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(May 2, 2007) – “The Remains of Faith: a Pioneer Legacy,” 35 photographs by Susan Lawler, is now on exhibition at the Center. The show offers black-and-white images of former churches, some in ruins, some used for other purposes and some surprisingly well preserved, that once represented the prairie’s promise to European immigrants. “The Remains of Faith” runs through June 24 at the Center. “Stolen Windows” shows detail from the Lutheran church for Danish immigrants in Seward County, Neb. “St. Mark’s Lutheran Church,” in Oshkosh, Garden County, Neb., was built in 1906 for German immigrants. “The Former Presbyterian Church at Bodrac," in Sioux County, Neb., was dedicated in 1890 and closed in 1930. “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” in Wilson County, Neb., lasted from 1883 to 1977.
The railroads’ failed marketing promise, drought, shifts in agri-business and growing sophistication about the world beyond the prairie contributed to the downturn of small towns and the disappearance of churches that had served communities for decades. Lawler, who has devoted full time to photography since 1998, found a former church at the vanished town of Knox, Iowa. She came across St. Henry, a former Catholic Church, at Stanton County, Neb., which lasted from 1902 to 1969. In Webster County, Neb., she photographed the former Methodist Church of New Virginia, built in 1906. A pair of photographs shows “The Little Church in Keystone,” Keith County, Neb. One end of the church was for Protestants; the other, for Catholics. A mechanism allowed the backs of the pews to flip to accommodate services at either end. Some of the churches in “The Remains of Faith” now are used for new purposes, including boat storage. A few retain some function as settings for rare religious occasions. Finding these remnants challenged Lawler to travel off the beaten path. Along the way she encountered total strangers who helped her discover the stories of the people who built the structures and put the church at the center of their lives. “As I happened upon these old churches, I grew more interested in them and their histories. I was especially taken by the generosity and faithfulness to community that characterized these new immigrants to this prairie,” she says. “Barely able to sustain their own lives, they managed to build churches from their skills and meager resources.” Lawler’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, including: The Middle of Somewhere, Solo Show, Governor’s Mansion, Lincoln, Neb.; SNAP National Juried Photography Exhibition, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales; National Juried Show, Rosenthal Gallery, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, N.C.; 17th Annual Five-State Photography Exhibition, Hays Arts Council, Hays, Kan.; and The Visual Edge: Alternative Explorations, a national juried show in alternative processes, Sacramento Valley Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, Calif. Lawler has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Theology from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., and a Diplome Catechese from Lumen Vitae, Brussels, Belgium. The Center is a private, non-profit institution built and sustained by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (MRHD). Located off I-29, exit 149, the Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission, all programs, exhibits and activities are free. For more information call 712-224-5242 or visit www.siouxcitylcic.com.
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“The complex factors that affected rural towns and
farms affected these churches,” says Lawler,
a retired Creighton University Theology
faculty member. “Diminished and disappeared
towns meant consolidated or abandoned
churches.”