Sufi Institute

The Sufi Institute of Washington

Located just off of 16th Street NW on Manchester Drive is this stately building. Upon closer inspection a sign announced it as the Sufi Institute. I've searched high and low on the internet looking for information, but have turned up nothing. If anyone knows anything about this building and what goes on there, leave a comment and fill me in!

Of course, at the very least, I have deduced that activities surrounding the mystical branch of Islam--Sufism--are housed here. Beyond that and sans ringing the doorbell, my powers of deduction are useless!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist

Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist : Definitely not brutalist architecture

Unlike its brutalist counterpart down on 16th and I Streets NW, the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist on 16th Street NW just above Kennedy looks like a suburban rambler. A Google search for information about this church yielded a website for a congregation with a similar name down in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. This church is in Crestwood and I am unable to find a fixed address or specific information about this congregation. Regardless, it's on 16th Street and is part of my continuing series on the Churches of 16th Street.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Sixth Presbyterian Church of Washington

Sixth Presbyterian Church at 16th and Kennedy Streets NW

Moving forward with my series The Churches of 16th Street, this is the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Washington. Located at 5413 16th Street NW at Kennedy Street, this congregation has been ministering in the Nation's Capital for more than 150 years. While the church has a website, there isn't a lot of information about their history in the city. The congregation describes itself as a "welcoming, inclusive congregation of diverse cultures and talents ministering in the nation's capital."

Sixth Presbyterian: A congregation of inclusion

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Superet Church

Superet Church: Jesus Christ's Religion

Continuing on with my series The Churches of 16th Street, the Superet Church is located just east of 16th Street NW at the intersection of Colorado Avenue and Ingraham Street NW. There is little information on the internet, but from what I can gather, the Superets study auras and their connection to living a Christ-like life. There are only two congregations in the U.S.: the founding body in Los Angeles and this congregation in Washington. To learn more, go here.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Christ Lutheran Church

Christ Lutheran Church

Continuing my Churches of 16th Street Series, this is Christ Lutheran Church located at 5101 16th Street. The church's website provides information about its ministries and service, but I couldn't find any historical material.

However, the congregation is most known around the neighborhood for its annual Yard Sale, which often features very high end items and raises money for non-profit social service organizations in the area.

Come back later today and see a couple more pictures from the 2008 Festival of Lights I featured yesterday.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Zion Baptist Church

Zion Baptist Church: Enlisting, Educating, Empowering, Encouraging and Exalting

Located just off of 16th Street at 4850 Blagden Avenue NW is Zion Baptist Church. I'm including Zion Baptist in my Churches of 16th Street series because it is visible from 16th Street and it is one of the larger churches in the stretch between the White House and the Maryland state border.

According to the church's website, six Baptists moved from the Commonwealth of Virginia into the District in 1861 and began meeting. Two years later, nine more believers were baptized into the faith and a year later, in September 1864, these 15 Baptists and their pastor formed Zion Baptist Church. The congregation originally met on 3rd Street NW between E and F Streets. Sometime in the 1960s, the church built this edifice on Blagden Avenue. Today, Zion Baptist continues to be a vibrant community of worshipers. The church's mission states that it "shall enlist sinners, educate students, empower the suffering, encourage the saints, and exalt our Savior."

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Church of Christ

Church of Christ

Continuing the Churches of 16th Street series, this is the Church of Christ located at 4801 16th Street NW. I couldn't find a website for this particular congregation. If anyone knows the history of the church and this location, please let me know.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Capital Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Capital Spanish Adventist Church:
Serving Washington's Hispanic/Latino Adventist faithful

Continuing the Churches of 16th Street series: located on the corner at 4800 16th Street NW is the Capital Spanish Adventist Church. I couldn't find a lot of information about them and their website appears to still be under construction.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/08

Seventh Day Baptist Church

Seventh Day Baptist Church: Like their counterparts, the Seventh Day Adventists,
they worship on Saturdays. That's where the similarities end.

This past spring, I started a twice-weekly series called The Churches of 16th Street. The series featured a picture and information about a different church on 16th Street NW every Wednesday and Saturday. In June, I suspended the series because the weather was warming up and I was getting out and photographing more. As we move into the late fall and early winter months, it's getting dark earlier and the weather is a bit nippier, which means I'm not going out as frequently. So, today, I'm resuming posts about the remaining churches I haven't featured in this series. I'll post in this series once a week, on Saturdays.

