Corpus Christi Church [14]

Attended mass today at Corpus Christi Church in Wethersfield. This is where I sometimes worshipped when living there during my high school years. The church is very familiar to me as my Great Aunt Kiki, Katherine Conway Welch, was organist there for years. As a child living with her in Hartford, I would travel by bus to the church on Saturdays to be with her as she played for weddings and funerals. Sitting on the organ bench with her, I had a bird's eye view of the ceremonies; I sat facing the altar. Sitting away from the altar view, she had a mirror to let her know when to play each piece. It was always exciting when there was a soloist, usually a soprano singing the 'Ave Maria'.

Today I sat in the back of the church under the 8th Station of the Cross: “Weep not for Me, but for thy children.” There were no candles to light so I left my card in the collection basket. Being there at high noon I expected a high mass but this was not to be; nor organ music, nor choir, nor hymns to be sung.

Griswoldville Chapel [13]

Was going to stop at Corpus Christi Church today but there was a wedding in progress. So I took the long way home and stopped at the Griswoldville Chapel. I left my card wedged in the locked door for someone to find. This is a nondenominational chapel that is located in the section of Wethersfield where I was living during my high school years [1951-55]. For a very a short time I was the custodian for the congregation but didn't do such a good job. That stint lasted only a few months! 

Our 4H meetings were held in the basement  room there. One summer, my first in Wethersfield I think, I attended a summer 4H session at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. There I 'majored' in horticulture and when I returned home that fall the 4H group planted a dogwood tree in the front lawn of the chapel. The tree, a three split white dogwood [representing the Holy Trinity?], was cut down several years later after it started to overtake the front lawn.

St Michael's Ukrainian Church [12]

Driving around Hartford and taking the alternate route home, staying away from the highway, I have often seen the Crucifixion Statue in front of a beautiful home on Wethersfield Avenue. This is the Parish House and School of St Michael's Ukrainian Church. This is a place where I have wanted to explore but with the long-term road construction there had been no place to park until today.

I prayed and left a card at the Crucifixion Statue. I tried to take a picture but the sunlight was wrong and the parking space I had used was a bit awkward. Will try to return and get a picture of the beautiful statue with its Ukrainian inscription.

Andover Congregational Church [11]

After a nice lunch in a café by Andover Lake with my stepmother, Barbara, we visited her church to pray for peace. This typical New England church, the type seen so often on slick calendar pages, is the First Congregational Church of Andover UCC. 

The church was closed so I chose to leave my card on a rock inscribed with the church's name. I have worshipped here once or twice and it has a small but growing congregation. Pastor Ruth is a vital part of the religious aspect of the Andover area. There are many special things happening there. I plan to come back and attend a service soon.

Central Baptist Church Chapel [10]

I gave a talk today on my short-term mission experience in Myanmar. In January/February of this year I taught at the Karen Baptist Theological Seminary in Yangon. One of the main reasons for wanting to share these pictures and narrative was because of my Karen brothers and sister here at CBC. Four years ago, two hundred or so Karen refugees arrived in Hartford from the camps in Thailand. Pastor John Endler opened the program with a prayer for peace. The Karen have become an integral part of our church and have supported my short-term missions in many ways. I left my card with one of the attendees hoping that she will follow my odyssey.

The painting 'Jesus at the Well' [1955] that hangs on the wall of the chapel is by Alan Tompkins. This painting is very muted and done with pastel colors. Tompkins was director of the Hartford Art School in 1957. My father studied art there when it was housed above the Wadsworth Atheneum and not yet a degree granting school.

A prolific artist, Alan Tompkins continued to paint into his 100th year and strongly desired one thing: to be remembered for his art. “I’m not a hobbyist, I’m not an educator,” said Tompkins. “I want to be remembered as a painter.” Tompkins produced thousands of paintings, many showing the influence of Cubism and abstract art, during a long and productive career.  Tompkins died in 2007 and his family recently donated more than 100 of his paintings to the University of Connecticut Health Center.

At the end of the presentation and again praying for peace, I announced my halting of short-term missions for a year in order to pursue My Odyssey: Pray for Peace. 

International Peace Day 2012

Our Lady of Hartford Shrine [9]

Wandering around Hartford I needed a place to pray. A church just wouldn't do. First I went to A Dong Market to view the many buddha statues for purchase. I left some meditative thoughts there. 

Then I remembered the shrine on Warwarme Street just behind Bulkeley High School on Wethersfield Avenue. I have prayed there before. There was no one around so I stayed and prayed a while and left my card next to a statue of the Virgin Mary. This has become a very shabby urban shrine which so many have taken time to debunk. I found it helpful in my time of need. Plastic flowers, tarnished and worn statues of the Virgin and artificial flowers galore did not turn me away; they welcomed me. Tears shed are never shed in vain.

