Surprises

Sometimes in life, like in blogging, you end up with something unexpected. And in those times when you do end up with something unexpected in life, you end up being able to blog about it because it’s just so remarkable that you have to share with the rest of the class. Such is the case this evening, so buckle up.

Now that lent and easter are over, the girls’ confirmation class is back in session on Wednesday nights, and for the next few weeks, part of their education will be to visit local churches to look at them from both an architectural but also a spiritual perspective. This trip is fortuitous, you see, because a few years ago, dad put out a book on some churches in Minnesota. In it are at least one of the churches that will be visited on the tour. (Oh, and get the book, highly recommended. I can probably even swing an autograph for you…For a fee, of course.)

Tonight, we kicked off this series with a trip to Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis.

We’d been there at least once before: Jenni had her graduation ceremony there last May, and if it weren’t Lutheran, you’d swear it was a cathedral in the fine traditions of most ornate, beautiful, and somewhat overblown Catholic edifices.

But this is a Lutheran church. Built by a bunch of norse immigrants nearly a hundred years ago. And it’s truly a beautiful place. And whether or not religion is for you, that should take a back seat to the appreciation of the beauty of such a building.

So anyway, we got the full tour, led by one of the pastors. We passed through nearly every part of the entire building, into and around the sanctuary…

And then, even up into the bell tower, which was added on just a few years ago. And yes, while we were up there, we rang some of the bells:

I don’t know what was so remarkable about the tour: just being able to see, explore, and appreciate a beautiful church, or getting more out of it than I expected. Because I don’t think I’d looked that closely at it when I’d been there before.

See you tomorrow.