It’s a simple message, but it speaks volumes.
A multicolored sun, each shade representing one fragment of the many identities welcome under the roof that bears it.
That scene is the centerpiece of a newly painted temporary mural at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading.
The art piece was conceived in part by Donte Jones, a pastor at Lift United Church of Christ in Lancaster.
“It’s a mural that lets LGBT people know there are allies (here),” Jones said. “It’s just about being together as a community. When LGBT people do well, the whole community does well.”
Jones said he and other United Church of Christ pastors are working with the denomination’s congregations throughout the region to organize mural projects.
“We have murals everywhere from outside of Philly to Erie,” Jones said. “All the murals follow a similar pattern: a progress flag sun and the words ‘Come let us join our lights together.’”
The mural at the GoggleWorks was a collaboration between Jones and congregation members of Calvary United Church of Christ in Reading.
Also serving as an organizer of the GoggleWorks mural was the Rev. Steve Ohnsman, pastor at Calvary.
Ohnsman said he initially reached out to numerous locations in Berks looking for a volunteer to allow Calvary UCC and Jones to paint the mural on its doors.
“Most places said no,” Ohnsman said. “It’s not like it’s a controversial message.”
As a space that seeks transformation through art, the GoggleWorks was an ideal place for the mural, said Jennifer Stoltzfoos, engagement manager with the arts center.
“(When we heard) that community members are coming together to work on it, that’s what we want to do and support,” Stolzfoos said. “We have a lot of programs here, workshops, community engagement activities. We just thought this was a nice way to bring people together.”
Members of Reading Pride, the LGBT Center of Reading and All Souls Ecumenical Catholic Communion also attended the event to help paint the mural.
“Reading is in a great location and at a great point right now where all of our organizations coming together, even for things that seem small, can show unity and be that guiding light the community needs,” said Kai Miller, vice president at the LGBT Center.
Ohnsman noted that Calvary UCC had become a designated “open and affirming” congregation in 2013.
That designation is awarded after meeting certain criteria, including a congregation-wide vote, laid out by the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC.
Churches designated “open and affirming” offer an explicit welcome to LGBT+ members, as well as other historically marginalized groups.
Ohnsman said Calvary was the first UCC congregation in Berks County to adopt the “open and affirming” designation.
“In our church, we have a big rainbow banner out front that kind of lets people know what we believe,” Ohnsman said. “We don’t focus on (who is straight and who’s not.) We just live life as the church and let everybody come in.”
From left, Robert Waffle and Henry Pruski of All Souls Church; and Ashley Myers and her daughter Nina, 12, of Calvary UCC all work on a mural at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)