Saturday, November 21, 1998

Sales of gargoyles help feed the poor

By Tom Schaefer

Knight Ridder Newspapers

A three-car accident that ended up in his front yard and the sound of gunshots echoing in the night welcomed Father Alan Tilson to the neighborhood.

"I was little bit scared," said Tilson, who a year ago was spending his first night in the rectory of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Kan.

That same week, while hanging a banner on the outside of the church, Tilson noticed gargoyles on all four sides of the church's bell tower. His church, it turns out, is the only active one in the city that has the decorative figures.

And that gave him an idea.

"Gargoyles turn negatives into positives, fear into faith," he said. "I have to live here with faith or fear."

He also needed to raise money for two of the church's church's hunger-related programs. Designing and selling gargoyles seemed like the perfect way to bolster faith and to help a lot of people in need.

For those unfamiliar with early European gargoyles, they originally were decorated waterspouts used to divert rainwater from a building. In the Middle Ages, they often were shaped to resemble the fire-breathing monster of Greek mythology, Chimeras, who had the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent.

But gargoyles also could denote positive images -- monks, pilgrims and saints. The fanciful images on buildings were said to ward off evil or to provide a blessing for those inside. And that was exactly what Tilson was after.

In requesting a $10,000 grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to help the church's hot-meal program and food pantry, Tilson said the church would supplement both hunger projects by making and selling gargoyles. The diocese provided the grant.

Soon after, Tilson met an artist at a Kansas City art gallery who agreed to make a gargoyle mold based on the gargoyles on the tower of St. Paul's. The result was the creation of two molds and the purchase of materials to produce four 7-by-7-inch gargoyles a day. A retired couple at St. Paul's began making the cement, sand and composite clay figures six months ago at the church. The gargoyles, which have a greenish, marblelike appearance, sell for $30, plus $7 shipping.

"They not only pay our bills," Tilson said of the Gothic creations, "they feed the poor."

The church already has sold more than $8,000 worth of the grinning gargoyles. People who have bought the figures have hung them on walls of homes, in gardens, even on a pet cemetery headstone.

While production continues to run smoothly, Tilson said, "we can't keep up with the demand." He's ordered more molds.

If you want to order a gargoyle -- and help a worthy cause -- call St. Paul's Church at (913) 321-3535 on weekdays or Business by Promotion at (800) 611-7184.

Not wanting to miss out on a gargoylian opportunity, Tilson said he plans to come out with a new offer for Lent. It'll be called "Grinning Gargoyle Celestial Chapel Kit for Home or Office."

The $50 kit will include a gargoyle holding a pilgrim's cross, a prayer card of St. George of the Dragon, a cone of incense and a votive candle.

"It'll chase away all the bad people," Tilson said with a chuckle. "In the office, you may need more than one."

Just to be safe, Tilson said, he has three of the first-edition gargoyles in his rectory.

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(Tom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle. Write to him at the Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201, or send e-mail to tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com )

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(c) 1998, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).

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