One of the cinderblock walls inside the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen’s courtyard is getting a facelift.
Friends and former colleagues, Cecile Broome and Mary Harris are taking on their biggest project to date by painting a mural at the non-profit.
“This came up on Facebook, and she saw the ad for it and sent it to me and asked ‘what do you think?’ They wanted bright; they wanted colorful, uplifting. It was a worthy cause, something we believe in. It would be something for us to do together,” said Broome.
The two collaborated on the design, which is rooted in faith and community.
“She had come up with the new mercies every day,” said Harris referencing the scriptures in Lamentations 3:22-23 which Is the theme for part of the mural. “I wanted to tie into Augusta.”
Together they wove Augusta’s history and landscape (including the Petersburg boats on the Augusta Canal and an abstract view of the downtown riverfront) together with scriptural symbols such as fish and a dove to create the design.
They have outlined the mural on the wall and had hoped to start painting on Dec. 18. While the space is covered and somewhat protected from the elements, the walls were too damp from the rain Thursday for them to begin painting.
Natalie Gillion, Golden Harvest Food Bank’s marketing coordinator, said the idea for the mural had been something officials talked about before, but the timing hadn’t been right until this year. When she initially put out the call for artists, there were plans to paint all of the walls. However, they’ve decided to focus on one wall for now.
Harris said they hope to finish the mural by the end of January 2026. They will paint in the afternoons after the clients have eaten, and the center closes for the day.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
