Lynnhaven Mural for MAT

[Pastor Gary]

I extracted this photo from a PDF sent to me by MAT for posting here. I'll let him add the commentary...

[Mat]

I extracted this photo from a PDF sent to me by MAT for posting here. I'll let him add the commentary...

Thanks Pastor Gary, I have never tried to post a picture before. The above picture is from the program that was handed out at the mural dedication.

In my real life, away from this board, I pastor a local church in the most densely populated part of the fifth largest city in the US, Phoenix, AZ. Our neighborhood has one of the most crime-ridden street corners in the country (27th Ave. & Indian School) and is one of the most diverse neighborhoods you can find. Adding to this diversity in demographics, the International Refugee Committee (IRC) has their office located in our community (about a mile from the church), and as a result we now have over 300 families from all over Africa.

Our local church has both English and Spanish congregations. In the English services, I preach to Anglos, Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Jamaicans. Besides our regular mission giving (our harvest partner is the nation of Hungary), we raise money for the Homes for Children in Thailand. The local church helps families in need on a weekly basis and goes out and ministers to the homeless several times a year, (as we did this last Sunday afternoon).

We operate a preschool/childcare center that is licensed for 199 kids, and we now have a waiting list for most classes. We participate in a federal food program for the children and will be receiving some DOJ Weed & Seed grant money for an "Anti-bullying Program," to be taught to our school-age kids this fall. We also underwrite college classes for our staff, with classes held here on the church campus, and we provide scholarships for our teachers. We have 15 staff members taking classes (Phoenix College), and we helped three of our staff earn their GEDs last year.

I serve on several community groups, including the Steering Committee for the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) Weed and Seed Grant that covers our area. Within the last few months, due to this involvement, I have had the opportunity to pray the Invocation at both the Phoenix City Counsel Meeting and the AZ State Senate, and in both settings the community work of the church was presented. We are working hard to turn this community around, both spiritually and economically. Prostitution, drugs, gangs, graffiti, broken families, human trafficking and abused children are the norms of this neighborhood. However, the members of Lynnhaven Community Church (LCC) local church have chosen to stay and "fight" where the need is greatest.

The mural was one of the projects of the Weed & Seed grant. An organization that works with teens, Art Awakenings," had the grant money and the kids but needed a place to paint. We had the exterior gym wall available, so LCC hosted a neighborhood meeting to discuss the mural and to glean the history of the community. The mural, which the Chairman of the Weed & Seed named “Amazing Grace”, depicts the history of the area. You may notice a plane, crop duster, at the top. There was a small airport in the in the area back when the land was nothing both alfalfa and citrus fields. Crop dusters would use that airfield which was called Airhaven. The plane in the picture is not spraying pesticides; rather it is spraying the notes of “Amazing Grace” on our community. Also, superimposed in the Phoenix skyline is our church steeple. The art kids developed this design on their own. Other then providing the history and the wall, all I told them was no skulls, gang signs, low riders, beer cans, or Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Below is the media adversary sent that was sent out:


WHAT: Phoenix Teens Improve Neighborhood Through Art Project
An Unveiling and Dedication of a new Mural in the City of Phoenix will take place Thursday, February 21st at 4:00 p.m. at Lynnhaven Community Church, which is located at 4426 N. 31st Avenue. Local muralists Martin Moreno, Reggie Casillas and Adrian Moreno along with a group of community youths, under the direction of PSA/Art Awakenings, were brought together to express themselves through art. PSA/Art Awakenings is a non-profit group whose mission is to focus teens on the direction and expression of art as an alternative to negative social influences. Art Awakening’s motto is “Art Saves Lives”.

The Mural depicts the history of the neighborhoods located within the Canyon Corridor Weed and Seed site located in northwest Phoenix.

Plans for the mural dedication ceremony will include the recognition of the young artists, comments by government officials and music by the Alhambra High School Marching Band.

The Mural was funded by a U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed Grant, a grant that assists law enforcement and residents to weed out criminal activity, and seed in crime prevention and community revitalization strategies. The Canyon Corridor Weed and Seed grant provides funding for increased community policing and enforcement, youth programs, and neighborhood activities to prevent and deter crime.

