I want to go to church, and next door
edited from an email to Janna
Sunday I got a tour of the church and Bachaus (sp?) house! They closed the street to celebrate their 250 year anniversary, and by celebrate they meant grill burgers (including veggie) and hotdogs for giveaway. Also present were store-bought and homemmade deserts...I partook being all opportunistic and stuff (and so did a lot of homeless). A "friend of the church" sat with me ... as I tried to sit alone but I figured recruitment was a risk I'd take for free food ... and a homeless (and toothless) man. The man with teeth told me about the church.
This church http://www.facebook.com/#!/firstfranklinbaltimore
They're Presbyterian. I still don't know what that means (nor care enough to google it). I was wearing my CHOOSE DEATH t-shirt but kept my jacket on and zipped the whole time.
Their congregation is only about 250 people, and on an average Sunday they may only have 60 people in their services.
The place was built around 1741 or so when 4? 6? other small churches folded into one. This is why they are called "First and Franklin," and are on neither of those streets. Each was the street-named church that were the principal churches that folded into this one. They have the highest steeples in Baltimore. There are stairs you can go up in each one, and they give tours on occasion.
You can rent the place for only $1500!
They only just now got air-conditioning - they used the piping holes from the prior gas lights as a conduit for the cold air. The house next door is not air conditioned but as they do weddings they've had to get some portable a/c units because often brides etc. are getting ready there. The house next door has a small kitchen - it's humble but I suspect for the facilities you couldn't touch the price.
The rest of the house and the church are gorgeous. The house has multiple curving staircases, gorgeous lighting, fireplaces, rounded doors, functional (and used!) giant rolling doors, and classic antique furniture. The only drawback is the 2nd floor has fluorescent lighting. A Vietnamese caretaker and his wife live on the 3rd floor.
They also own a few other buildings. The day-care center behind them is now closed, and they're going to make that into their offices. Oh, I met the minister and I've forgotten her name - though we talked about how they keep getting the plants removed from the steeple but new ones crop up. I've been staring at the steeple for ages full of the wish I could crawl up there and keep it in good repair. The church is gorgeous too - the ugly covered stained glass windows you see from the outside with metal grates and hazy plastic guarding material are beautiful inside - you wouldn't know there was a safety covering on the outside from the inside - and it was cloudy. They have a giant organ, grand piano, and even a harpsichord. They just has a nearly million dollar renovation of the organ, funded by donations.
The man who showed me around, and I fear I forgot his name (Terry?) was in a choir or singing group, and told me a lot about their musical presentations. They seem to interact with the Peabody a lot so for a tiny congregation they seem to have an absurd level of musical offerins.
I also saw the back room, which is also rented out (AA meets there). They just had a display where, using donated/loaned exhibit equipment from the sport's museum, they displayed their treasures/valuables that are normally kept in safes. Recently they also had a few pieces of the original AIDS quilt on display.
So that was really nifty and gorgeous. I almost want to go but it's a church...I love what I see, am not sure of their politics but they do good work (two houses of theirs are used for recovering addicts - when I noted my gf lived across the street he noted they have to be clean to live there, though I wasn't worried about that or anything), but I just have no interest in the subject matter. I want to go to their church, and the house next door, maybe even talk to more of those nice people...but I don't appreciate singing that much and don't have that god thing.
Sunday I got a tour of the church and Bachaus (sp?) house! They closed the street to celebrate their 250 year anniversary, and by celebrate they meant grill burgers (including veggie) and hotdogs for giveaway. Also present were store-bought and homemmade deserts...I partook being all opportunistic and stuff (and so did a lot of homeless). A "friend of the church" sat with me ... as I tried to sit alone but I figured recruitment was a risk I'd take for free food ... and a homeless (and toothless) man. The man with teeth told me about the church.
This church http://www.facebook.com/#!/firstfranklinbaltimore
They're Presbyterian. I still don't know what that means (nor care enough to google it). I was wearing my CHOOSE DEATH t-shirt but kept my jacket on and zipped the whole time.
Their congregation is only about 250 people, and on an average Sunday they may only have 60 people in their services.
The place was built around 1741 or so when 4? 6? other small churches folded into one. This is why they are called "First and Franklin," and are on neither of those streets. Each was the street-named church that were the principal churches that folded into this one. They have the highest steeples in Baltimore. There are stairs you can go up in each one, and they give tours on occasion.
You can rent the place for only $1500!
They only just now got air-conditioning - they used the piping holes from the prior gas lights as a conduit for the cold air. The house next door is not air conditioned but as they do weddings they've had to get some portable a/c units because often brides etc. are getting ready there. The house next door has a small kitchen - it's humble but I suspect for the facilities you couldn't touch the price.
The rest of the house and the church are gorgeous. The house has multiple curving staircases, gorgeous lighting, fireplaces, rounded doors, functional (and used!) giant rolling doors, and classic antique furniture. The only drawback is the 2nd floor has fluorescent lighting. A Vietnamese caretaker and his wife live on the 3rd floor.
They also own a few other buildings. The day-care center behind them is now closed, and they're going to make that into their offices. Oh, I met the minister and I've forgotten her name - though we talked about how they keep getting the plants removed from the steeple but new ones crop up. I've been staring at the steeple for ages full of the wish I could crawl up there and keep it in good repair. The church is gorgeous too - the ugly covered stained glass windows you see from the outside with metal grates and hazy plastic guarding material are beautiful inside - you wouldn't know there was a safety covering on the outside from the inside - and it was cloudy. They have a giant organ, grand piano, and even a harpsichord. They just has a nearly million dollar renovation of the organ, funded by donations.
The man who showed me around, and I fear I forgot his name (Terry?) was in a choir or singing group, and told me a lot about their musical presentations. They seem to interact with the Peabody a lot so for a tiny congregation they seem to have an absurd level of musical offerins.
I also saw the back room, which is also rented out (AA meets there). They just had a display where, using donated/loaned exhibit equipment from the sport's museum, they displayed their treasures/valuables that are normally kept in safes. Recently they also had a few pieces of the original AIDS quilt on display.
So that was really nifty and gorgeous. I almost want to go but it's a church...I love what I see, am not sure of their politics but they do good work (two houses of theirs are used for recovering addicts - when I noted my gf lived across the street he noted they have to be clean to live there, though I wasn't worried about that or anything), but I just have no interest in the subject matter. I want to go to their church, and the house next door, maybe even talk to more of those nice people...but I don't appreciate singing that much and don't have that god thing.