The completion of a multi-sided mural that tells the history of St. Mark Church in Venice is the latest project aimed at augmenting an arts-and-media evangelization movement at the parish.
Father Albert van der Woerd, St. Mark’s pastor, explained in a bulletin posting that the parish hall mural created by artist Presa Hall, passed by more than 100,000 people each day on the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Garfield Avenue, purposefully portrays a sixth-century Greek mosaic of St. Mark on the most visible east side of the building.
“A lot of history is involved in the choice of the name Saint Mark for our parish,” wrote van der Woerd, referring to the church established in 1923 to help fleeing immigrants escaping persecution in Mexico. “Think of Abbott Kinney, who wanted to create a little Venice for his wife in the swamp on the Westside. With the Saint Mark Basilica in Venice, Italy, holding the relics of this evangelist, what other name could have been chosen than Saint Mark?”
On the hall’s south side are mural depictions of Blessed Miguel Pro, Blessed Sister Marie Rose Durocher (founder of the Sisters of the Holy Names, which started the school), and St. Candidus of Thebes. All three are also represented by relics on St. Mark’s altar.
St. Mark’s concerted effort to focus on the pastoral impact of arts and media is reflected in the demographics of its congregation, van der Woerd said. The church’s recent surveys show some 60% of the adults work in the media.
Inside the parish hall, upgrades that included 4K monitor screens for upgraded media use are part of the initiative.
“It’s the calling card to the community, attractive to Catholics and non-Catholics,” said Deacon Charlie Echeverry, who came to St. Mark’s two years ago as a reassignment, having a secular background in media and entertainment at Disney and Univision.
“The parish hall is a visualization of things the Lord has put together for us,” Echeverry said. “We have a hall on the biggest thoroughfare on the Westside and it is an asset. Instead of just painting the building, we want to create a landmark for the community that is rich in mural storytelling.”
From Angelus News
Venice is not a safe place anymore. It has a “D-” grade according to reputable real estate sites. Like so much of California in and around the big cities controlled by libs, the area has become drug and crime infested. Rural areas have good folk, but they still have to pay the high cost of taxes and goods.
Corinth wasn’t safe either. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be sharing Christ there. And, some who might never step inside a church will at least see something that God might use in drawing them to Himself, I am all for safety. But, it isn’t the only factor and shouldn’t stop Christians. Safety didn’t stop St. Frances Cabrini from going into New York City or Chicago. Believers are everywhere, in the best and worth of cities. We should all strive to go where God wants us and that is to places throughout the world. The best and safest place for any of us is in the will of God.
Do the Mormon temples convert you when you see them?
What seems to draw thousands to the Mormon religion, besides a belief that the LDS Church and Book of Mormon is true, is their strong emphasis on strong Mormon family life, community life, and Christian neighborly helpfulness, service to God, helping their fellowman.
Seeing religious art, statuary, architecture, even icons, converts no one. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Yet, curiosity about those things often causes people to enter Catholic churches. I have a brother deacon who was an evangelical postal worker and walking past one of our churches repeatedly led him to go inside. He looked around and “the rest is history” as they say. (I think he was later ordained to the priesthood.)
I have a brother-in-law who is an inner city Roman Catholic pastor and their religious art on the outside has caused others/non-Catholics to enter. Of course, not all who enter convert, yet some do. Two men recently approached me outside of church after Divine Liturgy, seeing our Byzantine/Greek-style architecture and cross and asked, “What is this place?” and “Can we go in and look around?” I invited them in, answered questions they had about our church and icons, and, finding out they were evangelical Christians, let them know they were welcome to stay and pray, which they did. They left more favorably disposed toward the Catholic Church.
The previous comment of Deacon Craig went over limit. Here is the rest:
And, Saint Mary of Egypt’s curiosity led her to want to enter a church. Due to her unrepented sin however, the Holy Spirit kept her out. But, seeing an icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God) outside of the church, she repented and, to make a long story short, became a Saint. God reaches different people in different ways. I’m pretty sure there will be some personal stories related to murals at this church, as has happened at other parishes.
Mormon temples have that angel on the top blowing the trumpet. That’s sort of like St. Michael. The angel is calling to all the world.
The Catholic Cathedral of the Magdalene in Salt Lake City, Utah, is magnificent — outside and inside. The Mormons there have a great choir, but their temple is not all that beautiful.
Regarding my last post, the Mormon Temple is not all that beautiful inside, the outside is beautiful though.
Aren’t non-Mormons prohibited from going inside a Mormon temple? How could you have seen the inside?
… and others that went over the limit? Did they get a second chance?
Yes, trying to help out each over-limit case, sometimes by editing, sometimes cutting, sometimes editor note.
The outside and inside of the Mormon Temple is shown online. In fact, you can see the outside and inside of almost any religious establishments you want. I have seen inside the grounds and chapels of Mt. Athos, even though women are not allowed there. There is a YouTube video where an English speaking (American I think) Greek Orthodox man was allowed to tour Mt. Athos and take videos. I have said before that I have been all over the world just on my computer.