As Apollo 8 circled the moon on Christmas Eve in 1968, astronaut Bill Anders snapped the first color photo of Earth over the lunar horizon. More than 50 years since it was taken, the photo, dubbed “Earthrise,” has remained one of the most iconic and influential environmental images around the world.
Now, a striking mural of the photo resides within Payson Park Church on Belmont Street, painted by resident Maya Rodriguez-Clark. The mural expands across three walls in the church, with the words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth,” (Genesis 1:1).
While in orbit, the astronauts — Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell — read that same verse while looking out at the Earth.
“This is such a powerful image that just changed our whole perspective of where we are in the universe and God’s creation and this preciousness of the planet and how we are here to steward and to preserve and make thrive this Earth that we’re on,” said Rev. Eric Wefald, the pastor of Payson Park Church. “Our values as a congregation really align with this.”
The church is actively working toward a “zero carbon footprint” and has a native plant garden, he added. “Earthrise” is widely credited as the catalyst for the first Earth Day in 1970, and has remained a worldwide symbol for the environmental movement.
The mural was officially unveiled on Aug. 30.
Rodriguez-Clark was born in Venezuela and moved to Belmont with her family in 2016, where they joined the Payson Park congregation. She recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, where she double majored in Latin American studies and studio art.
During her time at Belmont High School, she became an avid painter, and is now part of an artists collective in Madrid.
Her love for painting didn’t necessarily begin with a paintbrush; instead, while growing up, she was drawn to fish at the aquarium. She began painting them, enraptured by the subtle colors in their scales and their movement as they swam around the tank.
“It started with just a fascination with detail and rendering that detail into what happens when you can imprint something onto a space, and even though you leave, other people continue to be affected by that image,” Rodriguez-Clark said.
“Earthrise,” which took her about a week to complete, is her first mural.
“I think that the church preaches a lot about community, and it really goes to show that the community does run very deep, and there’s a lot of support,” she said. “…I really appreciate that because it didn’t have to be me, but I’ve now had the chance to paint several things, and they’ve just been very supportive of my journey as an artist.”