To start (or restart) us off, this week's church is the Seventh Day Baptist Church. Located at 4700 16th Street NW, this congregation was established in 1946. I couldn't find information about how long they've been worshiping at their current location. What makes this gathering of Baptists unique from their broader Baptist counterparts is, Seventh Day Baptists worship on the biblical Sunday--what is known on the calendar as Saturday--rather than on calendar Sundays. In this sense, they are akin to Seventh Day Adventists, but that's as far as the similarities run. To learn more about Seventh Day Baptists, visit this information page on the church's website.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Two Things Challenge: Blue / Green

Fenton art glass boots backlit by the
sun streaming through my dining room blinds

This week's Two Things Challenge was Blue / Green. Since I'm scheduling this post prior to Sunday and as I haven't had time to get out and take a lot of photos this week, I'm culling from my archives. Well, almost. The second photo (below) is new. I took it on Thursday as I was coming home from lunch with a friend. For Blue, I chose a picture of Fenton art glass. These are two glass boots I have in a small collection of four. I liked the way the light was hitting them in the curio cabinet.

Green tree through the rain on the sunroof of my car

For Green, I shot this photo through my car's sunroof. It was raining and I liked the green of the tree's leaves smudged by the rain on the roof. It's sort of unoriginal, though, because I stole a play out of Maya's book this week. Still, I love photos taken through rainy windows. (P.S. For those who know my propensity for photographing while driving, I was stopped at a red light when I took this.)

Close-ups of a mug of pens in my office (Click images to enlarge)

I had a couple of other photos in my archives that I thought were appropriate for this week's theme, so I'm throwing them in just for fun!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Creepy Crawly

A 17-year cicada chilling on the sidewalk

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I thought it would be a good idea to walk home and I discovered this? Well, the same walk resulted in me taking this picture of a 17-year cyclical cicada. If you've ever lived east of the Mississippi or in the South, you know about these guys. They make a chirping mating call that is enigmatic of summer in humid climates. The sultry heat, combined with the slow, crescendo sawing of these critters, creates an ambiance that isn't found in the western part of the U.S. (Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, mind you.)

This little guy was sitting smack in the middle of the sidewalk, so I took his picture. They're freaky lookin' bugs, but kind of cool, too. Every 17 years, they come out of their homes in numbers that make the population of China look tiny and they breed like bunnies. Over the next 17 years, they slowly die out and their mating call diminishes each summer. Then, on year 17, those that remain get together and party like it's 1999. They're so prolific and active, the air literally buzzes non-stop with their unique chirp and they can be seen flying through the air in numbers you don't see in the intervening years.

Frankly, it's like being in the middle of a biblical plague. But in a cool way! It's only been three or four years since the last cycle, so it's not uncommon to see these guys on the ground or to find their molted skins clinging to fences, trees, bumpers, window screens, and so forth.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 08/08

Mr. Mayor

Washington's flashy, hip, young mayor lives in this humble house

Washington has a hip, young mayor named Adrian Fenty (D). Mr. Fenty, his wife, and their twin boys live on a quiet street in the Crestwood neighborhood. They are expecting a third child this fall. This is a picture I took of their house one day as I was driving past. Not as cute as yesterday's houses, but I'm sure it's lovely on the inside.

This concludes my month of posting a photo within 24 hours of shooting it. Out of 31 days, I had 28 days of original material and 3 days of either a desperate photo (a.k.a. the Dirty Bastard Cat) or archived photos (Du Pont Circle and a take off sequence from DCA.) That said, I'm not sure I'll try doing this again. It's tough! I admire those of you who do manage to take and post a photo within a 24 hour timeframe. You rock!

And now, back to our regular format of places and sights and information about things to see and do in our nation's capital. If you have something in or around Washington you'd like to see in photo and learn more about, let me know. For the month of August, I'm taking requests!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08

Oh No, Don't Let the Rain Come Down...

Pink umbrella in a summer downpour

Yesterday evening, I went walking immediately after dinner. The clouds looked a bit threatening, but the weatherman said it was suppose to be dry all weekend. Regardless, I made sure to grab a plastic bag for my camera, just in case. And it's a good thing, too, because half way through my walk, it started to pour very suddenly and without warning. It was a frog strangler. A gully washer. A deluge of biblical proportions. I stood for a brief period under a bus shelter across from a Metro bus terminal at 14th and Kennedy Streets NW. I just finished snapping the first picture above and had turned off my camera when two Mormon missionaries on bikes furiously pedaled past. The best shot would have been of these two young men in front of the bus terminal, but I missed it and only just managed to get the shot I did. Poor guys!

Furiously pedaling Mormon missionaries caught in the downpour

Realizing the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon, I decided to head home. Needless to say, I looked like a drown rat by the time I walked in the door. At least the rain was warm, as it tends to be this time of year. To see more pictures from yesterday's walk, go to Standing Room Only.

* * * * *

I'm throwing in a pitch for this week's 2 Things Challenge. The category is People / Watch. I mentioned several days ago wanting to improve my photographing-people-skills and a few of you discussed wanting to be braver about photographing people, too. Here's our chance! If you haven't participated in a 2 Things Challenge before, please do this week. The more, the merrier. And, if you want, try Thomas Hawks' approach.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08. Video courtesy of YouTube.

