wfn.org | Volunteers create Upper Rooms at church

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 18, 2001  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{481}

NOTE: This report is a sidebar to UMNS story #480. 

By Debbie Bernardo*

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (UMNS) - The task of transforming the Parkway Heights
United Methodist Church Sunday school area into the Upper Rooms required
scores of volunteers, who did everything from sweeping floors and organizing
closets to painting rooms and shopping for carpet to installing water lines
and rewiring the computer room.

One of the most dedicated volunteers was 18-year-old Spence Townsend of
Hattiesburg, who spent two months this summer painting murals on the
stairwell and in the Courtyard. The project was daunting because of its
scope alone, Townsend says, but for him, the sky literally was the limit.
 	
"Painting the sky on the ceilings was a big obstacle because it was a
physical strain as well as a danger," he recounts. "I had to use scaffolding
for the first time ever when I painted the ceiling above the stairwell. I
got pretty discouraged and, yes, there were times I felt like giving up, but
I just put faith in myself and in my ability to get the job done."

The Parkway Heights murals are the largest project Townsend has ever
tackled. "I felt honored that the church put so much trust in me, but I was
very worried by such a great responsibility," says the freshman art major at
the University of Southern Mississippi. A graduate of Hattiesburg High
School, he has received numerous awards for his work; two of his efforts - a
representation of one of his art teachers and a series of six large panels
that form a mural dedicated to the fine arts - still hang in the art wing at
the school.

For the Upper Rooms, Townsend looked for design ideas in books about
Jerusalem and the Holy Land, making quick sketches that allowed him to
visualize what he would paint. 

"I viewed the pictures in these books to get a feel for the landscape, and
then created my own interpretations on how the murals should be painted. It
was challenging to develop designs on such a large scale. I really had to
think about how the different walls would eventually work together when
painted. I improvised minor details and touched up as I went along."

As Townsend worked, a steady stream of volunteers pitched in to complete a
myriad of chores associated with the renovation. Art teacher Kim Ryland
spent many hours painting the upstairs corridors and each of the workshop
doors. Jim Stone essentially served as "church engineer," constructing
risers and the arch for the entrance, wiring rooms, installing sinks and
countertops, even installing water and sewer lines. 

"Since the future of our faith depends on the education and growth of our
children, I gladly accepted the challenge of helping to renovate and equip
the old rooms," Stone says. The biggest jobs, he adds, were installing water
and sewer service to the art room and putting in a new water cooler.

One of Stone's most visible contributions is the arch that graces the
entrance to the Upper Rooms. He began with a scale drawing on graph paper,
then transferred the design full scale to a sheet of thick plywood, using a
saber saw to cut the two sides of the arch. He used thinner material to
create the top and bottom, then assembled the arch and put it in place for
Townsend to paint.

There are many rewarding aspects of the project, Stone says, among them "the
willing help of so many people and the single-minded dedication of Spence
Townsend to the murals."

Townsend says he's only received positive feedback so far, but he's not sure
yet whether he's completely satisfied with the murals. "I'm trying not to
look at them for a while, because I can usually see my mistakes pretty
easily if I can look at my artwork with a fresh eye. It would be great if my
college art professors saw the work, because they could offer plenty of
constructive criticism. I am proudest of the continuity I believe the
painting presents as a whole." 
 
# # #

*Bernardo is a free-lance writer in Hattiesburg, Miss., and a member of
Parkway Heights United Methodist Church. This story originally appeared in
the Advocate, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church's Mississippi
Area.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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