MILLEDGEVILLE—Knights of Columbus Council 9458 recently celebrated 30 years of serving Sacred Heart Church and the Milledgeville and Baldwin County communities. To commemorate the anniversary, Fayette County sculptor John Parker was commissioned to create art to be placed in the landscape of the Sacred Heart Church. The monument now sits in front of the church at the corner of Jefferson and Hancock streets in historic downtown Milledgeville.

Parker lives in Fayette County, but when he visits his nearby home in Lake Sinclair attends Mass at Sacred Heart.

Known for creating unique metal sculptures for churches and homes, the artist has been featured on HGTV, with his creation of a shark-shaped shower at his lake home, and in Popular Mechanics. In addition, he has displayed art at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

After receiving approval from the parish pastor, Father Dung Nguyen, Parker created the sculpture, which depicts a heart with Jesus coming down from the cross in its middle to signify the living Christ and God’s kingdom to come.

It was a unanimous decision of council members to donate $1,200 to finance the project.