CITY OF GOD is an ongoing documentary project which celebrates the immigrant church in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. As a gateway city with over seventy nations represented, Lynn is filled with God, faith, and lots of churches. This project is funded through a pastoral study grant from the Louisville Institute and includes an advisory group of faith leaders from the city.
Several portfolios are in development and include “Sacred Places” which catalogs the architecture of various ethnic congregations and “Public Faith” which documents personal expressions of faith found in Lynn. A future portfolio will reflect communal spirituality in a variety of expressions – from worship to outreach to service to others. You can follow the project on Instagram.
Join us for a facilitated and interactive Art Gallery Opening on Friday, February 10 (7 – 9 pm)
- Experience the documentary photo series installed at Sanctuary
- Hear from the artist about the impact of the series on his own faith
- Reflect together on the impact of this series on you!
The Gallery @Sanctuary, 458 High Street, Medford, MA
Wine/sparkling drinks and cheese will be served.
Virtual Options will be facilitated.
Read the Artist's Inspiration and Biography
The immigrant journey is often one of deepening faith in the midst of struggle and hardship. Leaving your home country brings a sadness of loss but also perhaps trauma from violence one may have experienced. The journey itself is often filled with unknowns and uncertainties, and fraught with dangers.
Arrival and resettlement can be a time of loneliness and the experience of prejudice.
As with saints in the past, many immigrants turn to faith in a higher power to help them.
sacred places
Lynn, Massachusetts is a place of notable history, once named “Shoe Manufacturing Capital of the World”, it has also been the home of General Electric’s Aviation industry and marshmallow Fluff. But today, Lynn is known foremost as a gateway city, welcoming immigrants from around the world. We have the 5th largest Cambodian community in the country, the 2nd largest Guatemalan community in New England, and people come to us from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
Not all immigrants are religious or stick with their faith when they settle in America, but a great many continue to worship God with others and find their faith strengthened. Corporate worship takes place several times a week in historic churches, storefronts, and repurposed buildings, and also in homes and offices. The incredible variety of religious communities in Lynn and other gateway cities in America testifies to a God who is a source of comfort and help in a time of displacement and adjustment, no matter where you come from on the planet.
public faith
New England is known for following on the heels of Europe spiritually, consistently ranking as one of the least religious parts of the country. A result of this is that religious faith is often pushed to the side, considered by many to be a private matter, and not suited for the public arena.
But if you come from Africa or Latin America or certain parts of Asia, the spiritual climate is very different. Religious faith is exploding in what is known as the Global South, due to urbanization, a post-colonial environment where faith is owned by the people, a grassroots movement of the poor and the power of God.
The result is that many immigrants who come to a city like Lynn bring a faith that is vibrant, confident, expressive and bold. It is a faith to be proclaimed loudly – on your car or mailbox, in the front of your yard, on your clothing, and in outdoor festivals and street corners. Put no bushel basket over it, this is a light for all to see.
