A Heroic Journey

The Holy Family – Milestones and Miracles

Sculpted by J.Seward Johnson, dedicated at the Crystal Cathedral in 1999

J. Seward Johnson is world-renowned for his lifelike painted bronze depictions of people in real-life situations, for example, a sculpted businessman seated on a bench reading a newspaper, or a father teaching his child to ride a bike. Seward's bronze figures are so lifelike that people often sit or stand next to them, never realizing that the figures are not living, breathing human beings.

It was in this spirit that Mr. Johnson conceived The Holy Family, a very lifelike and life-size bronze depiction of Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus on their flight into Egypt.

For the first time, Johnson used glass eyes in these figures to duplicate the gloss and depth of the real human eye. He also chose to depict the infant Christ with highly reflective polished stainless steel skin to convey the idea that, in Jesus, each of us sees our own reflection.

This beautiful bronze masterpiece, gifted to the Crystal Cathedral by Dr. Keith C. and Elaine J. Wold (Johnson's sister), was unveiled and dedicated on Sunday, January 31, 1999. Thousands of visitors who come to the Crystal Cathedral to attend The Glory of Christmas, and throughout the year, have their photograph taken next to The Holy Family, a one-of-a-kind work of art.

More about J. Seward Johnson

After an early career as a painter, Johnson turned his talent to sculpture. Since then, he's created more than 250 life-size cast bronze figures currently featured in private collections in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, as well as in prominent places such as in Rockefeller Center and near World Trade Center's "Ground Zero" in New York City, and in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Canada.

Johnson, the grandson of the founder of Johnson & Johnson, grew up as heir to one of America's largest fortunes. He could have lived a life of leisure, but instead chose to be actively involved in art and an array of other interests; he is president of a large oceanographic research institute in Florida, publisher of a science magazine, and founder of an off-Broadway theater in New York.

Maria Fury “Beat the Odds” with Heroic Faith

In the blink of an eye, life can change forever... as Maria Fury discovered in the spring of 2005. Maria had worked at the Crystal Cathedral for seven years as Secretary to Dr. Robert H. Schuller. She loved her work. Life was good. She had made many friends in her time at the Crystal Cathedral and believed with all her heart that the work she was doing for Dr. Schuller, day in and day out, reached way beyond the ordinary. "I never felt like I was just doing work," Maria shared in a letter to Dr. Schuller's son-in-law, Jim Coleman. "I always felt that I was sharing God's word with millions of people on behalf of the Crystal Cathedral."

One day while at work, Maria started having excruciating pain in her lower back. By the next morning her pain was so unbearable that her husband Dan rushed her to the hospital. The doctors immediately ran tests on her where they discovered a spot, confirming a short while later that she had Stage IV pancreatic cancer (the cancer had already metastasized in her liver). So, how does someone even begin to respond to news like that? Maria responded with heroic faith! And with the "effective and fervent prayers" of many, the exercise of good-health practices while undergoing rigorous chemotherapy treatments, and leaning heavily on the support of friends and family...Maria "beat the odds" of pancreatic cancer and survived far beyond what her doctors either predicted or expected. "Stage IV is not my cancer stage," Maria used to tell Dr. Schuller who thought of her like a sister. "My cancer stage is to live, survive and work for you!" And she did... for FOUR more years!

Maria Fury's heroic faith victoriously carried her across the "finish line" on August 28, 2009 when she passed from this life to the next. And like the great Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his friend in the faith, Maria now shouts these words with joy from heaven, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8).