VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — Rev. Philip Dorsey, senior pastor of Calvary Ridge Fellowship, delivered the first installment of a four-part sermon series Sunday addressing what he described as "the open and ongoing affront to Christian decency represented by the Vulcan statue," which has displayed its unclothed posterior toward the residential communities south of Red Mountain since 1939.
The series, titled Covered: A Biblical Response to Indecency in the Public Square, drew Calvary Ridge's largest Sunday attendance in 14 months. Dorsey, 54, said he has been preparing the material for approximately two years.
"I want to be clear that this is not about the statue's artistic merit," said Dorsey, who has served as senior pastor of Calvary Ridge since 2011. "This is about what a community communicates about its values when it erects a 56-foot Roman deity and then — for reasons I have not been able to fully understand — orients it so that the exposed posterior faces a residential neighborhood."
The Vulcan statue, located atop Red Mountain on the southern edge of Birmingham, was constructed for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to represent the city's iron and steel industry. It depicts Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge. The statue was returned to Birmingham following the fair and installed on its current pedestal in 1939. At 56 feet, it is the largest cast iron statue in the world.
The direction the statue faces has not changed since installation.
Dorsey said Part 1 of the series focused on what he called "the theology of the body" as it applies to public monuments. Parts 2 through 4 will address, respectively, the history of Roman religious iconography in civic spaces, a biblical framework for community standards, and "what a faithful response looks like in practical terms." He did not specify what a faithful response looks like in practical terms.
The city of Birmingham's Office of Tourism and Events declined to comment. A representative noted that the Vulcan statue is a registered Alabama landmark and draws approximately 150,000 visitors annually, adding that the visitor center at the statue's base includes an educational exhibit on Birmingham's industrial history.
Dorsey acknowledged that the statue has been positioned as it is for 90 years. He said this was his point.
"I am not arguing that this is new," he said. "I am arguing that the duration of the problem does not diminish the problem. The people of Lot's day had been living a certain way for a long time. That did not make it acceptable."
Elder board member Warren Oates, 61, said the congregation's response to the series has been overwhelmingly positive. "Pastor Philip has done his homework," said Oates. "People have driven past that thing their whole lives and never thought about it theologically. He's asking us to think about it theologically."
Oates said no formal action has been discussed. "Right now we're in the teaching phase," he said.
Covered continues next Sunday at Calvary Ridge Fellowship, 9 and 11 a.m.