the current location of The Church of the Cross.

In July of 1854, construction of the present building began. Architect E. B. White designed a structure described then as a “handsome cruciform Gothic building,” which indeed it remains today. Fanned arches with a look of palmettos top its mullioned windows that are framed by latticed shutters. The builders sent to England for the rose-colored glass in the windows. Inside, soft-pink scored plaster enhances the warm light. Exposed pine timbers evoke power and stability.

In 1863, Federal troops marched into Bluffton during the Civil War, burning most of the town. Although the church was spared, its congregation fled. Services on The Bluff resumed in 1870, when the Rev. E. E. Bellinger arrived and oversaw repairs.

The National Register of Historic Places has listed The Church of the Cross since 1975. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004.

The Church of the Cross has seen much during the century and a half plus it has graced the May River bluff. It is part of the Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Church in North America.

Calhoun Street is named for John Calhoun, (1782-1850), an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina and the seventh Vice President of the United States from 1825-1832. His beliefs and warnings heavily influenced the South’s secession from the Union in 1860-1861.

Historic Faith ...

“I believe in an America where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.”

            ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

                    ~ 1917-1963

~ 35^th President of the United States of America

                ~ 1960-1963

         & U.S. Navy veteran

   ~Address to the greater

       Houston Ministerial Association

           ~  Sept 12, 1960  

The historic First United Church of Christ of Easton stands as a beacon of faith in downtown Easton, Pennsylvania along the Karl Stirner Arts Trail on a beautiful late October afternoon.

The German Reformed Church was originally constructed at Third and Church Streets in 1775-1776 and was the largest building in Easton at the time. The church congregation’s office building, on Church and Sitgreaves Streets, dates from 1778, and was originally Easton’s second school building. The church served as a Revolutionary War hospital, treating wounded soldiers from the Battles at Brooklyn and Brandywine. It was during this time that George Washington came to the church to visit the wounded. The church was also the site of the Indian Treaty Conference in 1777.

The brick portions were designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, who was the architect of the dome of the United States Capitol and later served as President of the American Institute of Architects from 1876-1887. Known today as the First United Church of Christ of Easton, it stands as the oldest existing church building in the city.

The church has a Star of David in honor of Meyer Hart, Easton’s first Jewish citizen and a contributor to the original church building fund.

The Karl Stirner Arts Trail follows the historic and bucolic Bushkill Creek for 1.75 miles. Though the placement of artwork in a transcendent natural setting, the Arts Trail seeks to stir the public imagination and sense of possibility.

The trail is named for Easton sculptor Karl Stirner, who spent 25 years as a mentor and unofficial real estate agent, ushering aspiring artists to Easton.

Journey to Calvary ...

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”

                   ~ Billy Graham

                          ~ 1918-2018

 A wooden Cross draped in purple for Lent stands outside Friedens United Church of Christ, Slatington, Pennsylvania on a March morning, reminding all who see it of the sacrifice Christ made for us.