Art to be auctioned at Congar Casino Night

Intermountain Catholic

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This is one of the special art pieces that will be for auction during the Casino Congar. The art was created by inmates at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk.

                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 from scratch and under diverse circumstances.  Several of the pieces are portraits of Biblical figures; others are landscapes.

 “When people are touched with gratitude for their faith, they want to give to other people,” said Susan Northway about the inmates who produced the art.  “This art is a way to communicate the Gospel; they 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,” said Dominican Father Wayne Cavalier, Director of the Congar Institute.

A complete story will appear in the Aug. 12 issue of the Intermountain Catholic.