Visited St Anne's Art and Cultural Center in Woonsocket, RI yesterday. Beautiful and sad.

My wife and I went to a mystery auction that took place at a church in Woonsocket, RI. If anyone is wondering what a "mystery" auction is. It simply means they had wrapped gifts they were auctioning off to raise money. They had announcers that would give hints as to what was inside each package, and people would bid on each one based on how interested the hints made them. The event itself although felt like it went on for a longer time then expected, turned out to be a good evening.
Although the auction was the main event of the evening. It was not what moved me as much as the place it took place. We were in the basement of St Anne's Art and Cultural Center in Woonsocket, RI. When we arrived we were offered a tour of the church from our friend that had invited us and was hosting the event. When we took the elevator to the main church floor. It was like we stepped into a scene from " The Divinci Code"! This church was absolutely amazing! And I only wish I had taken pictures of the "high painted ceilings, architecture, and statues!

Now I am not a religious man to be honest. But I can say I am a spiritual person. When I was a child I can remember joining my grandmother for Sunday morning masses. And I remember being in awe over the look of the insides of the church we would be in. But this one was far more amazing then any other I had ever been in! And the sad thing about the visit was finding out that the reason we were there was to help raise money simply to help pay for heating the church. You see, this was one of the churches that was closed when the controversy came out about other churches and the abuses going on within them. From what I understand this particular church was not part of that mess. But due to funding issues as a result of it, this church was forced to close by the Diocese.

So the remaining members of the church have come together to do what ever they can to raise money to continue to simply "keep the heat on". Because if this church was left to sit and freeze over, then all the beautiful artwork would eventually be destroyed. Now I understand the issues that arose with the churches and the shady practices that they did. But its sad to see things of beauty like this church simply go to waste, simply because it became a casualty of circumstances. So to this I say BRAVO to those willing to step forward and preserve a place like this.

I only wish I has taken pictures to show this place I had a chance to see. Because sadly it may one day no longer be there to be seen and admired.