Contemplation

Written by Karen.

Although you don't need to enter into a building to find a place for quiet contemplation, tiny churches seem to always have a special intimacy and a natural coziness that is appealing to me.  It's like unwrapping the tin foil from a piece of chocolate. It's pretty outside, but what is inside is even better!  

Maybe it is the smaller size that makes these tiny places seem more approachable and intimate.  Rarely do you see grand gold or ornate stone sculptures whose glitter and immense size dominates these tiny spaces. Instead when I walk inside a tiny church or chapel, I know that I will find simple beauty that simply is what it is: a place for quiet contemplation.

I have found two such tiny and unimposing churches on our road trip thus far: both of them in Colorado.  

The tiny community church of Virginia Dale was established in 1880.  It can't be bigger than thirty feet squared, but the simple details and the full views of the hills from the handmade wooden pews with the tiny wood burning stove centered to provide even distribution of heat give it a sense of unintimidating substance that made you want to linger.  

We found the other tiny church outside of Estes Park.  We were meandering through a mountain highway on our way to Colorado Springs.  We saw through the pine trees what looked like a small stone castle up ahead and pulled off to investigate.  The Chapel on the Rock, or Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel was established in 1935.  It is quiet and cool and the stained glass windows adds dappled color to the stone interior. It also provides an opportunity for quiet contemplation within its simple - and tiny - walls.