Can you see it?

NEW JORDAN, Georgia–Hailing it a miracle, hundreds of visitors are flocking to this rural community to visit the New Jordan Baptist Church, where members claim the face of the Virgin Mary has appeared on a print of a painting depicting the mother of Christ.

Church deacon Samuel Marler was the first to notice the image, shortly after purchasing the print at a nearby Hispanic flea market and hanging it on a wall in the tiny church.

“It is so clearly her face,” Marler says, “So clearly a message from God.  We are just a small church of simple folks.  It is such a blessing that God has chosen for this miracle to appear to us.”

While many skeptics dismiss the image as a hoax, a growing number who have seen it agree that–at the very least–the phenomenon cannot be easily explained.

“It’s hard to argue that a woman’s face is visible,” admits Dr. Kenneth Westin, a professor of sociology at Georgia State University, “Whether it is the Virgin Mary is arguable.  It could just as easily be Angelina Jolie.  Or Madonna, from her Like a Prayer video.”

As some debate over the validity of the so-called miracle, the faithful members of church seek to understand the meaning of and purpose for the image of the Virgin Mary appearing to them.

“Some think that God is telling us to prepare for Armageddon,” says Marler, “Others think He is just reminding us why we worship Him.  I’m just glad that, once and for all, we can know for a fact that the Virgin Mary was beautiful and white.”