There are moments in a church when seemingly random events are tied together by the arrival of something new and everything “clicks”. Holy Trinity is having one of those moments.
April, a month that welcomed Holy Week, embraced spring (come on, Minnesota!), and celebrated Holy Trinity’s Strategic 2.0 final recommendations titled New Life, has one more event on the calendar. Breaking ground for a community garden, named The Peace Garden, on Thursday, April 28, 9 am. Coincidentally, the appearance of three traveling mosaic panels in Holy Trinity’s narthex beautifully ties all of these occasions together.
Broken to Beautiful
Mosaics have been around for over 4000 years, using shards of broken tiles, glass and mirrors to create decorative art pieces. According to the artist statement, “These three panels were commissioned for the 2019 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly. They were created by 
the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts at St. Paul’s Lutheran in south Minneapolis. Semilla (Sah-MEE-yah) means ‘seed’ in Spanish, and the center works to plant seeds of hope by teaching and creating public art that can help make the community healthier, safer and more beautiful.
the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts at St. Paul’s Lutheran in south Minneapolis. Semilla (Sah-MEE-yah) means ‘seed’ in Spanish, and the center works to plant seeds of hope by teaching and creating public art that can help make the community healthier, safer and more beautiful.“The panel ‘Feed the World’ is our call to end world hunger. The images reflect the Three Sisters that native peoples planted together: corn, beans and squash. It is a planting that naturally calls to cooperation. As in nature, we are all one; we are all in this world together.
“The panel “Love the Earth” shows native flowers of Minnesota, which attract pollinators needed for life:
butterflies, bees, hummingbirds. Under the earth, you can see a different kind of pollinator: bugs and animals that help create the soil that nourishes all of us.
butterflies, bees, hummingbirds. Under the earth, you can see a different kind of pollinator: bugs and animals that help create the soil that nourishes all of us.
“The middle panel was done by attendees of the assembly, under the direction of Pr. Luisa Cabello Hansel, Artistic Director of Semilla and co-pastor at St. Paul’s. It shows the unity of the church with our Creator, the creation and one another.”Fate or Foresight
According to the Semilla Center, the mosaics have been on display at nearly a dozen area congregations over the last 3 years. This number would’ve been more if not for the pandemic. Pastor Ben requested these panels to reside at Holy Trinity in April to connect all of the events of April (New Life Huddle, Holy Week and Peace Garden groundbreaking). So perhaps it wasn’t fate, but the foresight of our forward-thinking Pastor Ben!
If you haven’t seen these stunning panels in person, don’t wait any longer! They’re moving onto another church at the end of this month. Find them on display in the narthex by the Welcome Center (Jamie’s old office).
The Garden and the Town
Last October, former HTLC Communications Specialist Rose Fife, wrote a blog introducing the Peace Garden titled, The Garden and the Town. Months of planning have led to the partnership between Holy Trinity, New Prague Rotary Club, The Peace Center, The NPHS Green Team, Boy Scout Troop 323, Praha Village and Nick Slavik to build and maintain the Peace Garden. All are welcome to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Peace Garden on Thursday, April 28, 9 am at Holy Trinity’s south parking lot.
For more information about volunteering or sponsorship of the Peace Garden, please visit holytrinityonline.org.
Written by Karen A. Taylor, Web Manager
April 20, 2022
