FSO - Places of Worship

The theme for April 15th is Temples, Churches, Synagogues, Houses of Prayer.

Synagogues – I’m reasonably sure there is no synagogue in the north although I found a reference on the net to “about 100” Jews living in the area in December, 2000.   

But we do have a temple.  Jam Tse Dhargyey Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre sits high on a hill just north of Whangarei with panoramic views over the city and beyond.  

The 'stupa' from below

from above, a small shrine and the ‘stupa’ with the monks’ pizza oven a little to the left (seems to me that these monks have a sense of humour).

(You can see how changeable the autumn weather is by the difference in the sky in just a few minutes)

Anyone who has been visiting my blog for a while knows that I love the humble little wooden churches of the north of New Zealand where I live.  Sometimes they appear in a paddock beside a back road, looking sad and neglected.  There's something about their simplicity that I love, often it's a nice addition to the simpleness of their rural surroundings. 

I am constantly touched by their humble plainness, by the quietness, the stillness of their plain and simple interiors.  Sometimes a perfectly ordinary exterior reveals magnificent native timbers inside.  Of all the altars I’ve seen this, made from kauri I think, is the loveliest.  

 And, quite often, there is a wonderful mix of the European and Maori cultures:

I have chosen St Barnabas at Peria as an example of these humble little churches.  Last time I visited, it looked very sad indeed but inside we found two dedicated parishioners taking down the curtains behind the altar after its recent de-consecration in preparation for a ‘make over”.


To see lots of places or prayer from other parts of the world, just pop over here.