Marylake Carmelite Monastery, Saline County

A familiar and always welcomed sight alongside Arch Street Pike near East End is that of Marylake Monastery. It was built as a country club by the Shriners back in the 1920s, but it had a short life as such. Another use that didn't take was as a hospital set up by the noted quack, John Richard Brinkley.

In 1952 it became a novitiate for friars and nuns entering the Discalced Carmelite order and that it has been ever since. I'm sure I'm not alone in absorbing a feeling of peace that borders on reverence whenever I drive by.

(To be sure, Marylake is not, strictly speaking a church. Nor is there an official web site. But I would point in the direction of Father John Michael Payne's blog to give you a glimpse into life at Marylake.)