A history of and visit to St. Januarius Church in the Finger Lakes village of Naples near Canandaigua Lake. by Chris Clemens In 1779, German settlers came to the Finger Lakes area bringing with them the expertise of grape growing and winemaking. They formed a small town known as “Watkinstown” named after a Revolutionary War […]
A visit and history of Our Lady of Fatima Shrine and Basilica near Niagara Falls. by Chris Clemens On May 13, 1917 in the small town of Fatima, Portugal, three shepherd children witnessed the Blessed Virgin Mary as an apparition. They saw her again on June 13th and July 13th in the same place. The […]
A story about visiting the White Lotus Buddhist Center in Rochester, New York by Chris Clemens At 815 Park Ave in Rochester the Immanuel Baptist Church blends itself into the residential historic neighborhood. The towering Tudor Revival style church earned a spot on the national registry in 2002. When you first step into the church, […]
A history and visit to Temple B’rith Kodesh in Brighton by Chris Clemens Temple B’rith Kodesh was founded here in Rochester in 1848 by 12 immigrants. It was the first Jewish congregation in the area. At its inception, it was an Orthodox group that met in a home. Following a split in Judaism that began […]
A visit to the Rochester Quakers to learn about the local Religious Society of Friends. by Chris Clemens I’m not an expert on any religion. With no experience in sharing stories about learning about religion, I’m winging it. What you’re getting is an account of me figuring it out as I go along. Furthermore, this […]