Exploring sacred spaces
One of the great joys of journalism is getting to see the familiar through new eyes.
In this freelance piece I did for the Houston Chronicle, I talked to some high school students working on a mural project that combined an exploration of sacred spaces with a creative depiction of faith and religion. They each discovered something new about their own beliefs and the beliefs of others. And so did I.
Mural depicts area students’ exploration of sacred spaces
By Monica Rhor For the Chronicle
From the gothic majesty of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church to the angular embrace of Congregation Emanu El.
From the white stucco and granite starkness of The Chapel of St. Basil to the traditional Islamic lines of the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center.
The Sacred Sites Quest spanned the many faiths practiced throughout Greater Houston.
The search led two dozen high school students to 11 sacred spaces — churches, cathedrals, temples and mosques – stretching from Sul Ross Street to Stafford.
Nearly four months after it began, the quest brought a spark of the divine to a nondescript downtown artist’s studio nestled between a transit-police parking lot and a cluster of bail-bond offices.
Here, inside the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston, a four-paneled mixed-media mural depicting a narrative of faith and spirituality sprang to life.
The mural – the culmination of the Sacred Sites Quest, a joint project between MOCAH and the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance – will go on display at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, but it will not be the project’s only lasting imprint.
For that, look no further than the students who say they have been enlightened and enriched by the experience.