Sacred Heart

This is a picture of a little church, called Sacred Heart, that I particularly like. It's a very simple church but sometimes there is unique beauty in simplicity. It's a mission church on a native reserve served by the parish in my hometown. It's tiny and sits only a couple dozen people comfortably. When you step outside the church you're right on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Well, there's technically a road between you and the beach. . . when you go up the coast by boat this little white church stands out from among the other buildings on the shoreline.

Here is an excerpt from a book about the area's local history that talks about this little church:

"The priest of the Roman Catholic Sliammon Church [Sacred Heart] had been administering to its congregation since the turn of the century and possibly before. . . Harry Roberts of Roberts Creek told a story of delivering the statue of the Virgin Mary to the church in 1901. [This means that this church, or at least the original structure, was built more than a decade before there were any European settlers in the area.] The first church burned to the ground on Easter morning, 1918, with only the statue of Jesus miraculously untouched by the fire."

The statue mentioned in this paragraph is that of Jesus with the Sacred Heart as seen at the front of the church. Apparently the church burnt to ashes with nothing left standing except this statue which in stood the midst of the ashes with no damage on it from the fire or smoke.