Festival of Homiletics: Views of Wednesday

Wednesday I was able to spend a good portion of time walking around downtown Nashville.  The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to see the Capitol building.


I also passed by the other churches that were involved in the Festival of Homiletics.  It ended up that all the events I attended were at First Baptist, so I didn't get to see inside these churches.  But they are all within a short walk of one another, so it made for a nice loop to walk from First Baptist when I headed back to the hotel in the afternoon. 

This is Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in downtown Nashville. 

This is First Baptist's steeple from the top of the hill on 7th street.  Nashville's downtown is very hilly, and First Baptist is basically at the crest of the hill. 

Therefore the recent flooding didn't affect the buildings we were using.  The river flooded into 2nd street and our Hotel was on 4th Street.  We saw very little evidence of damage, because we were on the high end of downtown.  We hear stories from the locals about how high the water had come and how quickly the river rose.  They had something like 15-17 inches in two days time, and our shuttle driver said it was the hardest continual rain he had ever seen.






From the Red Doors you might guess this is First Lutheran Church (or you are really observant and see the name carved above the door).  It was right across the block from First Baptist. 















These are the front steps and front door for First Presbyterian Church.  It and McKendree United Methodist were on Church Street. They were about a block up from my hotel.  Both front facades are neo-classical in design.  I forgot to take a photo of the UMC building. 













Inside First Baptist they had all types of art in the hallways.  This was a painting that was near the offices where I sat to check email one day.  It's of a Post-Resurrection picnic.  I love the basket with bread, the chalice cup, and an apple (or pomegranate) that appear on the picnic table.  It's clear that it is Christ by the stigmata (nail hole) on his hand.  Though he's painted a little to racially white to be a Middle Eastern Jew (I'll stay off this soapbox for now), I do like the mystery of the image.  It is as if the viewer is being invited to dine at the table with Christ.  Christ bids us come to the table and feast...