WHO: Canyon Corridor Weed and Seed Program Partners: City Of Phoenix Mayor’s Office; Phoenix Police Dept.; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona; Drug Enforcement Administration; Lynnhaven Church; Neighborhood Services Dept.; TERROS; PSA/Art Awakenings; Grand Canyon University; Food City #153; Rehoboth CDC; Councilman Claude Mattox District 5; Councilman Tom Simplot District 4; Cordova Neighborhood Assoc.; Granada Neighborhood Assoc.; Maricopa County Adult Probation; Iglesia Luterana Vida Nueva; International Rescue Committee; Alhambra School District; Bourgade Catholic High School; Arizona Dept. of Health Services; Arizona State University; City Of Phoenix Parks and Rec. Dept. and City Of Phoenix Prosecutor’s Office.


WHEN: February 21, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.


WHERE: Lynnhaven Community Church
4426 N. 31st Avenue


Thanks for letting we brag a little.

Mat

[dbserv]

It is more beautiful than you described at lunch!!!


AWESOME and congrats on the community involvement and ministry. May more churches take up your example instead of fleeing from the neighborhoods that need them SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!

[Sherry]

That is beautiful and what an amazing project!! Go ahead.....brag...you deserve it!!

[soulsearcher]

LMBO at myself thinking, "Wow, someone did a mural of M. A. Tomlinson? I gotta see this!"

[Mat]

:lol: LMBO at myself thinking, "Wow, someone did a mural of M. A. Tomlinson? I gotta see this!"

The art kids put the plane in the mural. None of them ever heard of the 1903 "Arise, Shine" and Kittyhawk/first flight, etc. I kind of thought it was funny. Could be prophectic, what'd you think?

Mat

[Gerald Creasy]

I'd like to see some LIVE shots of the Mural.

I thought this was an Artists concept it is so perfect a picture.

[Pastor Gary]

I'd like to see some LIVE shots of the Mural.

I thought this was an Artists concept it is so perfect a picture.

I am pretty sure that is a photo of the finished, painted mural... there's a visible seam in the wall. Hard to say, though, because I took his PDF and did a screen grab for this thread, not having a separate picture without type overlaid.

[Gerald Creasy]

I'd like to see some LIVE shots of the Mural.

I thought this was an Artists concept it is so perfect a picture.

I am pretty sure that is a photo of the finished, painted mural... there's a visible seam in the wall. Hard to say, though, because I took his PDF and did a screen grab for this thread, not having a separate picture without type overlaid.

I agree but it took me looking at it quite a while to see it.

Wouldnt it be great to see children playing in front of it or somesuch?

I want to see it in situ.

[Mat]

I'd like to see some LIVE shots of the Mural.

I thought this was an Artists concept it is so perfect a picture.

Gerald,

The guy that put the program card together is a graphic artist, however this is the real thing, just croped alittle. You can see the fence at the bottom, the door on the right (they were in the process of painting the credits) and the outcropping of the steeple (there is a two foot wide column that runs up the height of the wall). What you don't see is the dumpester on the left (we pushed it out of the way) or the back side of the gym where we store our church junk, that was cropped out. as was the top of the gym (he's good).

The kids painted the mural, that said there was a well know muralist who oversaw the project and his people did the "high" work.

Mat

[Gerald Creasy]

Allow me to try again:

If a 6 foot man stood up against it would the tree roots be combing his hair? Or would the fingers be picking his nose? would he have to duck so the airplane would not hit him?

I can see a wall. I'm having trouble with context.

[Mat]

I will try to get some pictures of the event. We had a marching band from the one of the high schools, a state senator, the artist, me, the kids, etc. We had a 1956 Phoenix Police Car from the Police Dept. (a ford, like new, cherry) and vans lined up and down the street from our various community partners (Art Awakenings, TERROS, International Rescue Committee, Grand Canyon Univeristy, our preschool - Hidden Treasures Preschool). Plus people from the city, state and feds.

Mat

[Mat]

Allow me to try again:

If a 6 foot man stood up against it would the tree roots be combing his hair? Or would the fingers be picking his nose? would he have to duck so the airplane would not hit him?

I can see a wall. I'm having trouble with context.

Check the door on the left, that's a full size door. The fense is six foot also. We need razor wire on top of the fense but the city does not want Phoenix to "look like LA".

Mat