‘Sign of our welcome’: mural transforms plain-looking church into inviting space

Members of a St. James church hope a new mural will make their building feel warmer and welcoming to neighbours.

“It’s a lovely building, but the entrance looked industrial,” said Prairie Spirit United Church pastor, Scott Macauley. “We wanted to create a warm entryway that signaled welcome to all.”

The church, which was built in 1994 after a fire destroyed the original structure in 1992, is located on Thompson Drive, a block from Portage Avenue. It has about 80 to 100 people in attendance on Sundays.

The mural, by local artist Mae Desmond, was dedicated Sunday morning. It was commissioned to mark the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada.

The mural pictures two people sharing a loaf of bread in a prairie scene beneath the words, “Jesus welcomed everyone — so do we.”

That welcome is extended to everyone in the community, including LGBTTQ+ members, said Macauley, who is gay.

“It tells people where the congregation is at,” he said, adding that the congregation voted to become affirming before he arrived a year ago. “It speaks volumes to me,” he said.

The loaf of bread in the mural also speaks to how the congregation addresses local needs through the Portage Avenue Food Bank, which is housed in the church, as well as its support for Canadian Foodgrains Bank, which addresses hunger in the developing world.

“We want to nourish the soul and the body,” said Macauley, adding “it’s more than paint on a wall. It’s a sign of our welcome.”

Jocelyn Fournier-Gawryluk, who was chair of the committee that commissioned the mural, said the artwork speaks to the goals of the church. “We wanted to present a more welcoming face to the community,” added Sharon McIntyre, a member of the mural committee. “It was too institutional before.”

Desmond said she was happy to create a welcoming piece, not only for the church but for the community.

She said the mural depicts two genderless people sharing a loaf of bread and it’s not obvious who is giving and who is receiving.

“That’s because true sharing is about more than giving something away,” she said. “It’s about enjoying something together. They are breaking bread, a universal act of love and unity. It also connects to the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, and to the abundance of the land around us, with its fields of wheat.”

The mural also boasts a pattern that shows how the congregation and the community, like a quilt, is “made of many different pieces that come together to form something whole and beautiful.”

Painting the mural also gave Desmond an opportunity to meet church members. “For that, I’m thankful. It was a wonderful experience,” she said.

Prairie Spirit United Church is an amalgamation of three United churches in St. James: Kirkfield Park, Silver Heights and Sturgeon Creek. The first service was held in 2019.

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