Blog
Second Sunday in Lent
Beauty in Unexpected Places
by Georga Accola in collaboration with her deaconess and home missioner ministry AHA (Arts from the Heart for All)
Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18
Luke 13:31–35
He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
–Genesis 15:5
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
–Luke 13:34
The natural world reminds us of God’s infinite, intimate prophetic presence. We are part of creation seen in the scattered stars transcending time and space and held by the wings of a hen protecting her chicks.
Our church, Park Slope United Methodist in Brooklyn, New York, ministers to vulnerable sojourners entering our sanctuary as migrants, people identifying as LGBTQ+, the unhoused, those struggling with substance abuse, and persons feeling discriminated against.
AHA (Arts from the Heart for All) is a mission that reaches out to people seeking community, particularly the lonely and marginalized. AHA offers a multi-sensory exploration of the Bible and an outlet for creative expression. We share stories, write poetry, and move our bodies to secular music that resonates with Scripture. Our visual artwork is displayed in the sanctuary. Some of our words are incorporated into the worship liturgy. We lift our voices in the larger community through handmade banners and social activism.
Through the process of carving star and feather designs into repurposed Styrofoam, participants made block print templates. Our goal is for every congregant to be represented by making a star or wing template that will be reproduced in our public art creations.
We plan to produce bookmarks and make a banner displaying these prints and the poem. The purpose of the banner (to be displayed in the church entrance) and the bookmarks, is to send a message to those in need that our church is a “safe space.” We also hope to create signs that forbid intrusive agents from doing harm.
Creative exploration of Scripture opens minds. One of our AHA artists said she has developed a new awareness through our multi-dimensional work: “I spend most of my time on the streets. Through this group, I’ve received the gift of discovering beauty in unexpected places.”
Prayer
God, help us to engage with your Word through all of our senses and use the gifts you have given us to welcome, create, and love the world around us. Amen.
Georga Accola is a deaconess and home missioner candidate preparing to be consecrated in 2025. A retired NYC public school teacher, she continues to work as an artist in residence for “Puppetry in Practice,” a nonprofit organization serving public school children who speak English as a second language. Accola holds degrees in speech and theater education and miming. She brings her decades-long experience to her mission project Arts from the Heart for All.
