In a ceremony last week, Community Christian Church dedicated an original mural on the south-facing wall of its building to the City of Morgan Hill that urges passersby to practice a force that might see the local community and the world out of its current challenges: Hope.
The dedication of the mural—created by San Jose artist Patrick Hofmeister—was in celebration of Community Christian Church’s 10th anniversary at its location at 305 West Main Ave. It was also a recognition of the ongoing relationship that the church has had with City Hall and the people of Morgan Hill at large.
Pastor Kyle Windsor said at the Sept. 24 ceremony—which took place on a patch of grass just in front of the new mural—that that relationship began during the development process when Community Christian expanded its Morgan Hill location. Since then, the relationship has flourished and grown to embrace the entire community with frequent food giveaways and other outreach programs.
“Our part is to serve City Hall and the residents of the city,” Windsor said. “We have given out tens of thousands of meals and groceries, and helped marriages reconcile, helped the poor, and visited the shut-ins. Last year, we started the inclement weather shelter.”
The mural depicts a peaceful, idyllic setting within a picture frame. Hillsides and fluffy clouds adorn the background, behind a patch of colorful wildflowers. A blue heron sits on the right side of the mural, while a mature oak tree hangs over the word “HOPE.”—which is painted in letters more than six feet tall in the center of the piece.
Windsor said the placement of the period punctuation mark after “HOPE” signifies an important meaning.
“In the English language, this is a command. This is a fact that hope exists,” Windsor said. “This is a plea to you, grab hold of that hope. This is an action you are to do. The fact is that we actually do have hope.”
The Sept. 24 socially distanced ceremony was attended by city officials and members of Community Christian.
“We need hope more than ever now,” City Manager Christina Turner said. “No matter what your faith is, it is hope that good will overcome evil, it’s hope that light will overcome darkness, it’s hope that we’ll get through Covid-19 together, it’s hope that we will get a handle on the wildfires, it’s hope that there will be peace after the civil unrest we’re going through, it’s hope that we can all live in harmony together.”
A bronze plaque on the wall next to the mural states that the piece is dedicated to the City of Morgan Hill. “Because the world needs HOPE, we present this gift to our community, Morgan Hill, its leaders, residents and those who are passing through, that all who see this will find hope,” the plaque reads.
Mayor Rich Constantine spoke to the community as a whole as he described the importance of working through challenges together.
“It’s what you give the city that helps us maintain the hope that we will get through these tough times,” Constantine said. “We lean on each other.”
Community Christian Church commissioned Hofmeister, an artist with the DDEF collective, to paint the mural. Hofmeister said the church gave him ample freedom to come up with the concept.
He described the pastoral backdrop of the piece as a “surreal setting of a beautified Morgan Hill,” through a picture frame. The blue heron is known as a “very peaceful bird” that in some cultures is thought to be connected to human souls, Hofmeister said. The oak tree is a “powerful symbol of strength and growth.”
The use of the word “HOPE.” as the mural’s central focal point was “obvious,” Hofmeister said. “I added the period. It just felt like it was the end of the sentence.”
Hofmeister and his apprentice, Lucia Maldonado, painted the mural with acrylic and spray paint.
Maldonado said it was the first mural she has worked on. The pair of artists worked on the mural on site at Community Christian Church, over the course of several weeks. Maldonado said it was fun interacting with pedestrians who walked past the work in progress on the West Main Avenue sidewalk.
“The more it progressed, the more people became excited about it,” Maldonado said.
