THE STRANGER

There’s a statue of a hooded figure sitting on the bench out in front of Trinity Lutheran Church in Kutztown. They're covered in blankets, shrouded by a hood. Only their hands and feet can be seen, and both bear scars. Draw closer, and you can see and feel that they are made from wood, and intricately carved. And there’s space on the bench where you can sit beside them, rest, pose for a selfie, ponder, even pray with them.

You’ll find no plaques or labels, no titles or explanations. That’s intentional. We’ve decided as a church, just to let people encounter the work on their own and make it their own. Of course, for those who notice, the nail marks in the hands and feet suggest the crucified Jesus, resurrected from the dead but still out there in the world, sitting with and as one of the suffering, the outcast, the homeless. That’s why some call the statue the ‘Homeless Jesus.’ We've come around to calling them 'The Stranger.'

The facts about the artwork are more straightforward. It was carved from a single piece of pine, by local artist Todd Gladfelter using a chainsaw. It weighs close to 300 pounds. It is bolted to a bench that includes two concrete ends.

Engagement with the piece is the whole point. You are encouraged to take photos, to touch, and especially to sit and spend time with the figure, at all times of day and in all kinds of weather.

Fear can be a common first reaction. That’s okay. All of us can be frightened of the stranger, the person on the street, the person left alone or on the outside. That’s who the statue is too. And the statue lets us practice approaching, sitting, and welcoming the ‘other’ without fear.

If you see the person there as Jesus, then maybe we can see Jesus in all the other persons who scare us. And maybe we can be more like Jesus to our neighbors all around us, the folks suffering outside our houses, our businesses and our churches – places where, in the past, they may not have always felt welcome or at home.