Category: Churches

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 19, 2024

This was a beautiful church overlooking Sedona was inspired by a local rancher and was built on Coconino National Forest land and completed in 1956. The church sits high on a hill overlooking Sedona. A curved road spirals up the hillside to the entrance. The view of the valley, the city and the surrounding red rock formations from the church is awesome (Photo#5). In the distance, one rock formation depicts praying hands, and another rock formation depicts Madonna & Baby (Photo#4). On display inside the church are relics (often bone fragments) of the Twelve Apostles and Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas. Behind the alter is a magnificent sculpture of The Living Christ crucified upon the Tree of Life. The church is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Seating and mass are limited at this church, so we ended up that evening attending the very small St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Camp Verde. We were asked to carry up the offering. Afterwards, the priest said we were good Ohioans. 

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 12, 2024

We attended mass at this beautiful church and felt very welcome. At the end of mass, the priest called up any travelers. We were two of six people from other states. We received a special blessing, a gift rosary cross, and many parishioners came up afterwards to greet us. Great hospitality.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 5, 2024

We attended mass here. This church had beautiful stained-glass scenes of Jesus ministry and outside was a beautiful bell tower in the courtyard.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 6, 2024

Sitting atop Mount Adams on Guido Street, this limestone church constructed by stone quarried from the slopes, gives a spectacular panoramic view of downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River. The church was built in 1859. It is small but has seven beautiful paintings by Johann Schmitt which hang over the main altar and side altars. The church has the nickname, “Church of the Steps”, for its 96 steps leading up to its entrance. It is known for its Good Friday Pilgrimage in which parishioners say prayers on each step until they reach the summit. We began at the church to walk behind Jesus 1.6 miles downtown to the Cathedral Basilica, this was part of the National Eucharistic Procession going across the country to Indianapolis.  

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: February 10, 2024

Called “America’s Nore Dame”, this was the most beautiful church that I have ever seen. We attended mass and then stayed and took photos. Built from 1894 to 19012, the Belgian born priest designed the church from his memories of visiting the beautiful European cathedrals. The craftsmanship of the woodworking, metal and stained-glass windows are fantastic. In the north Overall, the church has 82 neo-renaissance windows handmade in Germany. The church has the SECOND LARGEST STAINED-GLASS WINDOW in the WORLD and the LARGEST in the WESTERN HEMISPHERE (Photo #2). It is in the north transept area and is 67 feet high and 24 feet wide telling the story of the council affirming the humanity and divinity of Jesus. Everywhere we turned were beautiful paintings, and colorful stained-glass telling a biblical story.  The huge pipe organ has 3,863 pipes. I was truly in awe of the beauty of this cathedral, and it set the mood for a great inspirational mass.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller

Date: January 3, 2024

In front of the Catholic Cathedral was one of the best life-size nativity scenes I have ever seen. The first scene was Joseph and Mary on their Journey to Bethlehem followed by the Nativity Scene of the birth of Jesus.  The third scene was the three wise men arriving by camel.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Tracy Harpster, Mary Grace

Date: August 23, 2023

This is supposedly the second largest crucifix in America and is unique as Jesus is not wearing the crown of thorns on his head. The cross is carved from a single redwood tree in 1953 and is 55 feet tall. The crucifix with Jesus was completed in 1959 and is 28 feet tall. It is also called the “The Cross in the Woods” or “The Crucifix in the Woods”. The nearby Catholic church has outdoor seating in front of the cross or indoor seating with an entire wall of the church made of glass so that mass can be held, and the parishioners can look outside and see the crucifix. We look forward to returning to attend Catholic Mass here and see the Nun Doll Museum which occupies one wing of the building. As we approached the giant crucifix at night, it was foggy and misty, and you could see the reflection of the crucifix in the fog/clouds behind the cross. It was a very astounding and spiritual experience.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Jacque Miller, Matt Miller, Holly Miller, Shane Miller

Date: October 8, 1997

On December 17, 1996, colorful rainbow swirls appeared on a window of the bank Seminole Finance Corp. The 60-foot tall and 20-foot-wide image appeared to be the Virgin Mary (later called “Our Lady of Clearwater”). The building, just off Highway 19, was a couple miles from my father’s house. Due to the popularity of the image, the road and intersection became very congested. People came, took photos, and prayed. My family visited in October 1997. Chairs had been placed for pilgrims to sit and pray. The media estimated that 600,000 visited the site in the first couple of years. Sadly, in 2004 a vandal with a slingshot shattered the glass.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: November 1, 1986, November 1990, May 6, 2009

We first visited this National Historic Landmark church the day before we ran the 1986 New York City Marathon. The church, the cemetery and green space looked so surreal and out of place, suddenly appearing from the surrounding skyscrapers. I was not allowed to take photos inside the church, but the architecture and stained-glass windows were exquisite. Outside you can see the bizarre trees, and adjacent to the church was the Trinity Courtyard. Buried on the grounds are Alexander Hamilton, many early pioneers, and important New Yorkers.

As for the church’s history, this episcopal church located at an important site during the American Revolution, is tucked in by the giant skyscrapers of the Manhattan Financial District at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway. It is opposite the US Federal Reserve Building and the New York Stock Exchange. The church was built in 1846 and was the tallest building in the USA until 1869.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 4, 2022

A few miles before entering Mt. Ranier National Park was this 18 x 24-foot tiny Lutheran Church built in 1906 and is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. The letters on the front of the church are for its German heritage. Forged by the town’s first blacksmith, a four-foot steel cross stands atop the 46-foot steeple. The church still has its original alter, elevated pulpit and one hand-carved pew. Services are still held on one Sunday per month and the church is also used for weddings. Ripley’s Believe It or Not lists it as the world’s smallest “functional” church. Nearby was a bunch of railroad cars converted for overnight sleeping and a couple were turned into a pizza restaurant.