Original art to be auctioned at Congar Casino Night

Intermountain Catholic

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This portrait will be among the artwork auctioned Aug. 27 at the Congar Institute fundraiser.

SALT LAKE CITY — Marvelous pieces of art, created and donated by members of the Catholic community at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk, MCI-Norfolk, will be auctioned at a fundraiser for the Congar Institute, which provides much of the instruction for the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Lay Ecclesial Ministry program.

The four-year LEM program prepares lay people to minister in the Church. The inaugural LEM class was certified last year; this year, two classes began, one for English speakers and another in the Spanish language.

The art for the fundraiser was created by the inmates from scratch and under adverse circumstances. Several of the pieces are portraits of Biblical figures; others are landscapes.

"The art is a way that the prisoners have to communicate the Gospel," said Dominican Father Wayne Cavalier, director of the Congar Institute.

"When people are touched with gratitude for their faith, they want to give to other people," said Susan Northway, director of the Religious Education office of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, about the inmates who produced the art.

"They [the prisoners] do it under difficult circumstances because some years ago the state stopped providing art lessons and art supplies to them, so they use whatever supplies are available to them to do whatever they can," Fr. Cavalier said.

Because supplies are limited, some of the inmates crush the remnants of crayons for an art medium. Three different artists donated their art for the auction; several are watercolors and others are charcoal and pastels.

"It’s art from the heart; they want to reach out and to share the faith that they have," Northway said.

This is the first time that the Diocese of Salt Lake City is holding a fundraiser for the Congar Institute. Casino Congar will take place Aug. 27 at St. Vincent de Paul Church’s Holy Family Center, 5000 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City.

At 6:30 p.m., Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus of the diocese, will receive the Yves Congar Award for the promotion of the laity in the mission of the Church. Afterward will be casino games, a silent auction, prizes and other fun, as well as appetizers.

For information, contact Susan Northway at 801-328-8641 ext. 326.