St. James sits among a variety of old and intensely interesting communities that dot the north shore of Long Island, many of which date to the mid-1600s. After being named in the mid-1800s, it quickly became one of the hot spots that stars of the American vaudeville stage made their own. Built beside the homes of farmers and millers were hotels, a casino, and the mansions of the rich and famous, giving the community a fascination all its own--a fascination that is clearly captured in the pages of St. James.
James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church opens fresh ground in our understanding of Christian origins through an exploration of the role of James in the founding of the church. Based on the author's doctoral research, that first Christian church, with its roots in the Baptist movement, is shown to be part of the broad contemporary Judaic movement for the restoration of Israel. The events surrounding the death of Jesus (their leader's brother) both confirmed their commitment to Judaic reform and transformed their understanding of it. Despite the impact of that experience, they seem to have had neither knowledge nor interest in the teaching and ministry of Jesus in Galilee. Set in the world of James, this careful study of the difficulties and opportunities facing Judaic peasants in first-century Palestine proposes that James and his other brothers moved to Jerusalem (where work was available) several years before the final visit of Jesus and, under James's leadership, became the kernel of a growing group of followers of the Baptist that would later emerge onto the page of history as the Jerusalem Church.
A pictorial history of the African American United Methodist Church in Missouri. Traces the development of churches from the 1840s to the current date. Includes a description of the 35 churches still open and those churches now closed or those which were only in existence for a brief period of time. Finally, there is a description of the now defunct Central West Conference.
The story of historic churches in Texas is the story of the Anglo-American and European immigrants in Texas. It is the story of the struggle of three cultures trying to coexist in an empty and often hostile land: the Native Americans, the Mexicans, and the immigrants. It is the story of circuit-riding preachers tirelessly, clandestinely crisscrossing Texas, bringing the Protestant word of God to the people in a land where, prior to Texas's independence, only Catholicism was legal. It is the story of a people who successfully fought and won their independence to build a nation. It is the story of Texas. Over the past ten years, my wife and I have visited and photographed almost one thousand historic churches in Texas. We have seen stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, listened to the rich tones of Texas's largest organ, and prayed in the smallest active Catholic Church in the world. We visited the oldest Polish church in the United States in Panna Maria, lingered with spirits in an abandoned church in Nacogdoches, and were dazzled by the bright colors and designs found in the Catholic Cathedral in Beaumont. In Berlin, we held a silver communion cup donated to the church in 1889, and in San Antonio we touched the sarcophagus where the remains of Alamo heroes William Travis, David Crockett, and James Bowie are said to be kept. The photographs and text, which was jointly written by William and Mary Pamela Schaefer, are attempts to capture the important history and the quiet beauty of the 186 historic Texas churches presented in this book.
In this book, the author catalogues 375 black congregations, each at least one hundred years old, in the parts of Texas where most blacks were likely to have settled -- east of Interstate Highway 35 and from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico. Ninety-nine counties are divided into five regions: Central Texas, East Texas, the Gulf Coast, North Texas, and South Texas.
Among the 12 disciples of Jesus, perhaps none has inspired more magnificent art--as well as political upheaval--than Saint James the Greater. Portrayed in the New Testament as part of Jesus' inner circle, he was the first apostle to be martyred. Eight centuries later, Saint James, or Santiago, became the de facto patron saint of Spain, believed to be a supernatural warrior who led the victorious Christian armies during the Iberian Reconquista. After 1492, the Santiago cult found its way to the New World, where it continued to exert influence. Today, he remains the patron saint of pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. His legacy has bequeathed a magnificent tradition of Western art over nearly two millennia.
