{"id":236,"date":"2013-12-08T19:23:23","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T01:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/decidedlygrim.net\/forlorn\/?p=236"},"modified":"2014-03-21T19:07:48","modified_gmt":"2014-03-22T00:07:48","slug":"a-forlorn-baptist-church-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decidedlygrim.net\/forlorn\/?p=236","title":{"rendered":"A Forlorn Baptist Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date of Visit: September 2, 2011<\/p>\n

As America becomes less and less religious, more and more churches become abandoned. \u00a0And there’s only so much you can do to reuse a church. \u00a0If it’s small, you could turn it into a residence. \u00a0(Who wouldn’t want to live in a converted church?) \u00a0If it’s in a trendy hood, you can convert it into condos. \u00a0Maybe you can turn it into a theater? \u00a0But it’s more likely for a theater to become a church.<\/p>\n

So most of the time, these buildings just sit and rot until they’re beyond repair and then they’re demolished. \u00a0And it’s a strange feeling when you walk into an abandoned church. \u00a0As you look at the rows of pews, many of which have the names of honored people from the past still etched upon them, and sift through the debris, which is often filled with notices of bake sales and weddings and funerals and holidays, it’s like an entire community has just disappeared. \u00a0You can feel their ghosts gazing up at you as you stand upon the stage.<\/p>\n

This particular church – the first abandoned church I ever photographed – is in Illinois. \u00a0It was built in 1904 as a Christian Science Church and was later used as baptist church before it closed around the year 2000. \u00a0It’s an eerie place, and I love it very much. \u00a0But I doubt it will be saved.<\/p>\n

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