A group of crazy Texans (aka, college buddies) invaded Chicago this holiday weekend. We made some of the obligatory sightseeing trips--Uno's deep dish, Lincoln Park Zoo, The Bean. Our one real expense of time and money was a trip up to the Skydeck at the Sears Tower.

I typically keep to the Hancock and pay for a drink at the lounge instead of the same amount to go two floors up. But from the view from 1,343 feet off the ground, I did more than scan the horizon a mile north to find my house.

I noticed the ridiculous number of churches dotting the landscape-huge, gorgeous, historic churches.

I understand this isn't a stunning realization. I knew these churches, if only by name, through research when I started covering religion in Chicago. But to see them all laid out like little neighborhood hubs was a beautiful sight. They weren't shielded by steel and glass towers, and they weren't constructed like sports arenas so as to pack in as many people as possible.

I wonder if anyone remembers the days when church steeples reached into the sky higher than any office building. You could look out across the scene to see crosses and bell towers inching above rooftops like fingers pointing upward.

Seeing it instills a certain nostalgia. There was a time when the church was the center of a neighborhood. It offered community and fellowship and help to those in need. Certainly today's churches offer the same, but times have changed and so have people.

So many just want to be entertained, and they want churches that live up to their ideas of current and contemporary. But often they forget how awe-inspiring it can be to sit in a cathedral with sunlight spilling through stained glass windows, bells ringing them into the service.

That said, I realize traditional is not for everyone. But I would highly recommend touring some of these architectural marvels, if only to experience how much care and consideration designers put into making their churches jewels of the neighborhood.

The Chicago Cultural Society occasionally offers tours of three city churches, starting with Second Presbyterian Church. Or plot your own path with the help of the City of Chicago's Web site.

Some of my favorites that aren't on the list include St. Francis of Assisi across from University of Illinois Chicago, St. James Lutheran Church in Lincoln Park (full disclosure: this is my church), St. Pauls United Church of Christ in Lincoln Park and, of course, Holy Name Cathedral downtown.

Happy touring!

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