Still: (no) accidents

(no) accidents

Susan Van Geest is an artist and teacher living in the Twin Cities, Minn., where she moved after teaching studio art at Dordt University for eight years. She attends Faith Christian Reformed Church in New Brighton, Minn. there are no accidents you said

compacted metal tilted glass life poured

a prism of leaves drift in cool air whirling dervishes on their way down

there are no accidents you repeat

guilty hands lightning lips clipped memory

driving rain stings bare backs innocent drops bring the flood

there are no accidents i wonder cells multiply scissors cut names elude

watery paint seeps beyond boundaries infected plans molt: a beauty unfamiliar

there will be no accidents i plead

avarice will wilt blood will clean cracks will fill with gold

Safe Gospel Conversations Early Christians used the fish symbol as a secret code. When meeting a stranger, one Christian would draw half of the image and wait to see if the stranger would know to draw the other. If they did, they were safe to talk freely about Jesus. In many parts of our world the threats to Christians are just as real today as they were for the early church. Thankfully Christians today have ways of talking to other believers far beyond what the early church could have imagined. As the Christian Reformed Church’s media ministry, ReFrame Ministries offers a safe way to have these conversations— developing trusted websites and social media pages for believers in China, Egypt, and other places where persecution occurs.

The Christian Reformed Church’s media ministry may have a new name, but that won’t change the way God’s story reaches people in Egypt.