COVER STORY
The
Church
That
Wouldn’t
Burn
By Bill Hangley Jr.
This holiday season, we’d like to
share these stories—these gifts—of
wonder, faith, and eternal life
T
he church shouldn’t be there, but ev-
ery Sunday, parishioner John Mayernick
goes anyway.
He opens the door that shouldn’t
be standing, walks past the pews that
should have burned, and mounts the stairs to the
balcony that should have been razed. As sunlight
pours through the stained glass windows and
gleams off the gilt-trimmed icons, he grabs three
ropes and rings the bells as Mass begins and the
congregation sings the hymns no one thought
they’d hear again.Photographs by Yasu+Junko rd.com | dec 2018 )jan 2019 59