The little Church Down The Lane

Moving to the South I have always been drawn to churches that seem to be everywhere (the call it the Bible Belt for a reason). During a film project I passed a street I've gone down a number of times, and this time allowed myself to look around; and there hidden in plain sight was this little church oasis right in the middle of a busy area. As usual, click each photo for a better view. 

The church is very near the San Marco area which is a great hang out section of town, but sits back off the street so it is easy to miss as you hurry some place else. I wondered what was the history of the church because it is a quite old Craftman style structure that deserved to be preserved.

What I discovered it is that it was one of the early Episcopal churches in the area and the Rotary Club resisted the forces that wanted to tear it down. They paid to have the church transported by barge over to the current location along with the pastor's house that sits next to it.

The two sit next to each other as symbols of a bygone era of dignified simplicity. The feel you get from the location almost reminds you of New England and Sleep Hollow. Can Ichabod Crane be far behind?

The church from different views, takes you back in time. I say back in time because churches today almost appear to be in an arms race with each attempting to become bigger than the next. Here is this modest little structure that seems to have so much grace. 

Even the bell atop the structure reminds you of  an English village or an old West town. I thought the tiny bit of moss added the perfect little touch of  time long ago.

Either way, the church and it's surrounding grounds offer an island of solitude from the world rushing by just outside it's gates. You can stop and ponder what might have happened within it's walls in addition to the people who graced it's doors years ago. 

I have written before about creating relaxation islands where you can take a moment to leave the worries of the day behind. This is a perfect example of such a site and being so close to a highly traveled area makes it a great place to take your lunch and float back in time.