The Mission

I often say that their is a mission with my work. That the building itself is only part of the story.

The entire core idea is about raising awareness for those who have some kind of disability. Such as those that are more invisible like mine. I was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy. Not many people fully understand all the ins and outs connected to it. No matter how you slice it I am unable to work. Instead I focus my efforts on other areas. My feeling is that if God has been kind enough to give me this amazing talent then it is something that I need to share. To show others that even if you have some kind of challenge God can still use your talents. Often those talents are used in amazing and creative ways.

The other focus is showing and giving a reminder of how important the Mass is to the Catholic faith. Our parishes are the backbone of our lives. It is not just a place we meet every weekend. It is a place where we come to celebrate Christ and to rebuild our faith from all the stuff that goes on in a typical week. The Catholic Mass is one of the most amazing and beautiful things one can take part in. Because of the rich history that is contained with in. My project is a snapshot of that parish life. That is played out at parishes all over the world. The project in that respect has become prayer. That more people would come home and that people would be reminded of how important the Mass is. How important is to take a more active role in our parish communities.

This is my mission in this life. This is why I keep doing this year after year. This is why I want to share my work with others. This is The Lego Church Project.

-JM

Season 18 Update

The Season 18 project is coming along decently enough. Fifteen days in and I'm farther along than I expected to be. Things have been going decent enough so far but I have a lot of work between here and now.

This project has been a rather fun mix of old ideas revisit and new ideas yet to be tried. But so far the keeping in line with the vision I had when I started out. Fan of the project will note that I'm using a window design by the alter is a lot like what I did on the Season 13 project. This goes back into the history and was a common feature of previous builds. Something I happened to like. Though it wasn't the plan starting out. The benches are a pretty simple build for the most part. Same style I've used for years. If I could ever get enough parts or a major donation I wouldn't mind upgrading to something that I'm using for the ensemble music group. A lot simpler to build but would require more plates and hinges than what I have on hand. Not even sure what the bricklink prices are on those parts to be honest.

The long read beams were done by mixing plates together. This is done for support because those beams also mark the main area of the church. The beams in this case also support balcony and the bell towers. So far this project has the record for the longest beams ever built. In fact I pretty much wiped out my collection of red plates doing this. Unless I happen to find some extra buried in the one tub I have all the red bricks in.

This project is extremely ambitions. Even with the stuff I've added recently I will probably have a few issues here and there. But I have a much better handle on where the project is going than I did last week. The list of what needs to be done is rather large and may take some time. I don't have a finish date in mind just yet. But this isn't a marathon. Speed building can cause more problems than they solve. I can't wait to finish the project and I can't wait to start doing displays.

If you would like to help me out please check this page: "What can you do to help?" Or consider making a Paypal donation via this link: https://www.paypal.me/LegoChurchProject.  

-JM

Working on the Project

I always get excited when I sit down and start work on a Lego Church Project season. I never know before hand how the project will turn out. What challenges I will face in the process of building. Typical stuff that is probably common with any artist who spends time on his/her craft. Mine just happens to be using a well known brand of building toys.

The project is for me a release. It is a chance to focus all I am on that single moment. To work with my hands in ways that are not all that common. It forces me to think and to look far into the future. I often say that I go in with a "throw and go" kind of view. Meaning that I don't have much of a plan going in. To be honest that is only partly correct. Once the lay out is set you do have to have to have some kind of road map.  A vision where things will go. Giving me a chance to tell a story with my work.

It gives me a chance to confront my own fears and anxiety over life head on. The fear and anxiety that comes with this project is with the bricks themselves. Assuming that I have enough of a specific part to finish my goals. That some issues will develop with the design and I may have to scrap something for another plan. But I've been doing this for a long time. I fight the anxiety and the fear in reminding myself that I know how the previous seasons have gone. I know that if something doesn't go according to plan their is always another way to do something. I'm not sure how it is for other artists. But I know for me that sometimes things happen and you learn. Still that fear is always in the back of my mind.

Still though all the challenges I am telling a story. The bricks and parts are a mix of new and old. Some have faded with age. Some have scratches and dings from years of use. When I work on the project I'm not seeing a new building. I'm seeing a parish community that has been around for a while. That this place has been around for far longer than most realize. This parish community could be mine. It could be yours. It could be in theory any Catholic Church in the world. It is a snap shot of who we are as Catholics. Celebrating the most important part of our faith. Jesus Christ.

About eight days ago I started work on my 18th season. I have no idea where this build will take me. I've been having visions of past visits to Our Lady of Loretto in Redford. Though the layout is not connected to the parish. More along the lines of past visits that I have made. I've done two displays with them in the past and it is one of list of places I would love to go back to. Any place I've been to becomes fuel for my ideas. The build is going well so far. Not quite to the half way point as of this post. I'm not in a rush. This isn't a race for me. I want to build the best project that I am able to.

By the Grace of God, I'm still building.

-JM