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(May 18, 2007) – The Center will present a gallery talk by photographer Susan Lawler at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27. The event will be free. Thirty-five photographs by Lawler comprise “The Remains of Faith: a Pioneer Legacy” on exhibition at the Center through June 24. The black-and-white photographs show 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. A few of the churches retain some function as settings for rare religious occasions. Lawler shot the photographs in Nebraska and Iowa. Lawler, who is retired from teaching theology at Creighton University, traveled off the beaten path to find these remnants. Assisted by strangers she encountered along the way, the artist discovered stories about the people who built the churches and put their faith at the center of their lives. “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.” “Stolen Windows,” for example, 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. A range of factors influenced the decline and eventual closing or consolidation of the rural churches, including the railroads’ failed marketing promise, drought, changes in agri-business and growing sophistication and longing for the world beyond the prairie. Lawler has devoted full time to photography since 1998. Her 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. 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, with special Memorial Day hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission, all programs, exhibits and activities are free. For more information call 712-224-5242 or visit www.siouxcitylcic.com.
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