EXEMPLARY SOCIAL SERVICES
HOSTED BY SACRED PLACES
Art, Faith, and Fellowship
at West Kensington Ministry at Norris Square
by Ann de Forest
AS A CHILD, Adan Mairena dreamed of being a
filmmaker when he grew up. Second on his list was
becoming a singer (“Doesn’t everybody dream of that?”
he jokes). Instead, the Honduras native followed in his
parents’ footsteps and became a Presbyterian minister.
As pastor of the West Kensington Ministry at Norris
Square, Mairena is living an even grander dream,
forging a dynamic arts-based ministry in a community
ravaged by unemployment, poverty, and violence.
Focusing on “community, youth, and fellowship,”
Mairena has transformed a 150-year-old red brick
Presbyterian church into a place of healing and renewal,
a house of worship that is also a fledgling arts center,
offering programs that often blur the distinctions
between the two. The parish hall, decorated with
paintings from Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program,
has been fitted with a stage, complete with a sound and
light booth (which doubles as a recording studio), and
a TV studio. Sunday School classrooms house afterschool programs in mural painting, guitar, and digital
photography. Every Friday night the church holds a
Youth Open Mic night, where aspiring spoken word
artists and hip hop musicians perform in front of a lifesize mural of Jesus hugging a young man in baggy jeans
and Timberland boots, a gun at his feet.
Like North Philadelphia’s Art Sanctuary [see Sacred
Places Fall 2010, p. 8], the various arts programs at
West Kensington Ministry provide the young people of
the neighborhood a safe haven, an outlet for personal
expression, and a means for developing skills and
confidence. To further his vision, Mairena has drawn
on a long history of community activism in this
The Exemplars Project
is funded by a grant from
the William Penn Foundation
Reverend Adan Mairena of West Kensington Ministry at Norris
Square stands in the sanctuary of their 150-year-old church.
Photo by Alejandro Alvarez.
predominantly Latino neighborhood, collaborating
with various civic groups and officials, as well as a core
population of artists living around Norris Square. For
two years running, Mairena has invited local painters,
poets, sculptors, and dancers to design Stations of the
Cross for a Good Friday procession that, true to the
ministry’s approach, is a lively mix of traditional liturgy
and outdoor arts festival.
When Mairena first came to Norris Square from a
pastoral residency program in a Philadelphia suburb,
his charge was to revive the congregation as an anchor
of its West Kensington neighborhood. Now, under
Mairena’s energetic leadership, the church is a
burgeoning hive of activity – and a potent force in the
community’s revival.
Sacred Places • Summer 2011 • 12