Community Painting Day Set for April 11

A blank wall on the north side of the education building at Penningtonville Presbyterian Church (PPC) in Atglen will be transformed into a mural, one of the special activities that will celebrate the church's 175th anniversary this May. The mural will be painted by the congregation members, and the public is welcome to participate.

The 14-by-26-foot mural, which will be located along Ridge Avenue, has been designed by anniversary committee members. Helping to assist in the placement of the mural will be artists Michael Miller and Steve Wilson.

"Our committee has worked on the layout of it, and we have two artists, Steve Wilson, a former member who grew up in the church and is well-known in the Lancaster art world, and Michael Miller, who grew up in Gap and now lives in Reading," explained congregation and committee member Lisa Rudisill. She noted that both artists are skilled in the creation of community murals.

The mural will not be painted directly onto the wall. Rather, 3-by-5-foot panels will be painted, and the artists will affix the panels to the blank wall to create the finished project.

"They will take the drawing that the committee has designed and worked on, and they will transfer it to big canvas pieces, and we are going to paint them," explained Rudisill. "We're painting on polyester interfacing (using) acrylic paint."

A community art painting day will take place on Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The artists will be on hand to provide assistance and complete touch-up work. Additional painting, if necessary, will continue on Saturday, April 18.

People of all ages, including children, are welcome to paint, but youngsters must be accompanied by an adult.

"We can take 16 people at a time to paint for a max of an hour. It will be paint by number," said Rudisill, noting no previous painting experience is necessary.

The mural will feature symbols against a burgundy background to match the church's decor, along with outstretched hands that represent various ages and ethnicities.

"We want as many people to touch this (mural) and be a part of it as possible. At Penningtonville, we have our own congregation, but (the mural is) representing this whole community, which is why there are old, young and different nationalities that are all part of it," said Rudisill. "Every kind of person has been inside of our church. This is a visual representation of (our community). We want anyone and everyone to help."

The cross in the center of the mural, which represents the church steeple, was designed by congregation member Dan Miller. "He is a 97-year-old art professor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts," Rudisill noted. "It's a wood cut; that is his specialty. He takes a piece of wood and carves it out (and creates the item) in reverse, like a printing press."

After the 3-by-5-foot panels have been painted, they will be attached to the wall like puzzle pieces until the mural is formed. "(The artists) will affix it to the wall with some kind of glue, and they will cover it with a protective coating," said Rudisill. "We will be finishing the painting in April, and it will be put in place by May."

PPC's 175th anniversary celebration will be held on Sunday, May 17. "The mural dedication will be a big part of our anniversary celebration," said congregation member and committee member Pat Softchin. "We will have a big worship service that day. We invited past ministers, friends and family members of the congregation and dignitaries. One of our former ministers, Jason Link, will be out guest minister." The event will be followed by a church picnic.

Penningtonville Presbyterian Church is located at 406 Main St., Atglen. Those who would like to take part in the painting are asked to call the church in advance at 610-593-2173 to reserve a one-hour painting slot. For more information, visit http://www.penningtonvillechurch.org/event/community-art-painting-day.

More information about church activities is available at http://www.penningtonvillechurch.org and http://www.facebook.com/PenningtonvillePC.