Miracle Monument

Miracle Monument

Red tape couldn't stymie sculptor Esther Augsburger. After a mere three years—a brief moment by bureaucratic standards—the artist's dream for a protest against gun violence, made of disarmed handguns and a huge, steel plowshare, has materialized in Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. Augsburger described her vision for CT in "A .38-calibre Plowshare" (Oct. 2, 1995, p. 38) but had no idea that in such a relatively short time she could have beaten the odds and cut through the red tape of a city famous for its red tape. She gives the credit all to God.

Monument proposals in the capital face a trying array of local committees, then other inquisitions occur on the federal level. This process has interrupted such commissions as Franklin D. Roosevelt's memorial or the statue commemorating women in the military by as much as eight years—one sculpture proposed by a private citizen has been pending for 38 years. Nevertheless, Augsburger engaged in the fray knowing that God supported the effort. In retrospect, she is still amazed by the outcome.

On September 9, 1997, before 500 onlookers, the 16-foot high, four-ton plowshare form was lowered by crane into a permanent cement and steel base. Augsburger fervently hopes that it will remain there as a memorial to every child and adult destroyed by gunfire—a considerable constituency.

Symbols of life and death Augsburger knew the project was particularly blessed by God when the chairman of the formidable Commission of Fine Arts, who has the final say on such projects, asked to be quoted on the record as approving the project "with enthusiasm."

While guns stand for death, the plowshare is a symbol of preparing the ground for life-sustaining growth. Augsburger, a Mennonite who lived near the capitol for 14 years and felt the pain of violence each day in her work with inner-city children, said in her dedication speech, "When we lay down our instruments of violence and turn our attention to implements which cultivate life, we will have peace. … We want this sculpture to help bear the pain of those who have lost loved ones by gun violence. And we hope that it can be a symbol of joy . …"

For a time, after the sculpture's installation, gang members met regularly to discuss peacekeeping; Augsburger reports, however, that gang leaders ultimately did not support that effort, and so it withered. Undaunted, the artist begins work this summer on a commission to honor Christians martyred in the Soviet gulags. She will travel to Siberia to review the site and interview families of the victims. As she knows from experience, the work of sowing peace and making restitution never ends.

Copyright © 1998 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

China's Changing Church: Eyewitnesses report looser regulation, ongoing repression, and booming revival. What does this mixed picture mean for the future?

Cover Story

China's Dynamic Church

Lutherans, Episcopalians Revive Talks

Brimstone for the Broadminded

Bad Things Still Happen

What the Hands Reveal

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from July 13, 1998

Fear and Faith in the Middle East

Church Nearly Closed After Lawsuit

One-Year Mission Changes Lives

Market Gobbles Up Veggie Tales

Comic Relief: Dear John the Evangelist

House Rejects Prayer Amendment

West Bank: Persecution Reports Unfounded

New Bill Threatens Freedom of Speech Religion

Vote for Peace No Panacea

Riots Traumatize Chinese Christians

Clinton Names Seiple to New Post

Evangelical Released from Prison

First Protestant Church Dedicated

Editorial

Lies We’ve Heard Before

News

News Briefs: July 13, 1998

If Christ Be Not Risen...

The Journalist in the Sedan Chair

LETTERS

Winding Paths Meet—Healing and Faith Find Connection

Patterson's Election Seals Conservative Control

Missiology: Uncovering Christianity's Hidden History

Fraud: Faithful Lose Millions in Ponzi Scheme

Sex Allegations: Megachurch Pastor Quits, Denies Wrongdoing

News

News Briefs: July 13, 1998

Editorial

Discerning the Healing Spirits

China Mission: More than 'Ping-Pong Diplomacy'

Playing the Grace Card

Karla Faye's Final Stop

In the Word: What's Wrong with Spirituality?

Do Demons Have Zip Codes?

Whatever Happened to Middle-Class Hypocrisy?

View issue

Our Latest

Review

Don’t Give Dan Brown the Final Word on the Council of Nicaea

Bryan Litfin rescues popular audiences from common myths about the origins of Trinitarian doctrine.

Review

Needing Help Is Normal

Leah Libresco Sargeant’s doggedly pro-life feminist manifesto argues that dependence is inevitable.

News

Died: John Huffman, Pastor Who Told Richard Nixon to Confess

The Presbyterian minister and CT board member committed to serve the Lord and “let the chips fall where they may.”

The Pastor Who Rescues People from Japan’s ‘Suicide Cliff’

Yoichi Fujiyabu has spent three decades sharing God’s love to people who want to end their lives.

An Ode to the Long Season

Why fans love a game designed to break their hearts.

Is This Heaven? No, It’s Banana Ball

What baseball’s most amusing team gets right about joy in sports.

News

Black Clergy and Christians Grapple with Charlie Kirk’s Legacy

Many say the activist’s inflammatory statements on race should inform how we remember his life.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube