Friday, March 28, 2008

Ellen Halloran's vision:The Half Drowned World

The image above does not do justice to the original painting that will remain on display at the Ceres Gallery on West 27th Street until April 19th.

At last evening's opening Ellen graciously received friends and other viewers as she stood in the center of the gallery, bemused at seeing her own work literally in a new light: matted, framed and hung with an elegant symmetry on the pristine white walls.

These works were painted, mostly from memory, of Peru's Amazon region. The images, rich in sky, water and reflection conveyed, at least to me, a feeling of serenity, solitude and spaciousness amid the "precarious contingencies" that the artist mentions in her notes.

This post is not off the topic. Ellen is one of the many who have been drawn to Our Lady of Vilnius and whose sensibility has contributed to the richness of this special parish.

Ceres Gallery
547 West 27 Street, Suite 201
(between 10 & 11 Aves.)
New York, NY 10001
212-947-6100

hours:
Tuesday - Saturday 12-6
Thursday 12-8


Sunday, March 16, 2008

Palm Sunday, 2008: A Reflection



"Then Jesus said to them,


"This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.""

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

March 2, 2008: Still Standing

The church is still standing and so are we!

On Sunday, March 2, we gathered in front of the church as we have been doing every Sunday since it was locked on February 26, 2007. Eucharistic minister Vytas led us in prayer and gave us his very effective words of inspiration in Lithuanian. Rita came prepared with two pots of a hearty soup and Mrs. Aleliunas brought the homemade cheese that she usually brings to our Vyciai meetings. It is now a treat to see Mr. and Mrs. Aleliunas, not a weekly event. They are inspirational by their mere presence.

At the most recent meeting of our Save Our Lady of Vilnius Committee, a member stated that it is rumored that the church has been demolished, that it had been announced on a Connecticut radio show.

Here we have evidence to the contrary: the church is standing. We are not only still standing, we are still praying, still working, still hoping and, one year later, we are still inspired.