Hidden - and not so hidden - joys

OOPS! This blogpost was written last month when we were in Lithuania. So much has been going on that often we write the blogs, then hold them for a few days. Somehow, Ted overlooked this one, so travel back in time with Judy to Kaunas:

Judy. In a hidden courtyard right off one of the main streets in Kaunas is a funny gateway with a metal yard chair on the top. Just inside is a mural of three older women demanding quiet. Welcome to the Yard Gallery. 

Welcome!

Many Soviet-era buildings and courtyards are bare, cold, and unwelcoming. Artist Vytenis Jakas certainly thought so when some years ago he moved into an apartment in such a place. Furthermore, he noticed that neighbors weren’t speaking to each other, and the whole place just felt desolate. So he started transferring photos of former Jewish tenants onto the walls. It was a great start. Neighbors supported the idea, and loved honoring the people who had lived here. Bit by bit, they began adding more art pieces, and now the tiny courtyard is vibrant, and neighbors gather regularly. It’s charming and comfortable and uplifting. But you have to remember that people live here, and make sure you delight in it quietly. 

About two hours outside Kaunas is a more sobering place: The Hill of Crosses. 

In the early nineteenth century, at the site of a former hill fort, families of partisans killed in an uprising against Russian rule began placing crosses to honor the bodies that were never recovered. The Tsarist Army tore them down. They reappeared. 

When Lithuania declared its independence in 1918, more crosses appeared as Lithuanians honored their dead lost during the Wars of Independence. They used it as well as a place to pray for peace. 

During the Soviet Occupation and religious persecution, people brought crosses to pray for their religious freedom, for family members taken by the Soviets, and for peace. The Soviets bulldozed the hill three times, and threatened to flood the area. KGB agents were posted there and anyone bringing a cross or other religious symbol was subject arrest. At night, more crosses appeared. 

By the time Lithuania again achieved independence, the hill was packed with crosses, religious statues altars, and rosaries from all over the world. There are now estimated to be over 100,000. In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited it and declared it a “place for hope, peace, love, and sacrifice”. 

Though it started by lay people as a sign of faith, the Hill of Crosses is now an important pilgrimage site, and a truly sacred place. 

Both these places are a reminder that we need to hold up each other both in times of peace and of oppression.