Saturday, August 20, 2016

inSPIREd Sunday



June 2015 - Toronto ON

Spotted on Shuter St. between Bond and Church.


I found the following information here.

A United Church of Canada project, the first Paint Your Faith mural is designed “to encourage people from all walks of life to express their faith through art,” according to a UCC press release.

Completed in September 2009, the Toronto mural adorns the side of a 104-year old building on the property of the Metropolitan United Church. Four grafitti artists — two from Toronto (Elicser and Mediah) and two from San Francisco (Chor Boogie and Siloette) — were commissioned to collaborate on the piece, which measures 60′ x 30′ and took two weeks to complete. “The mural is part of the United Church’s ongoing effort to take its message of faith and spirituality back to the street,” says project executive producer Alan Serpa. The piece will be up for about a year, until construction of a new condo begins on the lot sometime in 2011.

UPDATE - since I took these photos in June 2015 I guess the deal on the condo may have fallen through.

UPDATE as of July 2016 the mural is still there.
UPDATE as of May 2020 still there





Designed by Henry Langley, who was to draw "the ubiquitous cloak of decorous gothicism over the face of Ontario in the 1870s" the church became known asthe "cathedral of Methodism...a monument to ... energy, magnetism and culture....No church in Toronto has such great advantages of position....The handsome grounds of this church form one of the finest spaces in this city....The entire building is of white brick, with abundant cut stone dressing. It is a modernized form of the French thirteenth century Gothic, with nave, transepts and choir."

It played an important role in the city that was occasionally nicknamed the "Methodist Rome".

Its immediate neighbours are St James's Cathedral (Anglican) and St Michael's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and the trio of similarly designed churches are a striking Christian witness immediately adjacent to Canada's financial hub. The church's website describes the building in customary evangelical Protestant terms, regarding the nave rather than the altar ("communion table") area as its "sanctuary."




The congregation, originally Methodist, was founded in 1818. It was originally housed in a small chapel on King Street West (now site of Commerce Court North). In 1833 a larger structure was completed on Adelaide Street and it moved to its present location in 1872 when the building was dedicated as the Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church.

In 1925 the Methodist Church of Canada merged with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada. Metropolitan then acquired its current name. The first General Council of the United Church was held there in 1925. In 1928 the church was almost destroyed by fire, but it was quickly rebuilt keeping the same design with the help of the Methodist Massey family, of Massey-Ferguson fame. In 1930 Casavant Frères installed the largest pipe organ in Canada in the newly refurbished building. The church is also known for its 54 bell carillon that is regularly heard throughout the neighbourhood.













Click here to see an interesting art display of chairs that adorned the church in 2013.

9 comments:

  1. That is one huge mural and with uninteresting story.

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  2. I've never seen this one in real life - will have to check it out one day.

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  3. I remember this one. It's still looking good!

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  4. Very beautiful mural! So realistic, IMHO.
    Have a Great Week!
    Peace :)

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  5. Wow, this is a fantastical image. I like the idea of taking the message of faith to the streets. Thanks for contributing to this week's Monday Mural.

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  6. This is a busy mural. And I'm glad it's still up for everyone to enjoy!

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  7. i love the mural. wow wee that is cool!! i will have to go back now and check out the church, i just hopped over 'cause i was so taken back by the art. neat-o!! ( ;

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