Saturday, August 20, 2016

En Plein Air: Kew Gardens Sung Shin Reformed Church (Oil, 12 x 9)


It is located at the street corner of Kew Gardens Rd. and Lefferts Blvd, across from the Maple Grove Cemetery. The official name is Kew Gardens Sung Shin Reformed Church. It is or was, mainly, a Korean church with the name over the entrance spelled in Korean only. I am not sure whether the church is still active or not because I've never seen an signs of religious practice there; nor do I know if it is a Christian denomination or is accepted by the Christian Association. What still remains in my memory is one of my instructors when I was a graduate student belonged to the church. If I do not remember wrong, the church is a weird combination of all major religions including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc. Even though I haven't done any research, I guess, judging by the architectural style, it was originally a Christian church. Anyway, in my mind, the Koreans are enthusiastic religious believers. They seem to be extraordinarily active in all religions. I still remember Sun Myung Moon in 80's. They were very aggressive and, sort of like today's Chinese Falungong believers, would chase you down at the airport or malls in order to recruit you.

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