On May 4, 2023, St. Andrews Episcopal church was vandalized damaging the altar, baptismal font, and processional cross with the font being the most damaged. The carvings of several saints were also part of the damage.
“These physical objects such as the font, the consecrated hosts, and the altar are outward and visible signs of God’s presence among us and as such carry within themselves the holy. Matter matters. Things that we can touch, and handle can be sacred. Our very bodies are sacred. It’s related to finding the sacred in the ordinary. It is part of the incarnational nature of our theology,” Bishop Scott Mayer said. “That’s why even as we deal with our own sorrow and understandable anger, we remember the importance of praying for the perpetrators, who also are beloved children of God.”
The process of repairing and replacing these sacred items has been a tedious and thoughtful one. The original artist from Italy has passed away, so there was a search for an artist to honor the original artworks. The artistic process for sculpting involves several stages, including taking measurements, reviewing sketches, and creating clay mockups before any work begins with the marble.
Artist Tracy Sugg from WarTrace, TN, was selected to help our church family rebuild our Font. Tracy took such thoughtful consideration of the originals while ensuring each piece is Biblically more accurate than the originals. Through her research, she also sourced the exact granite the original pieces were created.
We are excited to announce to our St. Andrew's members and the community that the Botticino Classico marble has made its journey from Italy and made its way to Tennessee! Tracy will begin the process of sculpting St. Andrew, St. Paul, St. Mary Magdalene, St. John the Baptist, and the replacement base.
Over the next several months we will be sharing more updates as the process is nearing completion and as we near to complete restoration.
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