Stories told through Churches

By Maci

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One thing I have learned on this trip is how the artwork that is placed in churches is there for a reason. This might sound obvious; however, this is something I had never really thought about. My church at home does not compare to any of the churches we have seen here. One thing I have said about every church we have walked in to is that it seems as if you can spend a lot of time in there and still not see everything. In comparison, my church has little artwork and blank walls. As we’ve been walking around, I have really enjoyed learning the stories told by all of the art and it got me thinking about why art is such a prominent feature in these older churches. Nowadays, we read everything that we want to know about. If we need to know more, Google is at the palm of our hand ready to tell us. When these churches were originally built, reading was not an option for everyone. This artwork was essential for their understanding of religion and still serves us today as a great reminder of history. When I enter the churches, I like to remember that this was all most people had to understand religion and how it was still enough for them.