Remnants of Faith: A Photographic Collection of Abandoned Churches
Between 2017 and 2019, I wandered through the hollowed-out sanctuaries of America’s forgotten churches, documenting their quiet decay. These structures, once ablaze with song, incense, and human longing, now stand in silence, scattered across the Rust Belt like remnants of vanished faith.
From Buffalo and Albany to Detroit, Gary, and Chicago; from the edges of Philadelphia to the steel towns of Pittsburgh and the shadows of Scranton, Chester, and Joliet, each space held its own hush, its own story. What remains are fractured altars, peeling frescoes, and shafts of light through broken glass: echoes of belief, community, and impermanence.
Four photographs from this body of work were published across all four issues of Raritan: A Quarterly Review (Rutgers University Press, Volume 42, 2023), a small testament to the sacred stillness these places hold.
St. Joseph's Church, Albany, NY, c. 2018
Selected Publications – Raritan: A Quarterly Review, Volume 42 (Rutgers University Press, 2023):
St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, Albany, NY — Volume 42, Number 4 (Winter 2023)
Chapel, J. N. Memorial Hospital, Perrysburg, NY — Volume 42, Number 3 (Fall 2023)
Everybody’s Universal Tabernacle Church of Holiness, Detroit, MI (formerly Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church) — Volume 42, Number 2 (Summer 2023)
St. Michael’s Church, Baltimore, MD — Volume 42, Number 1 (Spring 2023)
