
Church at Sanctuario, 1950’s
Chimayo, New Mexico
Scanned Vintage Postcard
Karen Rivera
This vintage postcard of Sanctuario left me stunned. I’ve shot hundreds of photographs of the church but I never saw it as a real small Northern New Mexican town chuch like those scattered all over the state until I found this postcard.
November 16, 2010 | Categories: Adobe Churches, Art, Cemetery Crosses, Chimayo, Churches, Community, Cross of the Day, Crosses, CrossoftheDay, Descansos, Folk Art, Graveyard Crosses, Hand Carved Crosses, Historic Churches, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Mountain Churches, New Mexico, Northern New Mexico, Patron Saints, Religious Art, Rustic Crosses, Saints, Saints and Martyers, Sanctuario, Santa Fe, Santos, Shrine, Spirituality, Stone Churches | Tags: Adobe Casas, Adobe Churches, Architectural Detail, Art, Artists, Black Iron, Blue Doors, Chimayo, Churches, Georgia okeefe country, Graveyards, Hand Carved, Hand Crafted, Hand Painted, High Road to Taos, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Mission Churches, New Mexico, New Mexico Photography, Northern New Mexico, Nuestra Senora, Patron Saints, Photography, Religious Art, Road Trips, Saints and Martyrs, Sanctuario, Santos, Scenic View, Shrine, St. Francis de Assisi, Stonework, Village Churches, Vintage Photographs, Wayside Attraction | Leave a comment

Punta de Agua
Highway 55, Southern New Mexico
Karen Rivera
The small villages along Highway 55 have always held a special place in my hard-scrabble New Mexican heart. Using the few resources available in the barren, harsh acres early settlers recycled the ever-present rocks into homes, walls, and churches.
In Punta de Agua, the rough-cut stone San Antonio Church stands as a monument to an earlier example of sustainable and green building.
If you’d like to walk through Punta de Agua at street level, click here to go to Google Maps, then click satellite.
November 16, 2010 | Categories: Adobe Churches, Art, Cemetery Crosses, Churches, Community, Cross of the Day, Crosses, CrossoftheDay, Graveyard Crosses, Hand Carved Crosses, Historic Churches, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Mission Churches, Mountain Churches, New Mexico, Northern New Mexico, Patron Saints, Rustic Crosses, Saints and Martyers, Santos, Southern New Mexico, Spirituality, Stone Churches, Traditional Crosses | Tags: Architectural Detail, Blue Doors, Churches, Classic Churches, Classic Mountains, Classics, Cross of the Day, Crosses, Hand Carved, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Manzano, Mission Churches, Mountainair, New Mexico, New Mexico Photography, Outdoor Photography, Patron Saints, Photography, Religious Art, Road Signs, Road Trips, Saints and Martyrs, San Antonio, Santos, Scenic View, Stone Churches, Village Churches, Wayside Attraction | Leave a comment

- Church at San Ysidro, New Mexico
Old Adobe Church
San Ysidro, New Mexico
Karen Rivera Spring 2010
The village of San Ysidro, originally a farming settlement, was named after Saint Isidore the Farmer in 1699. San Ysidro holds an annual Fiesta in his honor each year in mid-May.
November 16, 2010 | Categories: Adobe Churches, Architectural Crosses, Art, Churches, Community, Cross of the Day, Crosses, CrossoftheDay, Hand Carved Crosses, Hand Painted, Historic Churches, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Mission Churches, Mountain Churches, New Mexico, Northern New Mexico, Patron Saints, Rustic Crosses, Sandoval County, Spirituality | Tags: Adobe Casas, Adobe Churches, Architectural Detail, Black Iron, Churches, Cross of the Day, Crosses, Folk Art, Georgia okeefe country, Hand Carved, Hand Painted, Inspirational Photography, Jemez Springs, Karen Rivera, Mission Churches, New Mexico, Religious Art, Road Trips, Saint Isidore, Saints and Martyrs, San Ysidro, Sandoval County, Santos, Scenic View, Shrine, Stone Churches, Stonework, Village Churches, Wayside Attraction | Leave a comment

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church with Trolley
Jacksonville, Oregon
Karen Rivera 2009
One of the most charming reasons to live in a small town is hearing the Sunday Services down the street from my house. Even though I have to leave, I never thought the historic Church would. It’s been there since 1858 but it’s being closed and probably put up for sale. To say my community is stunned is an understatement.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville in Southern Oregon was the first Catholic Church built in Oregon. I’ve watched as the parishioners paid for a new heating system, painted the outside, installed new carpet and wallpaper, upgraded the doors and windows and refinished the pews without help from the diocese. Volunteers mow the lawn, rake the leaves and set-up the Sunday picnic benches. Their meticulous yard work makes me wince when I see my front yard. Apparently, self-maintenance and donating a cash collection every week in exchange for a monthly 4 hours of Masses wasn’t enough to keep the doors open for the 100 or so members.
This is a comitted group of people who have been taking care of each other since 1956. It’s not just a building that’s going to be lost.
November 16, 2010 | Categories: Art, Churches, Community, Cross of the Day, Crosses, CrossoftheDay, Historic Churches, Inspirational Photography, Karen Rivera, Mountain Churches, Oregon, Spirituality, St. Joseph | Tags: 1858 Churches, Architectural Detail, Church, Churches, First Catholic Church, Historic, Historic Church, Historic Churches, Historic Register, Historic Restoration, Inspirational Photography, Jacksonville, Karen Rivera, Old Churches, Oregon, Religious Art, Road Trip, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Village Churches | Leave a comment