Feral Church #2

"Feral" means reversion to a wild state, as from domestication. It comes from the Latin root fera, for wild beast, but it also has a connection to another Latin word, feralis, literally "belonging to the dead." Though it is usually used to describe animals, I have wondered if "feral" couldn't also be used to describe certain buildings here in Detroit. For a few beautiful months every summer, some of the tens of thousands of abandoned buildings become feral in every sense: they disappear behind ivy or the untended shrubs and trees planted generations ago as decoration. Even churches are not immune. The neighborhood churches and cathedrals that once served Detroit's diverse communities now serve mainly as a symbol of the city's incredible population loss. While a few have managed to survive decades of congregant flight, others have been adopted by new congregations and new faiths. Sadly, many beautiful churches and synagogues have fallen into ruin. The church in this photograph has serve