On Maundy Thursday, The United Church of Canada unveiled a playful photographic reinterpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper to celebrate the church’s 100th anniversary. The photograph depicts 12 “disciples” — diverse members of the United Church, including members of 2SLGBTQA+, Indigenous, disabled, neurodivergent and racialized communities — at a table on a dock on Loon Lake in British Columbia. Some items on the table carry significance for the denomination, such as centennial version of the Bible and the Pride flag, while others were personal, such as a jester doll and wooden cross that King Julez [Julian Munro], a drag clown, United Church master of divinity student and one of the people photographed, received.
This project had been in the works for months, but it is “more important than ever” to present it now given threats to diverse communities, says Ronda Parkes, the United Church’s director of communications, during the unveiling on Thursday at Metropolitan United in Toronto.
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When she was thinking about how to mark the centennial, what kept coming back to her through conversations with ministers, volunteers and United Church members at every level was the notion of “a place at the table” and its importance to the evolution of the church. The 12 disciples in the photo are all sitting at the table together, showcasing “diversity beyond race, beyond culture, diversity of ability, diversity of gender, diversity of race, diversity of understanding,” says Parkes. “We don’t want to assume sameness. We actually want to seek diversity and celebrate diversity.”
Initially, the photograph was meant to be taken indoors at a studio near Loon Lake as the “disciples” were gathering for a three-day retreat created for this purpose, but as photographer and minister Rev. Alan Lai recalls, “the weather was co-operating, and when we saw that lake and that very narrow dock, we wondered, wow, would that be possible?” What resulted was a stunning shot. “It just felt right to be in and among Creation outside,” says King Julez. “It really is such a great reminder that we are a part of this world as much as the trees and the dirt and the lakes are.”
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“This is a portrait of The United Church of Canada, and yet it is also a work of art in progress,” says General Secretary Rev. Michael Blair. He said that one of the attendees at the unveiling suggested retaking the photo in an urban context. “There’s an idealism to this… one may pick up themes of the Garden of Eden,” says Blair. As beautiful as the nature of British Columbia might be, there is also a Canadian “urban reality.”
Parkes says she hopes that the photo encourages viewers to learn more about the denomination. “Take the interest in the picture and turn it into an interest in understanding who the United Church is today, possibly who it’s been in its past, so you can understand where it’s coming from, and maybe get a glimpse of who it wants to be in the future, and then meet the people in your neighbourhood,” she says.
Before the photo settles into its permanent home at Bloor Street United in Toronto, it will appear in art galleries and Parkes hopes they will be able to reproduce it for congregations who want to make space for it on their walls.
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Evgenia Shestunova is an intern at Broadview.
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