The Angel of Consolation
In November 2020, Christ Anglican Church was blessed to receive a beautiful statue, named the Angel of Consolation. A gift from the family of Jesse Wilson, this plate silhouette created by nationally-known artist Lei Hennessy-Owen of Jennerstown, Pennsylvania stands thirteen feet high. The artist originally dedicated the statue in loving memory of Pat Tillman, a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals. He left the game to fight terrorism overseas in the U.S. Army, where he gave his life for his country. The Angel contains steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center and is part of a group of statues called “Freedom’s Steadfast Angels of Love,” one of which stood at Ground Zero in New York, another at the Pentagon, and another at the crash site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
The Angel of Consolation was dedicated to its sacred purpose by Bishop Peter Hansen on November 22, 2020. It provides a place of peace and beauty where anyone may come to express sadness, then gaze upward and be consoled, encouraged, and relieved. Through prayer and faithful giving, the Angel has been placed within a simple desert garden on a beautiful plinth on the southwest corner of our campus, near the entrance to the parking lot. The sculpture is the center point of this sacred space, the Angel of Consolation Garden. Leading to the Angel one finds a prayerful walking Labyrinth. The garden includes memorial benches and tree memorials. A memorial wall is in the planning stages.
All who are experiencing grief or loss are welcome to come and be blessed and consoled in this place. If you would like to make a gift to further enhance the Angel of Consolation space, please click the button below and be sure to designate your gift to the “Angel of Consolation.” Christ Anglican Church is grateful to God for blessing us with this beautiful and inspiring piece of art. We pray that it will comfort and encourage all who come to visit this very special place.