A parish church (or parochial church), in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches.

In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events.

The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.

Nearly every part of England is in a parish, and most parishes have a parish church, which is consecrated. If there is no parish church, the bishop licenses another building for worship, and may designate it as a Parish Centre of Worship, a building which is not consecrated, but dedicated, and for most legal purposes it is deemed to be a parish church. In areas of increasing secularisation or a shift in religious beliefs, centres of worship are becoming more common place as often larger churches are sold due to their upkeep costs, instead the church may use community centres or facilities of a local church of another denomination.

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898, Kuortane – May 11, 1976, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware. Aalto's early career runs in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the twentieth century and many of his clients were industrialists; among these were the Ahlström-Gullichsen family. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards. What is typical for his entire career, however, is a concern for design as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art; whereby he - together with his first wife Aino Aalto - would design not just the building, but give special treatments to the interior surfaces and design furniture, lamps, and furnishings and glassware. The Alvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, is located in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.