Art Department

Art Department

ART MINISTRY IN THE DIOCESE

St. Thomas' Art Project launches new exhibition; the Rev. Deacon Lisa Parker's quilt installation. by Lindsey Nickel

Art Ministry is a growing expression of faith at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Snell Isle. The program began in 2019 when St. Thomas’ hosted its first art exhibition entitled “Icons in Transformation,” by renowned Swedish artist Ludmila Pawlowska from November 2019 to February 2020. Numerous St. Thomas donors and volunteers supported the exhibition and several thousand people from the community attended, making it an overwhelming success.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 put a temporary halt to many of their plans, but with a little passion and persistence, St. Thomas resumed their Art Ministry in December 2021.

“St. Thomas is a neighborhood church. As we were able to return to more frequent in-person activities, the Very Rev. Ryan Whitley, our rector, encouraged us to rekindle the art ministry with the goal of enhancing our worship and welcoming the broader community to our campus,” said Mary Jane Park, St. Thomas’ Art Project Co- Chair and Senior Warden.

The parish established the St. Thomas' Art Project, co-chaired by parishioners Gina White and Mary Jane Park. Its first exhibition focused on the themes of “Hope, Love, and Promise,” displaying art created by Lower School students at Canterbury School of Florida.

With a successful second exhibition completed; the St. Thomas’ Art Project made a plan for Lent. Investment in a gallery display system in the nave was made and a collaborative art program was planned. Beginning in January 2022, parishioners gathered with local St. Petersburg artist Dee Perconti to learn about the principles of collage art and to 8

begin to dream, plan, and execute a piece of art responding to one of the fourteen “Stations of the Cross.”

“Art exhibited in our sacred space reveals a certain vitality in and provokes curiosity among both members of our parish and our wider community,” said Fr. Whitley. “It enhances the spiritual

experience congregants and visitors enjoy and draws us closer to the work of God through the way of beauty, creation, and expression. We are all made in the image of God and these pieces of art then are a reflection of God’s creation.”

Those stunning pieces of art were displayed during the season of Lent,

Works of art from St. Thomas’ “Stations of the Cross” collage exhibit on display during Lent of 2022.

leading parishioners and guests through the traditional spiritual devotion of the Stations of the Cross. This marrying together of the traditional liturgy with modern artistic interpretations conveyed a moving and emotional experience felt by both the artists and the congregation.

Currently, St. Thomas’ is exhibiting works from a private collection on loan from Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). The exhibit titled “Heads, Faces, and Spiritual Encounter,” is part of the private collection of Edward and Diane Knippers. The exhibit includes both 3-D and 2-D art, with prints by Matisse, Chagall, and Picasso. “Heads, Faces, and Spiritual Encounter,” will be on display through September 30, 2022.

In December, the St. Thomas’ Art Project will exhibit a new collection of works created by Lower School students at Canterbury School of Florida in a revival of the “Hope, Love, and Promise,” theme for Advent and Christmas.

Works of art from St. Thomas’ "Heads, Faces, and Spiritual Encounter,” on display through September 30, 2022.

STATIONS OF THE RESURRECTION: FINDING HOPE AND LIGHT IN THREAD AND FABRIC

The Rev. Deacon Lisa Parker’s “Stations of The Resurrection” quilt installation.

Not long after the Rev. Deacon Lisa Parker was ordained, the pandemic struck. The focus of her new ministry as a deacon was turned upside down. Unable to visit shut-ins, meet with Justice Ministries, or even proclaim the gospel within the midst of the congregation - all the usual activities of being a deacon were put on hold.

As the diocese adapted to the restrictions of the pandemic, the School for Ministry offered Deacon Parker the opportunity to finish her diaconal studies with an independent project. Influenced by the world coming out of 2020 and 2021, Deacon Parker set out to create a project that expressed the hope and light found in the gospel by combining her vocation with her avocation, quilting.

As part of her project, she created a 14-panel collection of quilts depicting the Stations of the Resurrection along with a devotional using excerpts from St. Augustine's Prayer Book. The quilts were created by Deacon Parker as a creative exploration of Eastertide spirituality using St. Augustine's Prayer Book Stations of the Resurrection. Below is an excerpt from Deacon Parker’s devotional guide, “Stations of the Resurrection: Finding Hope and Light in New Ways with Fabric and Thread”.

During Lent, faithful Christians all over the world pray at the Stations of the Cross. It happens in churches everywhere throughout the season. In my own town, we walk the Stations along Main Street on Good Friday to pray as a community. Lent is a time of deep examination. We take stock of the ways we have strayed from God and 10

assume new and deepening spiritual practices as a way of doing penance for our sins.

Then Easter happens and we give praise and thanksgiving that Christ triumphed over the Cross, and we go on with our lives. Maybe we take some of these new practices with us and maybe we don’t.

But what if we did not stop at Easter? What if we continued and what happened to the disciples happened to us? We discover new ways to pray, new ways to hope, and how to live a new life with renewed emotional and spiritual devotion.

That is what Stations of Resurrection can do for us. It is the other side of Easter. The journey we take from Easter morning to Pentecost and beyond with the same intentions that we give to get from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

Deacon Parker’s “Stations of the Resurrection: Finding Hope and Light in New Ways with Fabric and Thread,” installation was dedicated Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at St. Margaret of Scotland, Sarasota. Participants had the opportunity to pray at the Stations while viewing the quilts, then use the devotional book to reflect on their experience. The collection was up from Easter through Pentecost and is available to travel by invitation.

Quilted works made by the Rev. Deacon Lisa Parker featured in the art installation “Stations of the Resurrection: Finding Hope and Light in New Ways with Fabric and Thread.”