Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sky Watch Friday






















St. Peter's By the Sea Episcopal Church, in Cape May Point, NJ. is a tiny wooden church, b
uilt in 1876, often called "The Gingerbread Church". Originally it was located a bit farther to the west, but was moved back from the shore and the encroaching sea. Today it stands on the corner of Harvard Avenue and South Lake Drive, across the street from the dunes which protect it from the water.




Many years ago, my great-grandfather, the Reverend John Kemper Murphy, (b.1827 d.1900) preached in this church whenever he brought his family from Philadelphia to Cape May Point for summer vacation. That was my family's first connection with Cape May County.


While I have never attended this church, I have a sentimental attachment to it, and think it is a lovely little building. The gardens surrounding it are also very pretty, and attract many butterflies. In early October, during the migration of the monarch butterflies, it is a very popular spot for photographers.




This is the view of St. Peter's from the foot of the path that crosses the dunes, to the water. As you can see, it is very near. When the butterfly migration starts, flowers, trees, dune grass, everything may be covered with monarchs .
It is a breath-taking sight.



Please visit Wigger's World, the home of our host, Tom. You will find a list of all participants in Sky Watch Friday, and, thanks to Tom, you can view many wonderful pictures.

54 comments:

Marie said...

This is a beautiful church!

Anonymous said...

I'm back ...
Oh no, cried blog world ... he's back!

But guess what, I'm so happy. If I didn´t rejoin SWF I would never have the chance to see these great photos!

Rune Eide said...

Yes, I can understand the Gingerbread name - it looks like it belonged on top of a cake!

me ann my camera said...

The Monarchs must be an amazing sight to see. Also the church is very appealing in appearance and how neat for you to have an ancestral connection to it.
varying seasons

Unknown said...

a very nice church! great one!
My Sky Watch Friday post

Pat - Arkansas said...

I love your photos of St. Peter's by the Sea! I think it wonderful that your great-grandfather preached in this very church.
--- Pat, An Episcopalian in Arkansas who loves photos of churches.

Dragonstar said...

That first shot is perfect, all blue and white.

Reader Wil said...

You are right: it is a lovely church and thank you for the story!
Thanks for the visit!

Tom said...

An excellent Sky Watch post. I appreciate all the time and effort gone into setting this out and presenting a great post for us all.. thank you.

Louise said...

Absolutely charming. I like the non-sky photos that are descriptive!

Pretty Life Online said...

Pretty one for SWF! Which reminds me the quote... "we all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon".... Mine's up too hope you can drop by. Happy Weekend!

Anonymous said...

Hi Bobbie,

Thank you for your visit and comment on my SWF today.

I think this is a wonderful little church and with such an interesting architecture. Your photos tell the story fully.

I appreciate the time and effort that goes into this type of post and thank you for it.

Jim

Berit T said...

Beautiful church, and it is very nice SWF photos!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your wonderful post and reading about this beautiful historic church. Lovely sky photo!
To see the Monarch Butterflies in their migration would be a fantastic sight for sure! Thanks for visiting earlier.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful church taken. I loved your church story.

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

These are beautiful pictures for SkyWatch. It's great to read about the history, and fun that you have such good family history there, too.

Unknown said...

Great series and nice informative swf post.

maryt/theteach said...

What a beautiful church and in Cape May no less! Lovely! :)

Michele said...

Sooo pretty and it makes perfect sense of the name- The Gingerbread Church... a very nice post!

Gemma Wiseman said...

Gorgeous shots!

I must thank you for introducing me to SKW. This week I have posted there. My posting includes a thank you to you.

Fugazi said...

Beautiful church, and the info in your text - this must have taken som time to finish.

Thanx for commenting on my pictures:)

SandyCarlson said...

That church mimics the elaborate stone work of its Gothic kin.That's a lovely church.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Gingerbread is well suited. It is very picturesque.

Kay said...

This is such a gorgeous photo. The sky is bright and sparkling. I love it.

rachel said...

That is a beautiful picture with the clouds and the church. LOVE IT! thanks for the comment!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful white little church against the clear blue sky :)

Diane Vogel Ferri said...

few things as meaningful as a cross against the infinite sky.

Naturegirl said...

A lovely picturesque church! I would love to be one that took photos of the butterflies! Lovely photos!

Amila Salgado said...

Interesting. The first shot is picture perfect. I studied in St Peter's college, Colombo.

Linda Reeder said...

It is all just serene. Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Wow..that's such a beautiful church...and the sky is so great, too!

my SWF picture is posted HERE. Please drop by if you have the time.

Thanks a lot!

Ann said...

What a cute little building. I like the clouds as well.

marcia@joyismygoal said...

oh that is so cute and I love all your different views esp w/ the gate

Christy said...

What a lovely and quaint little church.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your compliments. I enjoy hearing that my images look as though they could be a painting since I couldn't paint anything to save my life. Thanks so much.

Snap Catch said...

Great SWF post...Thank you for visiting my blogsite. Happy weekend!

Petunia said...

This is a very beautiful church. Gingerbread - :) Nice name!

Petunia's SWF

D Herrod said...

Love pictures of churches.

Alan said...

Very pretty old church. Thanks for sharing it with us.

nonizamboni said...

Bobbie, what a great post, lovely building, personal history(!) and a beautiful area. Can you tell I enjoyed reading and seeing?!
Have a great weekend.

Indrani said...

Gingerbread Church - there must be some story behind the name.

Nice shots.

Small City Scenes said...

Very beautiful Church. I have a blog called 'Holy Houses' with any kind of holy gathering place posted.
Thanks for visiting my SWF blog. MB

esnorway said...

nice pics

Kathie Brown said...

Lovely Skywatch photos bobbie. St. Peter's by the sea-a poetic name. I love the gingerbread and the white picket fence. How nice that you have this connection to it with your great-grandfather. Have you ever even gone inside? What a quaint little place. I would love to see all those Monarch butterflies. I have never seen anything like that. Perhaps you will get a shot for us during this year's migration? What a skywatch post that would be!

Willard said...

Excellent photographs and post!

RW said...

Beautiful Bobbie great work! I fed you puppy a few snacks on your sidebar. :D

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous little church. I love the bell tower.

Mike's Travels said...

What a unique looking church!

Flying Solo said...

Beautiful, I love churches!

Anonymous said...

Awesome sky and photos.

Max-e said...

What a lovely old building

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

Hello! That you for the history on St. Peters By the Sea. It is nice to have a connection to something so beautiful.

As always, your pictures are superb. Lisa

Anonymous said...

How nice to hear the personal connection along with the great photo.

Stevenson Q said...

What a very beautiful church!
Thanks for dropping by my Skywatch Friday Post and Leaving a comment! Hope to see you soon! God Bless and Have a great week starting tomorrow!

Steven^^

Stacey Olson said...

Beautiful church, and great skywatch post.. thanks for sharing