New Artwork on St. Andrew’s Campus
Visitors to St. Andrew’s have the opportunity to experience a new piece of artwork on our campus. Homeless Jesus, a life-sized bronze sculpture by Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz depicting Jesus as a person experiencing homelessness sleeping on a park bench, is installed outside Door 1 of the Sanctuary. His face and hands are obscured, but crucifixion wounds on his feet reveal his identity.
The statue has been described as a “visual translation” of the Gospel of Matthew passage in which Jesus tells his disciples, “Truly, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40). The sculpture at St. Andrew’s is one of only approximately 100 original castings at significant spiritual and community locations around the world, including outside the Papal Office of Charities in Rome, at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York, and in Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Homeless Jesus was donated to St. Andrew’s by Pilgrim’s Holy Land Fund, a group of people who have visited the Holy Land with St. Andrew’s pilgrimage trips. A group from St. Andrew’s, including Lead Pastor Mike Carlson, were moved to take action after they saw the sculpture in Capernaum in 2019. After applying to the sculptor with information about where the sculpture would be displayed and its purpose in our ministry, the group raised funds for its creation and installation. “The sculpture speaks to the core of who we are as Jesus’ people, and to our calling as a place for help, hope and healing,” says Pastor Mike.
