Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
‘Queen’s River Baptist Church’
(landscape orientation)
A simple, single-story church. The steeple that doesn’t show in the photo is as simple a design as the rest of the structure. If I knew more about religions (in particular this sect of Baptist) I might venture that the attitude reflected in the architecture is surely ‘right attitude’, (as my Buddhist friends might opine’).
Like they say, ‘A church is not a physical ladder to Heaven and it is surely not a invitation to come visit. Those that spend 100 years of time, empty the coffers of the poor and twist the lives of the families of the devout are no different than the psychotically-vain pharaohs of antiquity, building towering stone cathedrals. Like a desperate host going overboard in the gilt and pressed lettering of the RSVP, some religions appear to hope that, by appearing to be more than they are, the God they insist holds dominion over all will be impressed and attend. And, of course, guess who expects to be standing at the door to greet the guest of honor. (Sorry, Kerry, got even more carried away than normal with my ‘descriptions’.)
A Simple, peeling-white-paint church in the middle a field set on the edge of a modern paved highway.
Section 1 The photo here is illustrative of:
- My gratitude for the blogosphere and them what inhabit it, in this case Pat Brockett
- (On the Finish the Sentence Friday this week), she used a couple of old timey photos* which, naturally, caused me to go all clarklike on the topic and in my comment, (eventually), raised the idea of the relativism seen in photos of the past, specifically in terms of where we build our houses and churches. The church in the photo is on Route 138 in West Kingston RI (Actually, it’s in a section of West Kingston called Usequepaug**)
- My work that allows to me to drive around a lot and a) know that this church was where it was, all right there on the highway and such; 2) be able to take a side trip to get myself a photo to make my point and the technology to share it with the mass-ettes. Total Grat.
Section 2 Of the virtual world, both real and imagined:
- Over to the Finish the Sentence Friday bloghop this week, I got to tell an Ola story. What causes this seemingly mundane event to make this list is all about how I felt when I told the story, not typed in the post, but out loud to two other people.
- Six Sentence Story was fun this week. Haven’t tried it? What the hell! Head right over there and check it out. All three administrae are represented in the stories to be read. Josie and zoe and (current) Denise. Tell a friend too. (No, better yet, trick someone you’re not overly fond of into committing to writing a Six. Total, no-lose-proposition there.. lol they’ll either love you or hate ‘cha. Its a fun ‘hop)
- Speaking of Josie Two Shoes, she-who-makes-this-TToT-possible/available…. thanks!
Section 3 Una, Phyllis
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‘Una watches as a turkey walks up the driveway to catch up to his/her two friends. Seemingly oblivious to the protests of the Chodský pes standing guard on the back of the loveseat at the picture window.’
-
‘Phyllis at her computer.*’
She wants me to tell you that those are the new flowers she bought for Easter.
9) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE (no, really, it is. If you need a hand over-coming the inertia of not-posting a TToT, put that little darling in a comment and I’ll post it here.) Friend-of-the-Doctrine, Cynthia ‘has the floor’:
I have a thankful! That phone interview lasted three times longer than it was supposed to, but I got an offer of acceptance to the McLean Meditation Institute to become certified to teach meditation. Me iz happy! :) I start as soon as I fill out the enrollment papers. I usually call the Doctrine around the middle of the month but alas, the interview time went into Doctrine time. Not sure if I’ll be able to call next week. It’s another ROAD TRIP! :) Going to see family in AZ, NM and CO. Along the way, some sights and sounds. Will post pics! Hope you’ve been well. Tell Phyllis her flowers are gorgeous, and tell Una she won’t ever catch the turkeys but they *do* love to be watched, so she should keep doing that. lol. Also, interesting description of the church up there. LOL. Great thoughts. Happy Sunday!
10) Secret Rule 1.3 (which states, in part, “the completion of a Grat List is, in and of itself, a valid Grat (Item); [mathematically speaking, it might best be expressed: G t minus Item 1-9 = ~ !0
* highly technical photography term, ya know
** The Usquepaug Road Historic District is a historic district near the village of Usquepaug in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. It consists of a collection of properties, mostly on the south side of Usequepaug Road (Rhode Island Route 138) between the Usquepaug Cemetery and Dugway Bridge Road. Although the area began as a rural, agricultural area, it developed into a modest rural village, with a church, school, and cluster of vernacular rural houses. The schoolhouse was destroyed in the New England Hurricane of 1938. (Wikipedia)
Thanks Val! (for the commentversation that totally reminded me of this vid)
About clarkscottroger
Frist! Gotz a phone interview, so I’ll be back!
si
Well, I like the organization of the post today. You know, that old, paint peeling, sacred vessel of simplicity has a loveliness that speaks of days gone by. I wonder if those days were really as simple and as pastoral as portrayed in the annuls of literary works and television. Perhaps the avarice, gluttony, infidelity, etc of humanity hides, at least one day of the week, to attend the righteous ceremony. The whole message is to take the good outside and share it with the world.
