Many moons without a post (as perhaps evidenced by the snow in these pics). Here's a good one, accompanied by a pretty great story. This is Christ the King Catholic Church on West Maple, church home to many of my friends. At the time of its construction, a circular cathedral, with everyone facing a central altar, was a pretty radical idea, or so I'm told by Catholic friends. I love the details on this building. It looks like a crown, but not in a way that is so obvious that it strikes you immediately. Both the interior and exterior have little nooks that make you feel like you've discovered a secret place when you find them. At the same time, the interior is very open; there is hardly a place in the building from which the altar cannot be seen. I've actually been in a wedding party in this church, though, and the lack of a center aisle leads to some crowd confusion.
Anyway, the story: You'll notice the statue in front of the back door of the church. A friend tells me that the statue was placed there because of an incident in which a drunk parishioner, angry at having been refused confession in his altered mental status, drove his car through the double doors all the way down the aisle, only stopping when he hit the altar. No one was hurt, apparently, and amazingly, services continued to be held through the repair. But the priest in charge of the parish at that time asked that the statue be placed in front of the doors to discourage such outbursts in the future. Mission accomplished, as far as I can tell.
