Bishop John Harvey Taylor and Cannon Kathy O’Connor with Taylor’s portrait.
The official portrait of Bishop John Harvey Taylor was unveiled May 30 at St. Paul’s Commons, Los Angeles, along with the opening of “In the Key of Heart” an art installation based on the theme of Taylor’s episcopate, “Feeding Hungry Hearts.” The portrait, painted by Juan Fernando Bastos, was a gift of Geoffrey Rusack and Alison Wrigley Rusack, the son and daughter-in-law of the late Bishop Robert Rusack, fourth bishop of the Los Angeles diocese.
More than 70 were in attendance at the celebration, where Canon Kathy O’Connor, who was instrumental in the commissioning of the portrait, did the official unveiling.
In a speech at the event, Taylor shared that his “Feeding Hungry Hearts” theme was based on Bruce Springsteen’s song “Hungry Heart.” The song, Taylor said, proposes that everyone has a hungry heart. “In the church, our ministry is to satisfy the heart’s hunger by encouraging the people of God to glorify God and care for one another and their neighbors.
“I think we’re all conscious of the heart’s resilience as well as its tenderness and vulnerability,” Taylor said. “The human heart is one of the marvels of the universe, surely one of God’s masterpieces. For most of us, between two and a half and three billion heartbeats will get us from our Alpha to our Omega. And yet the heart can be so easily damaged — by disease, of course, and also an unkind word, or an act of injustice or inhumanity. Loneliness, isolation, alienation, and hatred — these and other sicknesses can strain and break our hearts.
“If we’re here today, it probably means we are spiritual cardiologists, helping the people we serve contend with the stress test of life. Most of all, we pray this moment of fellowship will feed our hearts just a little for the peacemaking, love-spreading ministry we share in these stressful times.”
(From Left) Bishop John Harvey Taylor, Juan Fernando Bastos, Alison Wrigley Rusack, Geoffrey Claflin Rusack, and Kathy O’Connor with Taylor’s portrait.
He thanked the Rusacks as well as the artists displaying work in the show, and said that Geoff Rusack’s work and philanthropy serve as extensions of his father’s work, in the secular world, building community and taking care of people.
In remarks during the program, Geoff Rusack paid tribute to Bishop Taylor’s “leadership, calmness, and ability keep a smile on your face,” asking, “How does he really end a crisis if things aren’t going well? I think we all know what he does… It’s time for selfie!” Rusack thanked O’Connor and artist Bastos for making the portrait possible and “creating the ultimate selfie.”
Works featured in the show included: Krypton Heart, by David Otis Johnson, exhibited in collaboration with Nefesh Jewish Community; a Vintage serigraphs by Corita Kent, exhibited in partnership with the Corita Art Center and the Immaculate Heart Community; Oils by architect-artist David Davis, parishioner of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills; and Oil by artist Cyndi Sanchez, Marina del Rey artist and treasurer of Neighborhood Youth Association.
In her remarks, O’Connor thanked the Rusacks for their friendship and generosity, Bastos, and Taylor. “Being part of the Diocese of Los Angeles has meant, and continues to, and will always mean the world to us.”
The exhibit may be viewed at St. Paul’s Commons, 840 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles. Call 213.482.2040 to confirm viewing times.
Read the Bishop’s remarks here.