Common Prayer

In June of 2003, I began photographing small, predominantly rural churches in Atlantic Canada. I was not particularly interested in the denomination of the churches, but began the project because I was drawn to their highly unique form of architecture. These were not churches that were constructed as an emblem of the glory of God on earth, but as a place to gather and prey. I find this aspect of faith- and love-driven utility makes for a truly interesting building style, which is to say, no particular building style whatsoever.

I suspect that rural churches in Eastern Canada are some of the most individual buildings in the country for two reasons. Firstly, because of the small congregations at any given church, designs will not be tied up by bureaucracy and committees. Secondly, that because of the limited amount of available funds, the churches will be constructed from whatever is available and whatever is cheap.

At first the project was about individuality—peculiar details that made the churches stand out, such as a cross made from plumbing pipe, astroturf steps, hand-painted signs, missing shingles, peculiar window placements. As the body of work began to grow however, some patterns began to emerge; that, despite the highly unique nature of the buildings, there were certain aspects which began repeating, whether it was the general shape of the church, or that several of them all had hand-painted signs. Over time, various typologies became apparent, and as a result, I became interested in the tension that arose between similarity and individuality. That within a general architectural style, interesting details manifest themselves. When the structures are considered in sub-groupings of similar styles, the individual details become that much more apparent, and make obvious these special styles which sadly, are disappearing as the churches are abandoned, turned into seniors’ clubs, sold as residential homes, or destroyed.