Restoration

I was a bit stumped coming up with an image for the Resurrection, I mean how many times do you need to see Christ or some saint soaring in the sky or the empty tomb with women weeping. Don’t get me wrong it is all wonderful, but why bother doing it again.

Two weeks ago a professor from Millersville University shared with our church, via zoom, a brief history of African Americans in Lancaster Pa. The lecture may have been brief but the history encompassed several centuries. He having been born and raised in Lancaster as well as being African American gave us a textured account that was both academic and personal. A portion of his talk focused on a specific neighborhood in Lancaster City where the African Americans had predominantly resided along with their churches and economic organizations. All urban neighborhoods are fluid and changes in populations as well as urban renewal might appear to wipe out the past but the past informs the present. Now I had an idea that interested me.

The image I created is the resurrected Christ walking in the above mentioned neighborhood, at the intersection of Church and Queen streets. Granted it isn’t a particularly weighty illustration but I wanted to do it.