St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception |
I don't mean an arresting cloud formation or other celestial wonder; I mean something man-made.
Yesterday, during a meetup with a photography group in Jersey City, I kept curiously wandering from the pack -- and I kept getting lost.
Looking around, trying to get my bearings, I noticed religious symbols everywhere.
I saw churches, statues or crosses somewhere on just about every block. Even the street art contained religious imagery or sentiment.
One particularly large and beautiful church -- St. Mary's on Second Street -- had its doors unlocked on a Saturday afternoon. I wandered inside to get sanctuary from the cold and saw only a solitary woman there, kneeling in prayer.
Inadvertent selfie among the saints |
Still, looking skyward, they all displayed crosses that perpetually loomed, usually unnoticed, over all the commerce and street life below.
I felt neither protected nor judged by this.
Instead, I just wanted to see what was up ahead.
So I took these photos of a few of the signs and symbols and messages.
I think these are ultimately images of a shared faith -- which, even if in the Christian tradition, is something universal and non-denominational -- that there's something more to life than this.
There's a reason to be hopeful; it's possible there's a better place around the next corner.
Garage door vision of Paradise, by Mr. Mustart |
North Baptist Church |
Iglesia Pentecostal and Grace Church Van Vorst |
Last mural at an art supply store, forced to relocate because of high rents |
No comments:
Post a Comment