Agree with you on what the message should be. I, for one, am too cynical to believe that the simplicity in architecture necessarily reflected the attitude of the people. People are people.* Whether the simplicity of the church’s design was a mere byproduct of the lack of resources or (indulging in optimism) it was a reflection of a growing recognition that we are the church, each of us individually and alone, sufficient to qualify as a house of worship.
ya know?
now I don’t know early nothin about them Baptists, except (and thereby supporting my assertion) some of thems gots great music. Lets add a vid from my favorite gospel singer, Fred Hammond.
* but fortunately for us, we also know that people are clarks, scotts and rogers! lol
**Space available for number 9? Love it! I have a thankful! That phone interview lasted three times longer than it was supposed to, but I got an offer of acceptance to the McLean Meditation Institute to become certified to teach meditation. Me iz happy! :) I start as soon as I fill out the enrollment papers. I usually call the Doctrine around the middle of the month but alas, the interview time went into Doctrine time. Not sure if I’ll be able to call next week. It’s another ROAD TRIP! :) Going to see family in AZ, NM and CO. Along the way, some sights and sounds. Will post pics! Hope you’ve been well. Tell Phyllis her flowers are gorgeous, and tell Una she won’t ever catch the turkeys but the *do* love to be watched, so she should keep doing that. lol. Also, interesting description of the church up there. LOL. Great thoughts. Happy Sunday!
(How cool?)*
We’ll be standing by for reports from the frontier. Nicely done, yo.
Will tell Phyllis (and Una).
* very, cool
Have to say, I agree 100% with you on #1. It might seem I’m biased because I’m her daughter, but she is one of those people that everyone likes!
Phyllis’ flowers are beautiful, and I can practically smell them through the computer! :-)
lol well, there is that.
I will relay your impression of the flowers (more feedback through the internet than in ‘real’ life).
Different TToT today. Nice bit of smashup as the kids used to say.
Joe, playing guitar? Check it out at 55 seconds. Anybody else notice there’s only 4 strings on his guitar? On purpose? :D Guess it could be!
Thanks for the Fred vid!
P.S. Thanks for the shout out to the Six Sentence Story! It is fun!!
Thanks for the shoutout in #1.
The photo of the church makes me wonder if there used to be just a dirt path leading to it instead of a much narrower road. If the road gets widened any further, they will need to move the building.
Does Una ever chase the turkeys, or are they just old friends?
I think I need to learn how to say Usquepaug—I’m not sure why, other than it would give me one more thing to forget. :-)
Easter lilies used to show up inside our house yearly, but finely I had to put a stop to that. With my added years, their sweet scent decided, “Let’s give her headaches.”
I’m clapping my hands!!! What an energizing song.
Entirely welcome. The conversation, both in my head and in comments, was fun. Interesting how very simple things can change, in this case, the perception of placing a house (or a Church) very close to the road, as opposed to having a lawn or otherwise being ‘private’ can change. It (this difference) leads to an better understanding of everyday life in each respective times. Your photo showing the family outside the house and the house seemingly right up next to the cornfield was what got me started. For our part of the country, it seems that in the past people preferred to be as close to the ‘modern’ conveniences of life as possible.
‘us kah pog’ (or alternately) ‘use kah pog’
Would not want to see Una get too close to the turkeys. Not a particularly friendly bunch of animals and most are bigger than she is!
Yeah, Fred is one of our favorites.
Nice list of thankfuls. Una must enjoy seeing wildlife. I had a turkey play chicken in the road the other day. Have a nice week!
lol (‘why did the turkey cross the road….’)
Thanks for that Clark. I must say, I so enjoy your first landscape explanation, as you explained the church in the photo in that most interesting of ways. I could follow it well. Glad there was something standing in between your pup and those other guys, the wild ones, oblivious to domestic family members and their value to their humans.
Flowers at Easter. Nothing better.
cool
(’cause the real fun of this writing thing is (for me) to be comfortable …whatever (well, it has to have something to do with a topic… mostly) lol
yeah, I wouldn’t get too near them things without a car around me or something