Lilies of the Field... Or the Frontyard...

Yellow lily in the early morning light

Some of the last perennials to bloom in the spring are lilies. I've been noticing them in a wonderful variety of colors--yellows, oranges, reds, purples, whites, variegated. These are just a few examples of some of the lilies I've seen around my neighborhood in the last week or so.

More yellow lilies. The ones on the left are growing in a pot in my neighbor's yard.
The ones on the right were photographed near Emerson and 16th Street NW.

Orange lilies growing like weeds in a rather unkempt yard in Takoma.

Backlit by the setting sun.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 6/08

19th Street Baptist Church

19th Street Baptist Church: Contagious Christianity since 1870!

Located at 4606 16th Street NW is one of Washington's oldest Baptist churches--19th Street Baptist Church. In March 1802, a group of Baptists joined together and began creating a religious community that would grow in prominence over the next 200 years. Six months after the initial members gathered, they acquired a plot of land at the corner of I and 19th Streets NW. They built a church and named it 19th Street Baptist Church. For more than 135 years the church met downtown, but in 1975 it moved to its current location on 16th Street. Despite its move from 19th Street to 16th Street, the church hasn't changed its name.

While the church's website includes a picture with D.C. mayor, Adrian Fenty, I don't know if this is actually where he goes to church. It's only a few blocks from his home, but then so too are a number of other churches.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

Study in Green

Landscape lighting :
Washington DC Mormon Temple : Kensington, Maryland

Just a few more random photos of no particular significance, except these are all a variation on a theme of green.

L: New growth on a maple tree.
R: Clover on the forest floor.

L: Backlit trees on the grounds of the Mormon Temple.
R: 15-second timed exposure of the Washington DC Mormon Temple.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 6/08

Two Things Challenge: Fireplug

Recently replaced and certified fireplug in Northwest Washington.
This one isn't that far from where I live.

This week's Two Things Challenge was Fireplug / Flagpole. Here are my interpretations for fireplug. I learned a thing or two about fireplugs, or fire hydrants, this week from a friend of mine who's a firefighter with the DCFD. Fire hydrants are color coded based on water pressure. Red = high pressure, yellow = medium pressure, and green = low pressure.

A fireplug slated for replacement.
This one is less than a mile from the home of our city's mayor.

Here in D.C., fire plugs have been undergoing a survey, repair, and certification process after firefighters were unable to get the water and pressure they needed for a fire they were fighting in Adams-Morgan some months ago. They had to run hose from Connecticut Avenue over to 18th Street to fight their fire. The result has been a review of every single fireplug in the city. The survey found that 15% of fireplugs were inoperable! Those that have been reviewed and repaired have blue banding. Some, like the second photo, are still in need of work.

If you'd like to participate in this fun, weekly challenge, visit Two Things Challenge and play along. The more, the merrier!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 6/08

Iglesia de Dio Pentecostal Emanuel Church

Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Emanuel Church

Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Emanuel Church is located at 4411 16th Street NW. The church does not have a website, so there is no additional information for this particular church and its congregation.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

National Church of the Nazarene

National Church of the Nazarene: Shepherding the Nation's Capital

The National Church of the Nazarene (4401 16th Street NW) serves four demographically unique congregations and provides services in English, Spanish, Haitian, and Congolese. While the congregation's website provides little information other than meeting times, the church is a part of the larger Church of the Nazarene body. According to the larger church's information site, this congregation was established in 1917.

The Church of the Nazarene is an off-shoot of the Wesleyan tradition and is described as an evangelical Christian denomination. The church's core values include "to make Christlike disciples in all nations." While the largest concentration of Nazarenes live in the U.S., more members actually live in countries outside the U.S. and the church claims membership in 151 "world areas."

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church: A congregation in the Greek Orthodox tradition

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church (4335 16th Street NW) is a Greek Orthodox congregation and is next door to Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church on 16th Street. St. George's is named for 3rd century A.D./C.E. soldier and martyr George of Anatolia. George refused to renounce his Christian beliefs and was tortured and beheaded in 303 B.C. Today, he is the patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia and an annual feast day--April 23--commemorates his martyrdom.

Although St. George's Church has a well-developed website, it doesn't provide a specific history of the congregation or its building. Nevertheless, the church appears to be actively engaged in the lives of its parishioners and they in the life of the church. In addition to the traditional parish council, the church also has a choir that sings Russian and Byzantine melodies and a cantor who chants in Arabic; the Fellowship of Saint John the Divine where, according to the church's website, "If you exceeded your teen years, (and you no longer know everything), the Fellowship is where you want to be for your continued self development both socially, as well as spiritually"; and the Ladies Myrrh Bearing Society. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08