Sacred Sites: Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church in Albany, New York

 Eric and I drove to Albany to visit churches that are participating in the Sacred Sites Open House.

Our first stop was St. Andrew's

Episcopal Church on

  Western Avenue.

The design on the lawn is a Meditative Labyrinth.  While walking the complex pattern to the center a person's mind quiets while focusing on the path ahead.  It is said that walking a Meditative Labyrinth brings the  person "back to center."

Built in 1930, St. Andrew's
congregants are actively
involved in their church
& the their community.










This church, built in the Tudor Gothic Style, was inspired by Saint Alban's Cathedral in England.  In 2005, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Displays were created to

provide information

about Saint Andrew's

 & its history.

Our hosts gave me a bag with brochures about St. Andrew's services to congregants and community activities.

This church has individual

kneeling pads, not the folding

pew kneeler that runs the 

length of the pew.

As Eric and I walk through

the Nave towards the Altar,

I admire the stained glass

windows. 

The windows in the Nave are
memorials to deceased
church members.






There are thirty-two stained glass windows in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.  They were created by the Burnham Company of Boston in the medieval style.  Windows show the history of the Christian faith and the history of the Church of England.

Little has changed in the

church since it was built

86 years ago.

An intimate prayer area
adjacent to the
grand piano.

The Sanctuary &

Altar

The stained glass window above the Altar depicts Christ holding a book with the letters, Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  Jesus is flanked by Saint Andrew and Saint Peter.  

The Pipe Organ's pipes
decorate the wall on
the left.

The Pulpit looms above
the chairs below.

The Choir sits in the front

of the church & sings

during services.

Looking back to the
entrance of
St. Andrew's.

Organ pipes project from

the wall beneath this

ornately beautiful

window. 

I walked past Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church often when I attended the College of Saint Rose, just a few blocks down on Western Avenue.  The Sacred Sites Open House is a lovely way to explore Albany, the city I spent a lot of time in from early youth through my twenties.  There is much more architecture to be examine, admire and photograph in this historic city.