Sarah Louise Woodford, Canon for Communications & Media
On Sunday, October 5, I left my home in New Haven at 8:30 in the morning to attend the 9 o’clock service and mural dedication at Grace and St. John’s in Hamden, Connecticut. My Uber driver and I traveled in silence along Whitney Avenue as the storefronts and Victorian homes of New Haven transformed into the storefronts and Arts and Crafts cottages of Hamden—finally making a left on Dixwell Avenue before turning into the church’s driveway. My driver stopped the car and turned around to ask me if this was a good place to drop me off. As he turned, his gaze went out the passenger side window and up along the side of the church wall.
“Oh,” he said, a touch of soft awe moving through his voice, “they have a mural. They welcome people here.”
My Uber drove away, and I was left alone in the Sunday morning quiet. Standing in the driveway, I looked up as my driver had done a few minutes before. There, high above my head in the style of old Italian frescos, stood Jesus: arms outstretched over a round table laden with bread loaves of many shapes and sizes, a basket of fish, and vessel of wine. A group of people—young, old, of different heritages, genders, and racial identities encircle the table, all with faces so familiar I was sure I had encountered each of them as I ate in restaurants or ran errands in Hamden. There is an open spot at the circle’s far-left, a place for the viewer to join the painted revelries—for what says welcome more than an open place for those who have yet to come? Flowers, similar to those in the pollinator garden behind me, bloomed from the bottom of the mural, and above Jesus’ head unfurled a red banner, proclaiming “All Are Welcome.”
The mural was painted by Berlin-based-artist Chris Gann over the summer and funded through a 2024 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. In September, I had the pleasure of speaking with Gretchen W. Pritchard, a parishioner, a gardener, and the driving force behind the funding and creation of the mural. She joked, “I garden out here often and I was tired of seeing a blank wall!” Gretchen wrote ten essays in a week to complete the grant application.
“The mural,” Gretchen continued, “is a way for us to connect our outreach to our worship.” If you live in the New Haven/Hamden area, you know about Grace and St. John’s outreach, especially Dinner for a Dollar, a program where anyone can come to the church and get a meal for a dollar. Founded by parishioner Allison Batson, the program now has several locations in other Hamden churches as well as a food truck. The food truck offers takeout every Sunday from a parking lot on State Street near the Department of Motor Vehicles. According to one of its dedicated volunteers, Lou Pressman, Grace and St. John’s typically serves about 100 meals a week in the parish basement, its kitchen and refrigerator full of grocery bags and trays of food donated by local organizations and restaurants. Inspired by this mosaic of generosity, Chris Gann, the mural artist, painted multiple loaves in front of Jesus, in multiple shapes and sizes—a visual connection that all can see when driving by on Dixwell Avenue.
Along with the mural, the grant money has given the parish resources to strengthen their a cappella singing and has paid for a series of organ lessons for the parish’s young organist, who is a proficient pianist and new to the organ. As Gretchen shared with me, “Here is [the Rev. Robert Bergner], who is a superb musician, multi-talented, and plays a whole bunch of instruments. But he is our celebrant. When he has to do stuff at the altar, we have a little trouble holding ourselves up doing music.” In March 2024, the parish held a public workshop with Music Makes Community and learned new techniques for group singing.
At the mural dedication on October 5, I saw—and heard—some of these hopes taking root and growing. Not only was it a day for the mural, but it was also a day of joyful celebration that included the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi and the parish’s growing ministries, capital improvements, and important anniversaries—including the 2022 merger with St. John the Evangelist, formerly of Yalesville. The fraction anthem lead by Gretchen on Sunday, “Whoever Eats this Bread,” used techniques taught at the Music Makes Community workshop. Surrounded by hearty a cappella singing, piano, and organ, the Rev. Robert Bergner said in his homily: “We can take our mustard-sized seed of faith and turn it into great things.”
At the service’s conclusion, we followed behind the cross procession down the main aisle and out into the bright October sunlight. Members of the parish then led the group through seven stations of outreach and growth around the church campus. At the mural, Chris Gann spoke: “I’m truly honored to be here today and to stand next to this mural and to have the support of the community. I wanted to thank you for supporting the arts and getting this message that all are welcome out into the community.”
On that sunny October day, through action, worship, and image, the people of Grace and St. John’s were not only connecting their worship and outreach but also celebrating all that they do, and continue to do, every day. Their “mustard-sized seed of faith” always growing, always blooming, always ready to welcome those who have yet to pull into their driveway—just like the pollinator flowers now painted on what was once a blank wall.
Many thanks to the Rev. Robert Bergner, Gretchen W. Pritchard, and Lou Pressman who took the time to speak with me. You can learn more about Grace and St. John’s through their website as well as their Facebook page.