Big Church, Little Visitors

"Do you see the rainbow?" asks Cynthia Ruoff while reading the story of Noah's Ark to her granddaughters Elle, 4, on left, and Emma, 3, in the empty quiet of St. Patrick's Church on Tuesday, March 17 in Ada. Ruoff, who lives in Kalamazoo, attends St. Patrick's whenever she visits her family in Ada and wanted to bring the girls to see St. Patrick's statue in lieu of St. Patrick's Day. The girls got to see what the sanctuary looked like from the balcony and even stepped up to the baptismal pool and peered inside. Ruoff said she likes coming when the church is empty because they don't have to worry about talking loudly and the girls can explore. "I remember going to church with my own mother and doing some of these things," Ruoff said, "except back then we walked to church," she laughed.
(Grand Rapids Press Photo)