Cathedral of Saint Joseph [8]

What a beautiful for a drive it was. So I went to Hartford and visited the Cathedral of Saint Joseph. This church is very near and dear to my childhood. The parochial school adjoining the cathedral was my educational journey from first to eighth grade [1943 to 1951]. The 'old' cathedral was built in the Gothic style of Notre Dame in Paris. It burned down while I was in college and I watched this spectacle from the mailroom of Allstate Insurance Company on Bishop's Corners in West Hartford where my part-time job helped me get through college.

Today's visit was, of course, to the 'new' cathedral built in a very modern style. There were only a few people on hand waiting for confession to be heard. There was nary a candle to be lit! So I left a card on a lectern on my way out. Walking to the parking lot I met a lovely lady, Mary. We chatted and she told me she prays to Saint Pio for intercessions to others unknowing of her prayers. I gave her a card also and told her to watch my journey. I will light a candle for her in Poland in October.

Chapel of Divine Mercy [7]

After reading the website of  St John Church in Cromwell just minutes from where I live, I drove to their Chapel of Divine Mercy. This is a chapel of perpetual adoration where anyone can go and worship. In these security minded days it is a joy and pleasure to be able to pray and meditate at will.

I lit a candle and left a card and will return often to be alone in the presence of peace. Several of my neighbors worship here. Finding out about the activities so close to home might be a good idea.

MMH Chapel [6]

There is a small chapel in the Weiss Hospice Unit at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. This is the unit where Jean, my late wife, passed away. I volunteer here every Monday evening from 10pm to 2am as a means of giving back. The work is difficult but inspiring. Many people use this chapel as a respite in their visits. No one was using it last night so I stopped in and said a prayer. Jean's name is in the book there with her death date, February 10, 2005. I left a card in the book to mark that page.

Evelyn Petterson's Memorial Garden [5]

A memorial garden was dedicated this afternoon at Adelbrook on the adjoining campus of CVOC. It is in honor of Evelyn Petterson, a teacher and overall wonderful individual. I knew Evelyn for years but didn't know that she lived here at CVOC. My first day in the dining room I saw here and asked what she was doing here. She replied that she lived here and what was I doing here. I had just moved in and  from then on we had many lunches together. I will always remember her work at Smith School. I was a Resource Teacher working to train classroom teachers how to deal with language minority students in their regular classes. Evelyn had taught for years but was always open to new suggestions, tried them all out and was forever smiling about the successes of her students. I learned so much from her. Adelbrook is a school here on campus and she was very involved with the students here years after her involvement with students in New Britain.

There were a lot of people there so I didn't leave anything but a prayer [and a piece of my heart]. The program was good; she would have been proud.

Queen of the Apostles Chapel [4]

Today's planning meeting at Holy Apostles College and Seminary brought me to the chapel. The new chapel is so beautiful and just the right place for the seminarians to worship. I was finishing up a consulting venture for Vietnamese Nuns and Brothers studying here that I had started last year.

We had been having conversation classes at CVOC where I live. The level of English of the students has improved so much that they are now in academic classes. A new pronunciation class is also being offered and further complicates transporting the students to our campus. Maybe we can still fill a need there.  I left a card so that the nuns and seminarians will be able to follow my blog.

Wesleyan University Memorial Chapel [3]

My original intention tonight for going to the 'Bach to School' concert at the Memorial Chapel was to listen to some good organ music not to pray for peace. I ended up doing both. Ronald Ebrecht, Artist in Residence and University Organist led a masterful program. Starting with Johann Sebastian Bach and ending with Johannes Brahms and Wolfgang Mozart, he modernized the middle of the evening with Shirley Scott, Neely Bruce and Fela Sowande's powerful 'Go Down Moses'. All of this brought forth the need for peace. I prayed for peace. I listened to the beautiful music and was swept away with the idea of a peaceful world.

Route 372W Roadside Memorial [2]

On Route 372W in Berlin/Kensington there is a roadside memorial just before you come to the accesses to Routes 9, 91, 5 and 15. I have driven past this memorial so many times. I stopped there today to pray. This memorial is well-kept and contains a cross with no name, solar lights, candles large and small, flowers real and artificial. There is a beautiful rock formation just behind it and it looks like many people have contributed to its well-being. I left some flowers from my garden and a card. Maybe someone will contact me and let me know the details for whom this memorial exists.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral [1]

I spent my birthday, today, in New York City. The city has so many memories for me. This is where we visited during our early marriage, where I studied for my Master's degree at NYU in the 70's. We sometimes went uptown from our apartment in the village to the cathedral. I had never lit a candle at Saint Patricks Cathedral before. I lit one today at the side altar for Elizabeth Ann Seton.

I arrived at the Cathedral several minutes before noon. At noon there was a beautiful mass said by the Monsignor. The organ music was wonderful as was the soloist. Oh, such memories of my childhood.